9 tips are needed because air conditioning is not one of them. In first place is the one that begins the headline, "Don’t sleep naked." We're told "Wearing loose-fitting cotton PJs is a better option than sleeping in the nude, according to the sleep consultant Alison Jones, a spokeswoman for the sleep technology company Sealy. 'A light fabric helps to wick away moisture so that you are less likely to feel clammy,' Jones says."
I think the phrase "Don't sleep naked" is just click bait. If cotton were good for "wicking away moisture" then those who like the freedom of naked sleeping could just cover ourselves with a cotton sheet. But didn't cotton lose that reputation. Hikers these days are advised to avoid cotton. It may wick moisture, but it stays damp. And isn't that what we mean by feeling "clammy"?
By the way, were clams called "clams" because they were seen as clammy or did the word "clammy" postdate the use of "clam" as the name for the familiar mollusk, so that things were being called "clammy" because they seemed clamlike? I went looking for the answer, and I found that the oldest meaning for "clam," going back to Old English and now obsolete, is "Anything that holds tight; bond, chain" (OED). In the 1400s, "clam" meant "An instrument or mechanical device for clasping rigidly or otherwise holding fast." That is, "clam" and "clamp" went together. "Clam," meaning that mollusk, only shows up in the early 1500s, clearly because of the way the 2 shells hold together tightly. When we say "clam up," we're thinking of this meaning. What then of "clammy"? I see it comes from an obsolete dialect, "clam," meaning "Sticky, glutinous, adhesive like wet clay." This seems to be a separate lineage, unconnected to the clampiness of the animal known as the clam! But — you protest in amazement — clams are sticky, glutinous, and adhesive like wet clay! First, are they? Second, whether they are or not, the mollusk got its name from its tight shell, not from that blobby flesh on the inside.
So please feel free to sleep naked on hot nights. Even if you become clammy, rest easy: It's got nothing to do with a clam.
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92 comments:
Spinal Tap - Clam Caravan:
https://youtu.be/u3a-OQrRIUY?si=g88wz0bPzykdfJDK
Ravishing Regards,
JSM
Who's up for this:
"Even better is to place the fan to blow air across a bag of frozen peas to provide a bit of chill,” Stanley says. “We lose most heat from our head and face, so direct a gentle flow towards the face, which will help with temperature control.”
Sounds nice. But remember it has to be peas.
#10.......buy an air conditioner.
Better clammy than hammy!
Cotton is great for hiking in warm weather. But if you have to worry about rain and temperature drops - forget it. I wore a pair of cotton khakis on a mountain hike, and after they got wet is like my legs were in an ice bath. I could feel the wet cotton sucking heat off my body.
Clams got legs.
We put in an air conditioner after 8 years of being without one, mainly for the sleeping benefits. We sleep fine, now.
"Sticky" and "adhesive" don't sound that far removed from a clamp, in fact, when you use adhesives, more often than not you will also use a clamp.
This is why all the old homes in the South have high ceilings, and transoms, and central hallways, and wrap-around verandas. And once electrified, ceiling fans. It's all about airflow. Sleep naked, it's good for you.
9 tips are needed because air conditioning is not one of them.
Well it is a British newspaper!
"So please feel free to sleep naked on hot nights."
Thank you.
Clam is slang for pussy too
It was 80F yesterday in Dublin, a genuine heat wave. My son is wishing he could go to the beach instead of working in the "heat". He grew up in Arizona, so I imagine he will struggle through.
I lived in Connecticut for almost 20 years without AC but that was because I was almost always only dealing with the preferences of myself (the house was ducted for AC but was purchased without the unit). After living here in TN for the last 13 years I don't know if I could go back to no AC- I certainly couldn't do it here.
I always had a fan to blow air over me at night if the temps in the bedroom got over the high 70s in the house and I have slept nude since I was 9 years old so that ain't changing.
You'll be edified to learn I've slept nekkid for the last 50 years. Pajamas, or any clothes, are uncomfortable in repose, inevitably bunching and binding.
