It was extremely difficult to find people willing and able to accept being experimented upon and who would guarantee carrying through these experiments until a positive or negative result had been reached.
1) Hans Siemann from Duisburg-Meiderich embarked on the experiments following the example of his friend D. together with another friend Hans Zeppenfeld in January 1932, when he was in the sixth form in grammar school. His state of health was poor and in spite of good medical care he suffered from a painful stomach complaint, lack of appetite, constantly watering eyes, excessive perspiration of his hands and feet and nervousness. His friend Z. was healthy. To begin with neither of them believed in "natural sleep" or its effects. However, they became reliable supporters of the system, not only recognizing the beneficial effects it had on them, but also courageously and steadfastly spreading word of their experiences in spite of being ridiculed by the public. After six months, and with no additional medical assistance, Siemann's poor health gave way to robust good health and he was able to work vigorously physically and mentally for up to 17 or 18 hours a day. His performance in the difficult top form at grammar school continued to improve at a time when so many others lose ground, and he successfully gained his certificate on time and with honours enabling him to study at a university, at that time a privilege only available to the very best students. He insisted unwaveringly and credibly that the favourable development of his physical and mental abilities was entirely due to his strict adherence to natural sleep.
2) I only heard of D's experiment after it had reached a successful conclusion and D. had attracted the attention and derision of his neighbourhood due to his "crazy" way of life. The significant successes that D. suddenly achieved in his studies after his conver-sion stimulated Siemann and Zeppenfeld to emulate him and to try "natural sleep" themselves. After practising "natural sleep" for six months, D. was examined by a school doctor and his health pronounced to be extraordinarily good. After six months of the experiment Zeppenfeld and Siemann were also examined carefully by a doctor who did not believe in the system. The results were out-standing.
Altogether, Siemann's experiment took just over two years, Zeppenfeld's one year, and D's six months. If it became necessary to interrupt the experiments, the feelings of well-being, performance and vigour all decreased; once "natural sleep" from 7 p.m. to 11:20 p.m. was resumed, the new high levels of performance were quickly regained. This did not occur with any other sleeping times. To begin with, the parents of the experimental sleepers, namely the mothers, were extremely sceptical - as were all - towards the natural sleep system and kept an anxious and careful eye on their sons during the experiments. However, in the face of the beneficial results, they soon changed their minds and encouraged their sons to continue with their new way of life in spite of the ridicule and the advising against it of those around them.
3) On July 12, 1933, the headmaster Dr. E. Sembach informed me: "Your book on natural sleep prompted me to undertake an experiment myself. I embarked upon it last November and carried on without interruption for five months. The result was in general very satisfactory. I was able to overcome the state of lingering illness in which I found myself. I went to bed between 6:30 and 7 p.m., was able to fall asleep very quickly and initially woke up about 2 a.m. Later, I usually awoke between midnight and 1am. I felt quite vigorous and capable of working. Earlier it had been my custom to go to bed at approximately 9:30 p. m. I had to have my first meal of the day in bed and was not refreshed enough to get up until about 9am, still without feeling actually productive. The success I have experienced so far makes it imperative that I offer you my warmest thanks for your discovery of natural sleep." This man, formerly almost incapable of living a normal life, was later to stand at the forefront of the proponents of the new healing system. The healing success in his particular case is quite unusual and astonishing (see graph on page 27).
4) One of the first to approach me with interest after the results of my research became known was the priest Father Ko. who had undertaken the experiment for a period of two years. From his report I learned the following: "Ten years ago I was exhausted and ill with a multitude of maladies. I suffered from a kidney complaint, diabetes, a swollen liver, weak lungs, mucous congestion of the lungs, extreme nightly sweats, recurring headaches, haemorrhoids and sciatica so badly that I often didn't know how I was to get up off a chair, the beginnings of sinusitis and was also beginning to bald rapidly.
