A Cure for Sleeplessness from 1876

Here is another article I ran onto today in the New York Times historical records. It was published on Saturday, December 30, 1876:

Short Article in the New York Times on Saturday December 30, 1876

Short Article in the New York Times on Saturday December 30, 1876

What intrigues me about this article is the suggestion by the American physician, Dr. Cooke, that, “…in numerous cases of sleeplessness it is only necessary to breathe very slowly and quietly for a few minutes to secure a refreshing sleep.” In In Pursuit of Sleep, I call this method “sleep breathing.” See pages 31/2. Of course, this is only one of several components of the Transition Trek method. But I suggest initiating sleep breathing at the very beginning of the Transition Trek, which then triggers the start of several physical processes that lead toward sleep.