The laws of health

One of the first duties we owe to ourselves is to keep our bodies in perfect health. If our body suffers from any disorder, our mind suffers with it, and we are unable to make much progress in knowledge, and we are unfit to perform those duties which are required of us in social life.

There are certain laws of health which deserve particular attention and they are so simple that even a child can learn them. A constant supply of pure fresh air is indispensable to good health. To secure this, nothing impure should remain either within or near our homes, and every room in the house especially the bedrooms, should be properly ventilated every day.

Perfect cleanliness is also essential. The whole body should be washed as often as possible. The skin is full of minute pores, cells, blood vessels and nerves. It “breathes” the way the lungs do. Therefore it should always be clean.

Besides its importance to health, there is a great charm in cleanliness. We like to look at one who is tidy and clean. If the skin is kept clean, the teeth thoroughly brushed, the hair neatly combed, and the finger-nails in order, we feel pleased with the person, even though his (her) clothes may be coarse and much mended.

A certain amount of exercise is necessary to keep the body in perfect condition. All the powers (mental and bodily) we possess are strengthened by use and weakened by disuse. Therefore labour and study should succeed each other. The best way of getting exercise is to engage in some work that is useful and at the old and the young to do morning exercises with the windows wide open in your room or, if possible, in the open air.

Remember that exercises warm, invigorate and purify the body. Rest is also necessary to the health of both body and mind. The best time for sleep is during the darkness and stillness of the night.

Late hours are very harmful to the health as they exhaust the nervous system. We should go to bed early and get up early. It is a good rule to “rise with the lark and go to bed with the lark”.

Most essential to our body is food. Our body is continually vesting, and requires to be repaired by fresh substance. Therefore food, which is to repair the loss, should be taken with due regard to the exercise and waste of the body.

Be moderate in eating. If you eat slowly, you will not overeat. Never swallow your food wholesale – you are provided with teeth for the purpose of chewing your food – and you will never complain of indigestion. We should abstain from everything that intoxicates. The evils of intemperance, especially of alcohol, are too well known.

Intemperance excites bad passions and leads to quarrels and crimes. Alcohol costs a lot of money, which might be used for better purposes. The mind is stupefied by drink and the person who drinks will, in course of time, become unfit for his duties. Both health and character are often ruined.

Thus we must remember that moderation in eating and drinking, reasonable hours of labour and study, regularity in exercise, recreation and rest, cleanliness and many other essentials lay the foundations for good health and long life.

1. Are there certain laws of health which deserve particular attention?

2. Why should the skin be always clean?

3. What is there in cleanliness besides its importance to health?

4. What is necessary to keep the body in perfect condition?

5. Labour and study should succeed each other, shouldn`t they?

6. What is the best way of getting exercise?

7. What exhaust the nervous system?

8. What can you tell about food?

9. What does intemperance lead to?

10. What must we remember?