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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)

#81

Post by LeifCarrotson »

sandworm101 wrote: post #65
forgotmypw wrote: post #6

If it's too hot, I use a sheet. I think the explanation is pretty simple: crawly things that may come and bite us.

In all seriousness, they protect from anything hunting via heat. Snakes and a great many insects wont notice a warm body covering in an insulating blanket as they would bare flesh.

Is the temperature of the blanket or sheet, under which I'd be sweating profusely for 8 hours, meaningfully less than the temperature of my bare flesh without the covering?

My metabolism is still producing the same amount of heat energy, and my radiant surface area doesn't increase much. If anything, the efficiency of convective and evaporative cooling drops significantly when I cover myself, so you'd think that the blanket would give off a stronger heat signature.

Thoughts?

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

#84

Post by DoreenMichele »

mrfusion wrote: post #82

Offshoot question that’s always bothered me. How did ancient humans sleep before pillows? I can’t image finding a comfortable sleeping position on a bare floor with no pillow. But other animals like dogs seem fine.

I sleep without a pillow and have for years. It can be done.

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

#85

Post by matte_black »

mrfusion wrote: post #82

Offshoot question that’s always bothered me. How did ancient humans sleep before pillows? I can’t image finding a comfortable sleeping position on a bare floor with no pillow. But other animals like dogs seem fine.

Lay on your back.

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

#86

Post by piva00 »

mrfusion wrote: post #82

Offshoot question that’s always bothered me. How did ancient humans sleep before pillows? I can’t image finding a comfortable sleeping position on a bare floor with no pillow. But other animals like dogs seem fine.

I read somewhere that we might have slept like orangutans [1] do.

[1]: http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/cbd59529ce184feba45db6c513db67f8/a...

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

#87

Post by astura »

strawcomb wrote: post #55
xchip wrote: post #50

TL;DR: These are the reasons 1) Various studies have indicated that sleeping with a weighted blanket can trigger an uptick in the brain’s production of serotonin 2)The other element that might explain our need for blankets is what Hoagland refers to as “pure conditioning.”

> a weighted blanket can trigger an uptick in the brain’s production of serotonin Surely that could be a result of conditioning.

Well anti-anxiety compression vests work for cats and dogs and there's some very preliminary evidence that deep pressure touch improves subjective relaxation https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3688151/

This is actually the first time I've ever heard of weighed blankets. As someone with severe anxiety that's helped with a hard squeeze, I'm very interested in getting one, I just wish I could try one first.

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

#88

Post by toomanybeersies »

mrfusion wrote: post #82

Offshoot question that’s always bothered me. How did ancient humans sleep before pillows? I can’t image finding a comfortable sleeping position on a bare floor with no pillow. But other animals like dogs seem fine.

It's all about what you're used to.

For a year or two I didn't sleep with a pillow, I can't remember why I stopped using one or why I started again. I was still sleeping on a mattress though. I just used my arm as a pillow.

When I'm hiking, I'm sleeping on the ground without a pillow, and I've never had a problem with it.

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

#89

Post by sampl »

LeifCarrotson wrote: post #81
sandworm101 wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In all seriousness, they protect from anything hunting via heat. Snakes and a great many insects wont notice a warm body covering in an insulating blanket as they would bare flesh.

Is the temperature of the blanket or sheet, under which I'd be sweating profusely for 8 hours, meaningfully less than the temperature of my bare flesh without the covering? My metabolism is still producing the same amount of heat energy, and my radiant surface area doesn't increase much. If anything, the efficiency of convective and evaporative cooling drops significantly when I cover myself, so you'd think that the…

Could be wrong about how this works, but... if it was true that a person under blankets radiates about as much heat as a bare body, that would mean blankets aren’t very good at keeping us warm.

(But they do keep us warm)

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

#90

Post by MaxwellM »

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.

I read the article and thought it was generally vapid.

People sleep in different ways. Here are some pictures of things related to sleep. Sleep is poorly studied we should study it more.

The thermoregulation and serotonin studies were helpful.

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