PEDIATRICS Vol. 43 No. 5 May 1969, pp. 885
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CHILDREN IN THE 1860'S WERE ADVISED TO SLEEP ON THEIR RIGHT SIDE: BY E. SMALL, M.D

T. E. C. Jr. M.D.

Anatomy and physiology were taught in just a few of the common (public) schools and academies (independent schools mostly for boys) prior to our Civil War. One of the most widely read textbooks on these subjects, at least in Boston, was written by Dr. E. Small, a general practitioner. His book was commonly known a century ago by the title The Laws of Health Made Plain.

Dr. Small let his young readers know that the position in which they slept was important. He wrote as follows:

The position for sleeping is of consequence. The recumbent is preferable, but not indispensable,-I mean for a healthy person. Some sleep on the back, but this is objectionable, as it is liable to produce nightmare, in consequence of the pressure of the organs of the chest upon the aorta and other vessels. The sick can often lie and sleep on the back better than in any other position. For the healthy, sleeping on the right side is the most favorable. There are physiological causes for its being so. . . .

The most favorable position for sleeping is that in which the blood and other fluids circulate the most freely and with the least obstruction. When lying on the back, as I have said, the organs of the thorax press upon the aorta and thoracie [sic] duct, obstructing the passage of blood and chyle. Lying on the left side obstructs the free flow of the blood through the lung, by the pressure of the heart upon it, the heart being situated to the left of medial line of the chest.