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Neurypnology: or the Rationale of Nervous Sleep – James Braid

And again M'Nish writes, 'I have often coaxed myself to sleep by internally repeating half a dozen times any well known rhyme. Whilst doing so the ideas must be strictly directed to this particular theme, and prevented from wandering'.

He then adds, that the great secret is to compel the mind to depart from its favourite train of thought, into which it has a tendency to run, 'and address itself solely to the verbal repetition of what is substituted in its place' ; and farther adds, 'the more the mind is brought to turn upon a single impression, the more closely it is made to approach to the state of sleep, which is the total absence of all impressions'.

Which also, some forty years ago, wrote thus, 'Sleep is promoted by tranquillity of mind, * * * by gently and uniformly affecting one of the senses; for instance, by music or reading ; and lastly, a gentle external motion of the whole body, as by rocking or sailing'.

Counting and repeating a few words have been also long and generally known and resorted to for the purpose of procuring sleep.