Healthful Life in Summer Time

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 19, 1906

Healthful Life in Summer Time

MANY have come to look forward to the summer time as a season of discomfort and possible danger, especially for the younger children. It may easily be made so by injudicious living. We take the following excellent suggestions upon this matter from an article by M. E. Olsen, in the British Good Health:—

“The ideal life in summer should be an active one. In the winter, because of inclement weather, short days, and business or social duties, we are kept largely indoors. We may almost be said to hibernate. Our muscles lose their elasticity, our lungs forget to expand, and all the organs of the body suffer from the general inactivity.

“With the first warm breath of spring it should be the earnest endeavor of the man or woman who is seeking to live a natural life, to spend much time out of doors. With many this privilege will be confined to mornings and evenings during week-days; but such need not despair. The morning walk before breakfast is an excellent appetizer, and there is nothing better as a preparation for refreshing sleep than a long evening walk following a light supper taken at about six o'clock. Games of various kinds are also an excellent means of relaxation.

“To get the most good out of outdoor exercise, one needs to take it with vim and vigor. The muscles are to be put to some strain, the breathing is to be quickened, the blood sent bounding through every organ in the body, and the tissues thoroughly oxygenated. Even in very warm weather, brisk exercise, instead of adding to the discomfort, usually relieves it. The humid heat always makes itself felt most keenly when the body is in a generally clogged-up condition, its organs sluggish with inaction.

“Next after outdoor exercise, which we may call the bath of fresh air for the lungs and tissues, comes the daily cold-water bath as a means of making an enjoyable summer. Those who have not tried this admirable tonic little realize how much of the zest and sweetness of life they are missing. On awakening in the morning, just slip on your dressing-gown, and make for the bath-room. A dip in the cold water followed by vigorous rubbing with a Turkish towel will tone up the nervous system, wonderfully quicken the circulation, and give a delightful sense of well-being and abounding energy. The morning bath in some form, either sponge bath, wet hand rub, or wet towel friction, is exactly as important as washing the face.

“It is a very poor sort of civilization that insists on the visible portion being washed, while neglecting the remainder of the body.

“Mothers who have delicate children will find the summer the best time in which to build up their constitutions. Take them to the parks and keep them there as much as possible. You can take your sewing along, and enjoy the fresh air yourself. Delicate children need to just live out of doors all through the spring, summer, and autumn; of course they should always be dressed according to the weather.

“Everybody should dress according to the weather. While we usually expect to have a certain amount of warm weather at this time of the year, we are occasionally treated to weather which is anything but warm. The proper way to meet such emergencies is to dress accordingly. Many summer colds are the result of dressing by the calendar instead of the thermometer.

“One parting word: Don't waste the beautiful summer mornings by lying late abed. Keep reasonably early hours for retiring, and then get up and enjoy the fresh morning sunshine. It has health and beauty for you which you will never find in the bed-room.”