There’s something called a sleep consultant?
NAKED!
sounds like clams are called clams because they clamp onto rocks..
btw- I subscribe to that comfort theory. A loose large cotton nightie or big floppy cotton T-shirt.... not too long, so it doesn't tangle and bunch with my tossing and turning. None of that naked or sexy BS lacy satin crapola for me.
Aggie said...
“This is why all the old homes in the South have high ceilings, and transoms, and central hallways, and wrap-around verandas.”
Except for the wrap around verandas, which were less common, we used to have those things in old houses in the North, too.
I went through quite a few houses in the older neighborhoods where a previous owner had taken out nice glass transoms or ornate wood ones, and replaced them with a fixed sheet of flat plywood once the house was turned into a rental and A/C became common.
No one will ever again understand the etymology of "this just came in over the transom."
Ravishing Regards,
JSM
"There’s something called a sleep consultant?"
For now, but with Tom Homan deporting all the illegals the cost of hiring one is about to skyrocket, and this is me assuming you will even be able to find a sleep consultant.
Wilbur said...
“You'll be edified to learn I've slept nekkid for the last 50 years.”
And you’ll be edified to learn that I am imagining you look exactly like Salma Hayek or Kelly Monaco.
The house I grew up in did not have A/C, but did have a lot of the features Aggie mentioned upthread. On really hot nights we would strip down to our skivvies and sleep on top of the sheets.
Two South Carolina college basketball coaches looked at cotton vs what they use in sport - and then then created a bedding company with "Cool sheets" that are great to sleep in. Oh yea and made in NJ not China. I've got 4 sets one is 5 years old.
Nothing beats my boyhood farm memories of sleeping on a pallet on the open front porch with a cotton sheet that had been drizzled with water draped over me. Talk about cooling by evaporation. It also worked great during a London heatwave (trains were cancelled because rails were buckling) . . . sprinkle a bed sheet, wrap, then lie down in front of the opened door for cross ventilation. Yes, someone could have slipped in the open door and killed me . . . but that would have been a relief from the un-air-conditioned hotel room.
I always slept naked in SoCal summers, but one night we woke to a train coming through the house! it was an earthquake from our most dangerous faultline, and before I knew it, I had raced down the hall to grab our baby and way out the door into the front yard. By then the shaking stopped and I was standing out in the yard along with other neighbors standing in their yards, except they had clothes on.
Ever after, I STILL slept naked, but had something on the floor to grab just in case.
This article is from The London Times. The vast majority of people in England do not have air conditioning in their homes. Estimates suggest that less than 5% of homes in the UK have AC units installed. This is due to factors like the generally milder climate, the age and design of UK homes, and a cultural preference for other cooling methods.
I am totally opposed to this advice, especially for women. Most especially beautiful women.
My wife, being Canadian, can't handle even mild heat, so whenever the weather's really nice, we close up the house and turn on the air conditioner. Sometimes I miss lying naked in bed on a hot sweaty summer night.
AC in the daytime, whole house fan at night. "Time to open the windows, kids." Blissful memories of midwestern summers.
Out bodies are water cooled, and warmed - think climate change. I suppose sequestering the carbon would be cruel and unusual. A little cyanide... snide jest.
We have a hot-weather sleeping mat that my wife bought in Taiwan decades ago. Its a mattress-size thin rice-straw thing, like the surface of a tatami. Doesn't insulate or hold moisture.
when you're at an isolated lake place in north central Florida, you can crank up a fan that looks like the prop of a B-29 and sleep naked in peace on the screen porch.
*File under 20th century memories.
Reading the post gave me the phrase "Sleeping Naked in Pismo Beach." I could have stayed quiet but sometimes it's hard to clam up.
If you can sleep like a clam in the heat, the world's your oyster.
I tried sleeping nekkid but it's not comfortable. I have very lightweight gym shorts, and in addition to the AC there's a fan blowing on me for six or more months of the year.
