The knowledge that man is to be a temple for God, a
habitation for the revealing of His glory, should be the
highest incentive to the care and development of our physical
powers. Fearfully and wonderfully has the Creator wrought
in the human frame, and He bids us make it our study, understand
its needs, and act our part in preserving it from harm
and defilement.
The Circulation of the Blood
In order to have good health, we must have good blood;
for the blood is the current of life. It repairs waste and
nourishes the body. When supplied with the proper food elements
and when cleansed and vitalized by contact with pure air, it
carries life and vigor to every part of the system. The more
perfect the circulation, the better will this work be
accomplished.
At every pulsation of the heart the blood should make its
way quickly and easily to all parts of the body. Its circulation
should not be hindered by tight clothing or bands, or by
insufficient clothing of the extremities. Whatever hinders the
circulation forces the blood back to the vital organs, producing
congestion. Headache, cough, palpitation of the heart, or
indigestion is often the result.
Respiration
In order to have good blood, we must breathe well. Full,
deep inspirations of pure air, which fill the lungs with oxygen,
purify the blood. They impart to it a bright color and
send it, a life-giving current, to every part of the body. A
good respiration soothes the nerves; it stimulates the appetite
and renders digestion more perfect; and it induces sound,
refreshing sleep.
The lungs should be allowed the greatest freedom possible.
Their capacity is developed by free action; it diminishes if
they are cramped and compressed. Hence the ill effects of the
practice so common, especially in sedentary pursuits, of stooping
at one's work. In this position it is impossible to breathe
deeply. Superficial breathing soon becomes a habit, and the
lungs lose their power to expand. A similar effect is produced
by tight lacing. Sufficient room is not given to the lower part
of the chest; the abdominal muscles, which were designed to
aid in breathing, do not have full play, and the lungs are
restricted in their action.
Thus an insufficient supply of oxygen is received. The
blood moves sluggishly. The waste, poisonous matter, which
should be thrown off in the exhalations from the lungs, is
retained, and the blood becomes impure. Not only the lungs,
but the stomach, liver, and brain are affected. The skin
becomes sallow, digestion is retarded; the heart is depressed;
the brain is clouded; the thoughts are confused; gloom settles
upon the spirits; the whole system becomes depressed and
inactive, and peculiarly susceptible to disease.
The lungs are constantly throwing off impurities, and they
need to be constantly supplied with fresh air. Impure air does
not afford the necessary supply of oxygen, and the blood
passes to the brain and other organs without being vitalized.
Hence the necessity of thorough ventilation. To live in close,
ill-ventilated rooms, where the air is dead and vitiated, weakens
the entire system. It becomes peculiarly sensitive to the
influence of cold, and a slight exposure induces disease. It is
close confinement indoors that makes many women pale and
feeble. They breathe the same air over and over until it
becomes laden with poisonous matter thrown off through the
lungs and pores, and impurities are thus conveyed back to the
blood.
Ventilation and Sunlight
In the construction of buildings, whether for public
purposes or as dwellings, care should be taken to provide for
good ventilation and plenty of sunlight. Churches and schoolrooms
are often faulty in this respect. Neglect of proper
ventilation is responsible for much of the drowsiness and dullness
that destroy the effect of many a sermon and make the
teacher's work toilsome and ineffective.
So far as possible, all buildings intended for human
habitation should be placed on high, well-drained ground. This
will ensure a dry site and prevent the danger of disease from
dampness and miasma. This matter is often too lightly
regarded. Continuous ill-health, serious diseases, and many
deaths result from the dampness and malaria of low-lying,
ill-drained situations.
In the building of houses it is especially important to secure
thorough ventilation and plenty of sunlight. Let there be a
current of air and an abundance of light in every room in the
house. Sleeping rooms should be so arranged as to have a
free circulation of air day and night. No room is fit to be
occupied as a sleeping room unless it can be thrown open daily
to the air and sunshine. In most countries bedrooms need to
be supplied with conveniences for heating, that they may be
thoroughly warmed and dried in cold or wet weather.
The guestchamber should have equal care with the rooms
intended for constant use. Like the other bedrooms, it should
have air and sunshine, and should be provided with some
means of heating, to dry out the dampness that always
accumulates in a room not in constant use. Whoever sleeps in a
sunless room, or occupies a bed that has not been thoroughly
dried and aired, does so at the risk of health, and often of life.
In building, many make careful provision for their plants
and flowers. The greenhouse or window devoted to their use
is warm and sunny; for without warmth, air, and sunshine,
plants would not live and flourish. If these conditions are
necessary to the life of plants, how much more necessary are
they for our own health and that of our families and guests!
If we would have our homes the abiding place of health
and happiness we must place them above the miasma and fog
of the lowlands, and give free entrance to heaven's life-giving
agencies. Dispense with heavy curtains, open the windows
and the blinds, allow no vines, however beautiful, to
shade the windows, and permit no trees to stand so near the
house as to shut out the sunshine. The sunlight may fade the
drapery and the carpets, and tarnish the picture frames; but
it will bring a healthy glow to the cheeks of the children.
Those who have the aged to provide for should remember
that these especially need warm, comfortable rooms. Vigor
declines as years advance, leaving less vitality with which to
resist unhealthful influences; hence the greater necessity for
the aged to have plenty of sunlight, and fresh, pure air.
Scrupulous cleanliness is essential to both physical and
mental health. Impurities are constantly thrown off from
the body through the skin. Its millions of pores are quickly
clogged unless kept clean by frequent bathing, and the impurities
which should pass off through the skin become an additional
burden to the other eliminating organs.
Most persons would receive benefit from a cool or tepid
bath every day, morning or evening. Instead of increasing
the liability to take cold, a bath, properly taken, fortifies
against cold, because it improves the circulation; the blood
is brought to the surface, and a more easy and regular flow is
obtained. The mind and the body are alike invigorated. The
muscles become more flexible, the intellect is made brighter.
The bath is a soother of the nerves. Bathing helps the bowels,
the stomach, and the liver, giving health and energy to each,
and it promotes digestion.
It is important also that the clothing be kept clean. The
garments worn absorb the waste matter that passes off through
the pores; if they are not frequently changed and washed, the
impurities will be reabsorbed.
Every form of uncleanliness tends to disease.
Death-producing germs abound in dark, neglected corners, in decaying
refuse, in dampness and mold and must. No waste vegetables
or heaps of fallen leaves should be allowed to remain near the
house to decay and poison the air. Nothing unclean or decaying
should be tolerated within the home. In towns or cities
regarded perfectly healthful, many an epidemic of fever has
been traced to decaying matter about the dwelling of some
careless householder.
Perfect cleanliness, plenty of sunlight, careful attention to
sanitation in every detail of the home life, are essential to
freedom from disease and to the cheerfulness and vigor of the
inmates of the home.