This little book, like my previous work on Christian Science published a year ago, is an evolution of a pamphlet. The first half was written during a sleepless night several years ago, while the latter half was completed about two years ago, after I found relief from the lifelong bondage of insomnia through auto-suggestion, which significantly increased my capacity for both work and play.
Originally published in the spring of 1907 as part of my weekly message titled “The Parson’s Outlook” for the 5,000 readers of The Hampshire Gazette in and around Northampton, the article on sleeplessness was later republished by request in the same paper. Due to growing demand, it was eventually released in pamphlet form. Over the past year, it has been utilized at the Emmanuel Clinic in both Boston and Northampton, yielding such gratifying results that over 300 individuals suffering from insomnia have shared their positive experiences through letters or word of mouth.
At the suggestion of Rev. Elwood Worcester, Ph.D., D.D., along with two magazine editors and two publishing houses, this pamphlet has now been expanded into a book with the sincere hope that its suggestions will benefit many who could not be reached by the privately printed and freely distributed pamphlet.
While there may be sufficient literature on the theory of sleep, Marie de Manaceïne’s volume on Sleep Its Physiology, Pathology, Hygiene, and Psychology will remain a standard reference. Dr. Upson’s Insomnia and Nerve Strain, which focuses on the author’s discovery of the vaso-neural circuit, is invaluable for those wishing to understand certain physical barriers to sleep that have often been overlooked. Additionally, Religion and Medicine, the official book of the Emmanuel Movement, is essential for comprehending the drugless treatment of sleeplessness and other nervous functional disorders. The writings of Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, Dr. Woods Hutchinson, and Dr. J. Madison Taylor also hold lasting value on this topic.
The purpose of this little book is straightforward: it aims to assist physicians, Emmanuel workers, and others who believe in the art of natural sleep to help those entrusted to their care. It is also designed to serve the thousands who seek no outside help in learning how to sleep, thus striving to remain as free as possible from technical jargon and theoretical debates.
I owe the title of this book to Dr. Worcester; the illustrative cases from the Emmanuel Clinic in Boston to Rev. H. L. Taylor of the Emmanuel Church staff; many special courtesies to Mr. W. P. Cutter, Librarian of the Forbes Library in Northampton; and valuable counsel in preparing this work to Dr. Francis S. Wilson, an expert diagnostician and experienced practitioner.
I trust that this little book, directly or indirectly, may free many unhappy victims of insomnia from their difficult bondage, and I send it forth in faith.