Speaking of heater-head, I've always suffered from warm, damp pillows but discovered that freezing my sobakawa(?) pillow before bed helps a lot. I use it even on the coldest nights.
Loose fitting cotton PJs are my least favorite option, as they force a minimum (hot) body temperature and routinely snag and twist on the sheets.
Rayon (aka bamboo) and satin sheets sleep cool, but avoid the cheap shrinky rayon from China/Amazon.
Hotels shifted from traditional sheet-blanket-bedspread builds in favor of duvets wrapped in a washable sheet a couple decades ago. While easier to keep clean and apparently stylish, they are fully, fully useless to me. The down/thick filling of the duvets makes me overheat -- bed tent and AC time.
Happy as a clam. Gay and carefree.
Well the story is in the London Times. And considering that AC in English homes is as rare as the appearance of an armadillo in Covent Garden, a Brit has to figure out how to keep cool at night.
I'm here in Maine, where excitement is building for the Yarmouth Clam Festival, to be held July 18-20. The only ones clamming up about it are the clams.
I sleep in men's boxers, ordered a size up for hip differential. They're cotton-y, the waist is loose, and the legs fit in a way that guarantees I won't flash the clam.
Before sleeping like a clam, I played hide the rock lobster with teh missus. I wished upon a starfish and crayed it wouldn’t be the last time
The second tip was not to drink iced coffee before bed, because iced coffee has caffeine just like hot coffee does.
The London Times doesn't appear to have much respect for its readership.
Thanks for the clam etymology. It was just what I needed this morning for reasons as yet unknown.
AI: A clam is a buck—that is, an American dollar. This meaning has been around since the late 1800s. Ethyl Merman, in her 1955 book Who Could Ask for Anything More? used this fishy term: “The custom-made department of the joint made me a bonnet ... It cost me seventy-five clams, and I wore it only twice.”
Well done, mezzrow.
Well done, Kate.
Wasn't it Tony Orlando who was found dead at the crack of Dawn?
> Hikers these days are advised to avoid cotton
These days? I've been hearing that my entire life, starting in the mid '60s.
And it's not so much that cotton is uncomfortable in hot weather because it wicks but doesn't re-release the moisture, but rather what happens when it stops being hot (which can happen suddenly, especially at higher altitudes)
The Bearded Clams are a surf band from Australia, and also a vulgarism for female genitalia.
Lightweight wool, not cotton. That freaks people out. I once ordered some summer weight wool pants for golf and the company took it upon themselves to make them from cotton. They did not get paid…
Clammy? Don’t be so shellfish…
"And it's not so much that cotton is uncomfortable in hot weather because it wicks but doesn't re-release the moisture, but rather what happens when it stops being hot (which can happen suddenly, especially at higher altitudes)"
I've hiked starting from Clingman's Dome early in the morning in the fall when it is really chilly and going down to lower altitudes and then heading back up, cause that's were the SUV is parked. You do not want to be wearing cotton in that situation. Especially because a storm or fog could come in at any time.
Buy a dehumidifier.
As already mentioned, air-con, notably absent.
But brits are know for complaining under their breath: if they don't have something to complain about, they aren't happy.
Has anyone found a so-called wicking synthetic fabric that actually works? I just turn into a puddle with the ones I've tried. I use my flannel sheets all year round, in summer with AC and no blanket or shorts.
My house had two screened sleeping porches from '22 to '40, when it was moved 20 feet and one was enclosed, the other demolished to make room for a driveway. It was considered healthy to use them all year round, I guess because of TB, which my grandfather had before WWI (didn't stop him from smoking, which gave him his first heart attack at 54 and final at 69). He had the genes to live into his 90s.
"He was in a jam.......And then the Giant Clam!!"
The sexual innuendo is a sign of the Times.
MAHA will have the additional benefit of improving people's thermodynamic performance.
The B52's are my favorite Southern Rock band.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Kqi8ga_vM&list=RDP3Kqi8ga_vM&start_radio=1
But brits are know for complaining under their breath: if they don't have something to complain about, they aren't happy.
