Why? The Science of Athletics

WHY?-THE SCIENCE OF ATHLETICS to represent England at ·the last Empire Games, were impaired because the hotel in which the English team was lodged was close to Victoria Station and the men could not sleep on account of the constant noise from taxis, omnibuses and trains. The athlete's sleep must not Qnly be regular, it must be continuous ; interruption · is harmful, and a man awakened suddenly by noise does not sleep again as peacefully through the remainder of the night. The athlete's bedroom should be rather like a hospit9-l ward, in that it must be kept meticulously clean and · unencumbered by carpets, curtains and other dust and germ collectors. It is very bad to sleep in an unaired room, or one that is stuffy with tobacco smoke. One night's sleeplessness will often make a man lose his form for the whole of the next day, while a "night out" has got to be paid for by impaired performances during the next week or even, maybe, the next fortnight. Most great champions have been almost finnickily particular about their sleep and sleeping arrangements. Earl Thomson, the Canadian high hurdler, who won the Olympic Championship in I 920, and was former ' holder of the world's record -of I4 2/5 secs., has stated that he was so particular in all points relating to his training that he would not lie crooked in bed. He may have carried precepts of perfection to just about the limit; as he admitted, yet he was workirtg on the right lines. It is only by the strictest attention to the smallest details that real champions are produced. · In this connection, it may be pointed out that the 'athlete should accustom himself to sleeping on his right side, since this position postulates that the heart will be given slightly less work to do. He should also cultivate the habit of breathing through the nose while sleeping, because the nasal passage acts as a filter, cleansing the air inhaled from dust and germs before it enters the lungs. This type of breathing serves also to modify the temperature of the air; thus, a more restful sleep is