戴尔·卡耐基/Dale Carnegie

Jeanette MacDonald told me that when she was depressed and worried and had difficulty in going to sleep, she could always get"a feeling of security"by repeating Psalm XXII："The Lord is my Shepherd；I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.He leadeth me beside the still waters."

But if you are not religious, and have to do things the hard way, then learn to relax by physical measures. Dr.David Harold Fink, who wrote Release from Nervous Tension, says that the best way to do this is to talk to your body.According to Dr.Fink, words are the key to all kinds of hypnosis；and when you consistently can't sleep, it is because you have talked yourself into a case of insomnia.The way to undo this is to dehypnotize yourself-and you can do it by saying to the muscles of your body："Let go, let go-loosen up and relax."We already know that the mind and nerves can't relax while the muscles are tense-so if we want to go to sleep, we start with the muscles.Dr.Fink recommends-and it works out in practice-that we put a pillow under the knees to ease the tension on the legs, and that we tuck small pillows under the arms for the very same reason.Then, by telling the jaw to relax, the eyes, the arms, and the legs, we finally drop off to sleep before we know what has hit us.I've tried it-I know.If you have trouble sleeping, get hold of Dr.Fink's book, Release from Nervous Tension, which I have mentioned earlier.It is the only book I know of that is both lively reading and a cure for insomnia5.

One of the best cures for insomnia is making yourself physically tired by gardening, swimming, tennis, golf, skiing, or by just plain physically exhausting work. That is what Theodore Dreiser did.When he was a struggling young author, he was worried about insomnia, so he got a job working as a section hand on the New York Central Railway；and after a day of driving spikes and shoveling gravel, he was so exhausted that he could hardly stay awake long enough to eat.

If we get tired enough, nature will force us to sleep even while we are walking. To illustrate, when I was thirteen years old, my father shipped a car-load of fat hogs to Saint Joe, Missouri.Since he got two free railroad passes, he took me along with him.Up until that time, I had never been in a town of more than four thousand.When I landed in Saint Joe-a city of sixty thousand-I was agog with excitement.I saw skyscrapers six storeys high and-wonder of wonders-I saw a street-car.I can close my eyes now and still see and hear that street-car.After the most thrilling and exciting day of my life, Father and I took a train back to Ravenwood, Missouri.Arriving there at two o'clock in the morning, we had to walk four miles home to the farm.I was so exhausted that I slept and dreamed as I walked.I have often slept while riding horseback.And I am alive to tell it！

When men are completely exhausted they sleep right through the thunder and horror and danger of war. Dr.Foster Kennedy, the famous neurologist, tells me that during the retreat of the Fifth British Army in 1918，he saw soldiers so exhausted that they felt on the ground where they were and fell into a sleep as sound as a coma.They didn't even wake up when he raised their eyelids with his fingers.And he says he noticed that invariably the pupils of the eyes were rolled upward in the sockets."After that，"says Dr.Kennedy，"when I had trouble sleeping, I would practice rolling up my eyeballs into this position, and I found that in a few seconds I would begin to yawn and feel sleepy.It was an automatic reflex over which I had no control."

No man ever committed suicide by refusing to sleep and no one ever will. Nature would force a man to sleep in spite of all his will power.Nature will let us go without food or water far longer than she will let us go without sleep.

Speaking of suicide reminds me of a case that Dr. Henry C.Link describes in his book, The Rediscovery of Man.Dr.Link is vice-president of The Psychological Corporation and he interviews many people who are worried and depressed.In his chapter On Overcoming Fears and Worries, he tells about a patient who wanted to commit suicide.Dr.Link knew arguing would only make the matter worse, so he said to this man："If you are going to commit suicide anyway, you might at least do it in a heroic fashion.Run around the block until you drop dead."

He tried it, not once but several times, and each time felt better, in his mind if not in his muscles. By the third night he had achieved what Dr.Link intended in the first place-he was so physically tired（and physically relaxed）that he slept like a log.Later he joined an athletic club and began to compete in competitive sports.Soon he was feeling so good he wanted to live for ever.

珍妮·麦当娜对我说：当她心情沮丧、闷闷不乐而无法入睡时，便会重复《圣歌》第二十二章中的内容，以获得一种“安全感”——“上帝是我们的牧师，我心无杂念。他让我躺在绿色的牧地上，带领我来到幽静的溪流旁。”