Raw food, whole wheat bread, fasting cures and abstaining from all meat purified my body, and I became a transformed person able to enjoy life and capable of working. However, my delicate constitution as well as a certain weakness of the liver and kidneys remained so that I had to continue to live as naturally as possible. When I became cognizant of your research on sleeping, I gradually began to adjust my sleeping times to those suggested by you. Over a long period of experimenting, I have definitely determined that for my weak and sensitive constitution the period of sleep between 7:30 and 11:30 p.m. is the most valuable. I work from 11:30 p.m. onwards and am quite able to fulfil all my duties. During the day I insert three very brief naps. This way of life suits me extremely well and I am told that I have a healthy appearance. I am very grateful for your research and for the sake of many sufferers would urgently request that you do not tire in your striving. The Lord God will reward you.
Regretfully I am often prevented from going to bed at 7 p. m., but am nevertheless glad that overall my sleeping habits have improved."
This report, which I present here considerably shortened, was sent to me by a catholic priest in orders. Some religious orders are required by the rules of their order to adhere to sleeping times that approach those of natural sleep. These have proved to be extremely beneficial for health over the centuries. Due to their internal and external structure, these holy orders would be able to introduce the system of natural sleep quite easily.
5) The well-known Swiss industrialist Dr. Ing. h.c. M.U. Schoop has followed the precepts of natural sleep as far as possible and assures me in his letters that my "system is indeed excellent". Among other things he writes: "My physical and mental performance is much improved, digestion has been influenced positively and I am usually held to be 15 years younger than I actually am. My only complaint is that I was 70 years old before being informed of your discovery. Your system is a discovery of the first magnitude. As soon as I depart from it, my mood, effectiveness and well-being at once leave something to be desired. As long as I live by it, I am capable of accomplishing a great amount of work with the greatest good humour and with my nervous system in superb condition."
6) Mr. Wl., still vigorous and healthy at 71, after having read an article of mine told me as follows: „What you have found out by means of research I discovered roughly 46 years ago through my own experience. At that time I was responsible for the accounts for the construction of extensive state building projects including the payment of regular wages for many thousands of workers. I had to work late into the night and to be in my office at 8 o'clock in the morning. The work became too much for me and threatened to impair my health and my strength.
A happy moment came when I had an inspiration and decided to sleep the first half of the night and to work in the second half. No sooner said than done. I now slept from 8 p.m. until 1 a.m. and my success was splendid. I was now able to deal with the difficult and large amount of work easily and happily and in the best of health - work that demanded enormous precision and responsibility. From the premise of my extensive personal experience I would like to confirm absolutely the results of your research. I am not, and never have been, pathologically inclined, have always enjoyed robust health, enormous vigour and have never suffered from nervous complaints. What I am reporting to you is based not on illusion but on solid fact."
7) In August 1933, Mr. H.P. from the town K. in Austria re-counted his observations with regard to his own sleeping times. I will quote them here: "A complete lack of the ability to concentrate on my studies in the late evening hours made it necessary for me to try to study in the morning. And to my surprise, it worked wonders! I arose earlier and earlier, and thus had to go to bed correspondingly earlier. Usually I went to bed at 6:30 p.m. and set the alarm to go off at 2 a.m. in the morning. Wide-awake and fresh I got to work or, if there was none waiting, occupied myself with my favourite subjects and remained fresh as a daisy all day long."
8) In May 1936, Mr. H., a teacher from W.-N. in Austria reported: "Your natural sleep method was a brilliant success in the case of my 36-year old wife. A month ago she had to be moved from the local sanatorium to our home by ambulance, but now, four weeks later, is so well that she is capable of fulfilling her domestic duties in their entirety. I would never have dreamed that such an extremely rapid and amazing recovery was possible."
Initially, this invalid went to bed at 7 p. m. but owing to disturbances in the evening adjusted this to 8:15 p.m. and slept for 7 hours on average. This case does not necessarily address the question of sleeping times but is of great medical significance. The teacher also wrote describing his own experiences: "Your natural sleep method was also very beneficial to me, as we teachers need a lot of nervous strength."