@stlcdr, Keir Starmer must must be making them downright delirious.
"Our idea of roughing it is to walk to the end of the office away from the electric fan now and then, just to be able to appreciate modern comforts."
The Decatur Herald, Illinois, July 20, 1935 - filler blub
I wear a lightweight "wicking" shirt and polyester basketball shorts and sleep atop a cheap fleece blanket as that allows the moisture to evaporate away from the fibers and skin
Ralph L (6/20/25, 12:01 PM)
Possibly TB but in the wake of the Spanish Flu pandemic, the Fresh Air Movement promote keeping the windows open and urban areas like NYC, double paned windows were replaced with single panes. Engineering books in the 1920s advised to size steam heating systems to heat the house on the coldest day of the year with a strong wind blowing and the windows open.
Also, maritime contracts still require ship's masters to provide cots for the crew to sleep out on deck in the tropics. And Thomas Sowell has spoken about people in Harlem sleeping on fire escapes and in parks when he was growing up in the 1930/40s time period. It's also shown in Hitchcock's 'Rear Window'
B-52's are fun.
..but none of them have much instrumental talent. Kate and Cindy's voices hold it all up... along with studio musicians.
Doesn't matter to me - it works.
Sleeping naked as newlyweds can lead to lots and lots of sweating and much noise and wet spots on the bed, culminating in throwing up and swelling of the stomach. After 9 months this can in turn lead to being startled awake at odd hours during the night and considerable loss of sleep.
@Lem, I believe the etymological origin associating dollars/money with clams comes from either A) the documented cases of early new englanders (especially around the Chesapeake) using shellfish (specifically quahogs) as currency, very much the same way tobacco and moonshine were in the South, or B) the ubiquity if shells of shellfish being used as currency in other countries all over the world (Chinese cowries, Fijian "shell money", etc.).
This analytical opinion will cost you zero clams.
@RalphL "Has anyone found a so-called wicking synthetic fabric that actually works? I just turn into a puddle with the ones I've tried." Sure, I have. All of my cycling clothing is synthetic wicking material. The ones I currently use are by Pearl Izumi, but I've used other brands in the past and they work fine as well. The Smartwool shirt I'm wearing at the moment wicks fine. They need to be fairly close fitting, since you don't want sweat to be able to pool underneath.
Anyone remember swamp coolers?
What's all the clamor?
Few things are less naked than a clam, or jaybird for that matter. Their bodies are completely covered, with natural means, but covered.
Really enjoyed the dive down to discover the background of the naming of the clam!
If you’re feeling clammy, I say go with it: do a cold plunge in tartar sauce.
Feeling clammy is crossing your legs in hot weather, for a woman.
"B-52's are fun.
..but none of them have much instrumental talent. Kate and Cindy's voices hold it all up... along with studio musicians.
Doesn't matter to me - it works."
Huh? I've always thought Ricky's guitar playing was excellent. Maybe you mean Fred playing the telephone or some other weird sound effect.
RigelDog said, "Really enjoyed the dive down to discover the background of the naming of the clam!"
That's the great thing about diving. The deeper you dive the more clams you find. Clams of knowledge...infinitely better than money!
"Anyone remember swamp coolers?"
Sure. We have 2, one at each end of the house. They take about 10 degrees off the temperature, so any day under 90F (with humidity under 20%) is a joy. Cool air and open windows.
My brother always wanted to name his band: Damp Jammies
NAKED! is a word that makes the genitals tingle.
same with FREE BEER!
Wince @ 3:14 - LOL.
Fred playing the telephone - he was really rather sucky at that.
And Fred's cringe voice - 100% delightful.
Was Ricky good? I don't recall that at all. Mediocre at best.
Happy as a clam. Naked as a jaybird.
I don't live in a climate with hot nights, but for many years, I was prone to night sweats. So, I totally understand why sleeping naked doesn't work: I'm ok with changing my wet pajamas at 1am. NOT going to change bedding. The last thing I need are wet sheets in the middle of the night.