如果你不信奉宗教，很难解决一些问题的话，你可以通过物理措施来进行放松。大卫·哈罗·芬克博士曾经写过一本名叫《消除神经紧张》的书，上面说治疗失眠的最好方法就是与自己的身体交谈。按照芬克所说，语言是所有催眠方法的关键，你一直不能入睡，是因为你对自己说得太多，患上了失眠症。解决方法是你对着自己身上的肌肉说：“放松，放松——放松肌肉，放松。”我们都知道，在我们睡觉时，如果肌肉处于紧张状态的话，思想和神经也得不到放松，因此我们先要放松肌肉。芬克博士推荐的解决方法是：把一个枕头放在膝下，使所有的腿部肌肉得到放松，再在胳膊底下分别塞几个小枕头。然后，放松下颚、眼睛、胳膊和腿，最后我们就不知不觉地进入了梦乡。我曾经试过，很有效。如果你很难入睡，可以看看芬克博士的书——《消除神经紧张》，我认为这是一本可读性强，并适合治疗失眠的书。

另外一种治疗失眠症的捷径是参加体育锻炼，比如，园艺活动、游泳、打网球、打高尔夫球、滑雪等等，或是做一些消耗体力的工作。德莱塞就是这样做的。当德莱塞还是一个正在奋斗的年轻作家时，他总是为了失眠而焦虑不安，便在纽约中央铁路公司找了一份切割工的工作。经过一天的钉钉子和铲沙砾工作后，德莱塞感到极其疲惫，吃饭都很难坚持足够长的时间。

如果我们感到很疲惫，就算是在走路，也会入睡的。举个例子：我13岁时，父亲要将一车肥猪运往密苏里州的圣桥城，因为他有两张免费的火车票，就带我一起去了。在那之前，我从未到过一个人口在四千人以上的镇子。当我来到了这个人口达六千人的圣桥城时，我激动万分。看到六层高楼和电车，我惊愕极了。时至今日，当我闭上眼睛，电车仍然历历在目。当我经历了人生中最刺激和兴奋的一天后，父亲和我坐上回家的火车。火车到站时已经是凌晨两点，我们不得不步行四英里回到农场。我感到非常疲惫，几乎是边走边睡。我过去经常骑着马就睡着了。这些往事到现在我还记忆犹新。

当一个人感到非常疲惫时，就算是雷鸣声或面临战争的恐怖和危险，他都可以安然入睡。著名的神经科医师福斯特·肯尼迪博士对我说，1918年，英国第五军退军时，他亲眼目睹筋疲力尽的士兵昏迷般地倒地而睡，即使拨弄他们的眼皮，也无法醒来。他说他注意到，所有熟睡的人的眼球都是向上翻的。“从那以后，”肯尼迪医士说，“当我睡不着时，我就把眼球往上翻，一会儿我就开始打哈欠，并感到非常困倦了。这是一种不受自我支配的条件反射。”

没有人可以用不睡觉的方法来自杀的，从来没有。无论一个人的意志多顽强，都逃不过自然的力量。我们可以长时间不吃东西，不喝水，但是我们绝对不能长时间不睡觉。

说到自杀，我就想起一个事例来，那出自亨利·林克所著的《人类的再发现》一书。林克博士是心理社团的副团长，他经常会与一些心理焦虑和沮丧的人交谈。在《消除恐惧与忧虑》那一章中，他谈到了一个想要自杀的人，林克博士明白争辩只会让事情更糟，所以他对这个人说：“如果你选择了这条自杀之路，那你至少要勇敢一些。绕着街区一直跑，跑到累死为止。”

这个人真的这样做了，他试了很多次，每次都会感到舒服一些，这种感觉只表现在心理上，而不是身体上。到了第三天晚上，林克博士终于达到了他的最初目的——这个人非常疲惫地像一块圆木似的睡着了（身体上的放松）。之后，他加入了体育俱乐部，开始参加竞技运动。不久，他再次感到心情愉悦，并希望好好地活下去。

无论一个人的意志多顽强，都逃不过自然的力量。

词汇笔记

hypnosis[hip'n??usis]n.催眠状态；催眠

例 No one can explain exactly what hypnosis is.

没有人能解释清楚催眠术是怎么回事。

tuck[t??k]v.卷起；挤进；用某物舒适地裹住

例 Please tuck up the chair and put it side.

请把椅子折起来放在一边。

agog[??'g??g]adj.兴奋的；有强烈兴趣的

例 The villagers were agog for the news.

村民们很兴奋地急于听那消息。

horror['h??r??]n.惊骇；极端厌恶；令人恐怖的事物

例 Do you like horror movies？

你喜欢恐怖电影吗？

小试身手

如果我们感到很疲惫，就算是在走路，也会入睡的。

译________

无论一个人的意志多顽强，都逃不过自然的力量。

译________

他再次感到心情愉悦，并希望好好地活下去。

译________

短语家族

She was depressed and worried and had difficulty in going to sleep.

have difficulty in：对……有困难；在某方面有困难

造________

If you have trouble sleeping, get hold of Dr. Fink's book, Release from Nervous Tension, which I have mentioned earlier.

get hold of：抓住；得到；把握

造________