9) Dr. med. et phil. G. A. Tienes, general practitioner and sanatorium doctor in Bad Wörishofen, with whom I had enjoyed a long correspondence, visited me at Easter in Heidelberg in order to find out the facts on my research and become acquainted with me. He became one of my most tireless and faithful supporters. He requested the original research material, taking the most important of it back to Wörishofen with him and after subjecting all the available material to the most intense scrutiny, immediately began to carry out the experiments on himself. These proved to be so effective and convincing that he constantly wrote to me affirming that it was a ground-breaking and epochal discovery and one that would have far-reaching consequences. My conclusions were correct and dependable; the natural law of sleep had finally been discovered. He himself, 59 years of age, was now able to study, practice and be otherwise active for 18 hours a day while enjoying the best of health. His diet consisted mainly of fresh vegetarian food.
He added that his patients were grateful to him for the benefits of a natural rhythm of sleep, which, however, could only be applied initially in a relative way. Even this method proved to be extremely useful. The expert application of the absolute method, as exemplified in his own case, allowed one to hold high expectations. Of course, the whole cure must be carried out in accordance with nature and in a professional manner. He went on to say that natural sleep filled a gap in the science of healing and should, and would, enter triumphantly into medical practice and theory as a blessing for suffering humanity.
The necessity for natural sleep is a compelling example of the unnaturalness of our life. In civilized countries, those who are wide-awake are an exception; average people are tired, drowsy, restless, not quite masters of themselves, pathologically irritable and unhealthy because they make themselves miserable by being dependent on narcotics and sleeping tablets. It is their own fault that they often have a very unnatural way of life - the early part of the night, that is, the pre-midnight period, is spent in recreation, pleasure and distraction instead of following the need to go to bed early. A need which makes itself heard at about 6 or 7 p.m. if one leads an active life and abstains from substances that are counterproductive to natural sleep. Of course, the natural sleep of civilized people can not be unhesitatingly compared with the natural sleep of primitive people, and it is correct that a large percentage of the test subjects of the Stöckmann system are of the "nervous" type, but by no means all.
I have ascertained the positive effects of natural sleep in the case of many subjects possessing healthy nerves.
10) A catholic priest in orders, holding an important post within the organization, expressed himself in a circular printed in 1936 as follows: "On holiday this year I made a wonderful discovery. During my holiday I commenced with a sleeping cure which has done me the world of good as those who know me are able to confirm. I have been practising this way of life (that of natural sleep) for five months now while burdened with a great amount of work and have never been so fresh and capable of work as I have been since this discovery. It is nothing short of a rejuvenation cure. The sanatorium Steinach is absolutely nothing compared to this.
I would be happy if those in particular whose duties and tasks are always too much for them were to act on this suggestion, as they would gain more time than they would ever have dreamed possible. The proof of the pudding is in the eating!"
11) The construction worker H. Flossbeck, 28 years old, single and a self-taught man, has written in various publications about his experiences with natural sleep. Let us read what he wrote in the "Wendepunkt" 4/1938 on page 204:
"I was without employment for some time. In March of last year I once again joined the work force and was very happy about this. However, soon a new worry raised its head. I asked myself if I was capable of dealing with the demands of the new position. In former times I had only been employed for light tasks and had not worked physically hard. Now I had to work for nine hours a day with a pickaxe and shovel. Tired and exhausted I dragged myself home each evening.
In an hour of quiet contemplation I realized that things could not continue like this and began to search doggedly for a solution. I remembered an article by Professor Stöckmann in the March edition of the ,Neuform-Rundschau'. Reminding myself that a good start is half the battle, I completely readjusted my daily schedule.
I went to bed between 7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Falling asleep was easy for me, as after work I was as tired as an old bear. Half an hour before midnight was when my new day began. First of all I washed in cold water followed by deep breathing and pleasant stretching and relaxation of the body. Afterwards I immediately commenced with my studies, having time for them until 5 o'clock in the morning. Sometimes I inserted a rest period of half an hour.
I have been keeping to this regimen since May 1937, that is, for eight months now and it is hard to believe how my capacity for work has improved - mentally as well as physically. I still come home tired after nine hours of construction work but am no longer exhausted. I work 17 to 18 hours a day, first of all with my head and then with my body, 4 hours sleep is enough for me and I live a rich and interesting life.
