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Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

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Re: Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

#71

Post by mannykannot »

maruhan2 wrote: post #48
jacobolus wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dunno about crawly things, but mosquitos definitely first go for body parts not covered by sheets.

which is pretty ineffective since mosquitos are quite good at finding the body part that's uncovered. If you sleep like a cocoon and don't move i guess that works.

If only your face is uncovered, I think you are more likely to notice a mosquito, either by sound or by touch. On the other hand, mosquitoes can reach you through a net or thin sheet if it is against your skin, as I have found to my cost.

Re: Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

#72

Post by mannykannot »

euroclydon wrote: post #67
stephengillie wrote: post #18

My dad and his army unit would sleep under wet bath towels in the sweltering El Paso summer nights, in the late 1960s. He would wake up in the middle of the night, when the towel dried up and stopped cooling with evaporation, and have to go get it wet again. It seems like an evolved reaction - make sure we are under cover, out of sight while sleeping and helpless. But given how much we move around, snore, talk, and m…

When it’s hot, life is always better if it’s not also humid!

That's because evaporative cooling works when it is not too humid.

Re: Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

#73

Post by Retric »

jamiegreen wrote: post #62
stephengillie wrote: post #18

My dad and his army unit would sleep under wet bath towels in the sweltering El Paso summer nights, in the late 1960s. He would wake up in the middle of the night, when the towel dried up and stopped cooling with evaporation, and have to go get it wet again. It seems like an evolved reaction - make sure we are under cover, out of sight while sleeping and helpless. But given how much we move around, snore, talk, and m…

Wet bath towel sounds...horrible! Wouldn't you develop something like 'trench foot' after a while from being constantly wet?

No, "can occur in temperatures up to 16° Celsius (about 60° Fahrenheit) and within as little as 13 hours" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_foot

It's caused in large part by reduced blood flow to the extremities due to the cold. If you are useing damp cloth to keep cool then you will have plenty of blood flow. Unsanitary conditions do make increase the risks.

Re: Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

#75

Post by wmeredith »

KozmoNau7 wrote: post #57

Do we? I sleep under just a thin sheet when it's warm, and above a certain temperature I definitely prefer nothing at all. But there is certainly something comforting about the weight of a heavy blanket, that much is true.

I definitely don’t. I live in a moderate climate and I’m under a blanket/sheet of any kind maybe 9 months a year.

Re: Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

#77

Post by ajobaccount2017 »

The amount of coverage that you need may vary. Experiment and you can find the combination that will help you both fall asleep and stay ventilated during the hot nights.

I figured out I just need 3 areas to cover to feel really comfy:

- feet (socks are enough)

- lower back

- my face around the eyes

Re: Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

#78

Post by evincarofautumn »

ourmandave wrote: post #63
woliveirajr wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Blankets and sheets also protect from ghost, witches, monsters from under the bed... ask any child, if you're under something that hides you (or that you cant't look at), automatically you won't be found. Things that you can't look at can't look at you, too.

There's also the unspoken rule that hanging a foot or hand over the edge of the mattress fair game for Monsters Under the Bed.

I wonder if that common anxiety is the distant echo of an ancestor who slept in trees—don’t dangle, lest you get pulled to your doom by a hungry “monster”.

Re: Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

#79

Post by kotojo »

KozmoNau7 wrote: post #57

Do we? I sleep under just a thin sheet when it's warm, and above a certain temperature I definitely prefer nothing at all. But there is certainly something comforting about the weight of a heavy blanket, that much is true.

I definitely do. I live in Atlanta and regardless of weather I can't sleep all the way through the night if I don't at least have a comforter on the bed when I go to sleep.

Re: Why Do We Sleep Under Blankets, Even on the Hottest Nights? (2017)

#80

Post by rapfaria »

Angostura wrote: post #76

From the comments here, it seems few people read the article. This one is worth it; informative and well well written.

Most people don't read the article. They don't even finish reading the title and are already typing "Heeeey, I don't".
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