Chilled!
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It's been very hot of late. Too hot. Too hot to sleep, in any case. I'm a terribly grumpy person when the weather is too hot. I always seek shade; and if it's hot during the night then I become even worse. It's like a mathematical equation to me : hot day + hot night =cannot sleep because it's too hot = not enough sleep = get up very hot and very tired = very, very grumpy person the next day!! . |
I look for tips and ideas for keeping cool at night because I'm certain that people who live in exceptionally hot climates MUST have found ways to ensure that they get some sleep, otherwise they simply could not function. Keeping the bedroom windows open and the blind down all day is supposed to help. I tried that. It was okay, but I felt that the blinds being down, whilst barring the sunlight, were also preventing any air from circulating. So, we bought an electric fan.
Now, so long as the weather isn't too hot then it is quite effective; but if you have a still and very hot day then all the fan does, effectively, is circulate the hot air. When there is cooled air being created, husband complains that the fan is directed too precisely toward him and he wakes up with a stiff shoulder and neck. Good point - he is effectively sleeping in a draught all night! So, I angle the fan away from him (not that he's overly impressed by that; he states that it still affects him. What a moaning minnie - he should be concerned for my lack of sleep before his discomfort, cos 'if momma dont sleep at night,momma aint sweet the next day', and he will suffer, oh boy will he suffer!!!!)
Then, I heard the best tip of all time! Someone - I do not recall who - recommended that filling a 2 litre capacity plastic bottle (usually having contained cola or some other carbonated drink or, indeed, water) with water and freezing it, then placing it in front of the fan as it turns will ensure that chilled air is circulated around the room. HURRAH - Poor man's air conditioning! So, I filled up 3 bottles because, honestly, I find it very,very hot at night just now. I couldn't wait to go to bed and try it out. Didn't tell husband - thought it would be a lovely surprise.
I set up the 3 bottles - 1 directly in front of the fan blades and 1 each to the left and right. I considered I had all bases covered! Now, admittedly, they were all 3 balanced at the edge of the vanity unit, but there was room to pass without any real issue. I dimmed the lights, left the windows open and the blinds up and switched on the fan, racing to position myself comfortably to get the optimum benefit......Fantastic! It worked. It worked very well! The chilled air washed around me and I drifted off to sleep......
The scream must have been audible half way down the street since the windows were open. The yell of "Aaagh, what the hell...." followed by the thud,thud, thud, bang as 3 part-frozen 2 litre bottles of water and a fan descended upon husband's back must have woken our nearest neighbours - it did me!! I have no doubt that it hurt - stubbing your toe on the foot of the bed, stumbling into the vanity unit only to have 3 bottles of iced water and a fan land on you will do that - but really! did it require such a scream?? I had been sound asleep until that point..........
Cecilia Brabin
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