Twice I have experimented with returning to my old sleep and work rhythms in order to see what the results would be. After several days the physical and mental freshness deteriorated, followed by the ability to concentrate on my work and finally my general state of health. My body obviously requires natural sleep.
Conversely, since adjusting to natural sleep, I have noticed that my sleep has become deep and sound. A minor heart complaint and a convulsive nervous exhaustion from which I formerly suffered have almost completely disappeared.
What is important in my experience is that one has one's sleep out and is not woken by other means, or at least only when constant oversleeping has to be overcome.
For years now I have lived on a natural diet without meat."
12) Dr. med. Werner Tiegel, whom we have much to thank for with regard to the research in and medical evaluation of sleeping times, published a report in the "Kneipp-Blätter" no. 6/1936, on the experiments undertaken on himself in which among other things he states: "The adjustment proved to be quite difficult for me at first. During the first few days I had recourse to a number of cigarettes and cups of strong coffee to fight the recurring, sneaking fatigue. Soon, however, my body became accustomed to the adjustment and I was able to manage three times my normal amount of work. The fatigue

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* With regard to alarm clocks: The pleasant awakening without an alarm is fundamentally the goal to be achieved. The alarm clock can, however, be a valuable aid when constant oversleeping has to be overcome. It also represents a further useful aid when the practised natural sleeper has had to go to bed several hours later than is normal for a few days due to external circumstances. Due to the positive influence of habit, it is still usually possible to limit the period of sleep to five hours by means of the alarm clock without tiredness being noticeable during the day.
Those who are unable to wake up without an alarm clock when practising natural sleep are probably doing something wrong, as: following a denatured diet, sleeping in a noisy bedroom or unfavourable place with too much light, or have burdened the body with toxic substances etc. The publisher

noticed at the beginning of the experiment was soon completely shaken off. I can't express sufficiently what a wonderful feeling it is to have 18 hours of productive work before one. Initially I allowed nature to find its own way and arose towards 3 a.m., then towards 2 a.m., getting up ever earlier until the time of 11:20 was attained without the use of an alarm clock. After two weeks of working hard, there were no more feelings of tiredness.
Whoever attempts this experiment will soon realize great success and much better health. A truly alert race is coming into being, mature and ready for great deeds."
Dr. Tiegel emphasizes particularly that nervous insomnia and the fatigue experienced by those who live in big cities disappears when the conversion has been made.
13) In a letter dated 14th November, 1940, a doctor speaks of her ideas on breastfeeding: "I think it is possible that it is a wrong idea to feed children once again at 10 p.m. The majority of children are fast asleep at this time and most mothers ask them- selves if they really ought to wake them again. For many nursing mothers these late hours represent a strain which they only subject themselves to in order to give their children this late feed. How would it be if we were to suggest to mothers that they go to bed about 7pm (solar time) and enjoy their sleep until the baby wakes them? Based on my experience I can say that this is usually be-tween 1 and 2am."
14) Dr. med. et phil. Tienes (see above) wrote to me on 29th February, 1944: "You have asked me for a medical opinion on the system of natural sleep that you have discovered and which I have been prescribing in my practice for roughly nine years.
My experiences with ,natural time', the sleep before midnight, have been the best imaginable. Following a short period of adjustment, the invalids - particularly those suffering from nervous and circulatory complaints but still capable of walking - have become so accustomed to the system of natural sleep that with increasing strength of will it becomes progressively easy for them to get up following an inner urge after having had their sleep out and to undertake useful activity and occupy themselves or - even if is still dark - to go outside to take the air. Thus, self-confidence and the will to become healthy and follow medical advice conscientiously have happily greatly increased as well as a healthy trust in life.
The benefits are surprisingly great particularly for those who are exhausted, suffering from nervous complaints or collapses, having heart and circulatory problems and those suffering from insomnia, as the natural life and healing urges are stimulated. The often atrophied urge towards life and healing is strengthened and the fundamental understanding of a sensible - that is, natural - way of living is encouraged, thereby easing the task of the doctor. If carried out properly, there are no damaging effects of natural sleep. I can decisively confirm this based on my observations of several thousand invalids. Personally, I have had the most favourable experiences with natural time and have won over many of my colleagues to its benefits."