What has produced this apparent renewal and increase of vital energy?  Has the stimulant added to his system one iota of vitality?  This cannot be, because stimulants do not contain anything that could impart vital force to the organism.  What, then, has produced the seemingly strengthening effect?

The caffeine, alcohol or whatever the stimulating poison may have been has precipitated the fatigue products from the blood and deposited them in the tissues and organs of the body.  Furthermore, the stimulant has benumbed the inhibitory nerves; in other words, it has lifted the brakes from the driving part of the organism, so that the wheels are running wild.

But this means drawing upon the reserve supplies of nerve fats and of the vital energy stored in them, which Nature wants to save for extraordinary demands upon the system in times of illness or extreme exertion.  Therefore this procedure is contrary to Nature’s intent.  Nature tried to force the tired body to rest and sleep, so that it could store up a new supply of vital force.

Under the paralyzing influence of the stimulant upon the inhibitory nerves, the organism now draws upon the reserve stores of nerve fats and vital energies for the necessary strength to accomplish the extra nightwork.

At the same time, the organism remains awake and active during the time it should be replenishing energy for the next day’s work, which means that the latter also has to be done at the expense of the reserve supply of life force.

During sleep only do we replenish our reserve stores of vitality.  The expenditure of vital energies ceases, but their liberation in the system continues.

Therefore sleep is the “sweet restorer.”  Nothing can take its place.  No amount of food and drink, no tonics or stimulants can make up for the loss of sleep.  Continued complete deprivation of sleep is bound to end in a short time in physical and mental exhaustion, in insanity and death.

That the body, during sleep, acts as a storage battery for vital energy is proved by the fact that in deep, sound sleep the aura disappears entirely from around the body.

The aura is to the organism what the exhaust steam is to the engine.  It is formed by the electromagnetic fluids which have performed their work in the body and then escape from it, giving the appearance of a many-colored halo.

With the first awakening of conscious mental activity after sleep, the aura appears, indicating that the expenditure of vital force has recommenced.

In the above diagram we have an illustration of the true effect of stimulants upon the system.  The heavy line A-B represents the normal level of available vital energy in a certain body for a given time, say, for twenty-four hours.  At point C a stimulant is taken.  This paralyzes the inhibitory nerves and temporarily precipitates the fatigue products from the blood.

As we have seen, this allows an increased, unnatural expenditure of vital energy, which raises the latter to point D. But when the effect of the stimulant has been spent, the vital energy drops from the artificially attained high point not only back to the normal level, but below it to point E.