The Bearded Clams are a surf band from Australia, and also a vulgarism for female genitalia.
It was also the name of my fraternity, intramural basketball team at WSU.
RSM--there are no quahogs in the Chesapeake, and it's a long way from New England. I think you meant the Narragansett. Kudos for spelling quahog correctly. Quahogs are not as flashy as clams (an image that will live on in my imagination for a while).
Thanks for the correction boatbuilder, that's the analogy I was fishing for. The older I get the fuzzier my clam gets. The influence of Family Guy on my generation means Quahogs shall henceforth never be misspelled, and shan't be flashier than those homely clams.
We're in the basement - all of it's hot
Growing up in CO - we did not have air conditioner. We had a whole house fan. There was a sequence after sun-down window opening.. Best run at night to pull in the cool night air. Sounded like a helicopter was landing.
When I moved to England as a junior in high school (where I met our departed friend Gahrie), there was a heat wave going on. I remember hearing that there was an actual law that said if the temperature went above 80F, work was cancelled, because even the high-rises didn't have climate control. This story may be apocryphal - I was 15. And we lived in what was called an "American-style" house (I think that means "built sometime since the 1960s, since it still had a coal fireplace) with no a/c, but in a coastal village.
Now I live in the Houston area and have two big units. Anybody want to see them?
(I do like a loose T-shirt for sleeping, as I can't sleep without something covering me but didn't want a whole duvet when it's hot - this way I can have the covers down at my waist but still feel covered. Plus, we chill the crap out of our house at night, so I sometimes want my shoulders covered. But when we're staying in hotels or traveling alone, naked it is, as it's one fewer thing to pack.)
“Happy as a clam. Naked as a jaybird.”
Nekkit as a jay bird’s whistle! Per Gregory Tuck.
As a 5 year old in the senior enlisted housing at Carswell AFB in 1959 a box fan on the floor with a light blanket was heaven.
I grew up in the mid-Atlantic, in a victorian house. All of the houses in the the neighborhood had rooms on the second floor with window/screens on three sides, known as the "sleep porch".
IN the great inverted bowl of the Midwest I found the ceiling fan over the bed to be quite effective. Likewise here in the desert Southwest.
When we built the house I put ridge vents everywhere and continuous soffit vents all the way 'round the perimeter. Then we put a bit whole-house fan in the garage. This gives you a choice: When the heat breaks in the evening, I open the garage overhead door, it sucks in cooler air from outside and blasts it up into the attic. I can blow out the heat of the day and lower the attic temp about 10-15°, easing up the A/C system a little. Alternatively, when the weather is cool and really nice outside (spring and fall), I can leave the garage closed, open up the entry to the house, and open all the windows. Now the fan pulls in air from outside through the windows, and out through the garage attic. The entire household air gets changed out in about 15 or 20 minutes, nice and fresh. Big believer in these things, and they're not that expensive.
Ceiling fans, dehumidifiers (a single Dawson combined fan and air purifier will cool a bedroom all night at minimal usage cost, and they're on sale). Good cotton sheets, a light duvet, very cheap, with a light cotton cover, wear a tight cotton wifebeater and netherclothes. No loose clothes. For the worst nights, have a pair to change into by the bed. Invest (say $10) in a decent, flexible head-covering icecap that will cool you in minutes; take a cold shower before bed. Keep everything as dark as possible in the house all day and night. You'll be amazed by how much power you save. This is advice for ordinary houses in the South, unless you have a Victorian with high ceilings and transoms, elsewhere too. It's about wicking out the moisture from the house, not you.
This has been a surprisingly… clamorous thread.
boatbuilder said...
RSM--there are no quahogs in the Chesapeake, and it's a long way from New England. I think you meant the Narragansett. Kudos for spelling quahog correctly. Quahogs are not as flashy as clams (an image that will live on in my imagination for a while).
I beg to differ. They are in Chesapeake Bay, the lower section with higher salinity. However, in typical waterman fashion, we just call them "hard clams" as opposed to "soft clams," a type of razor clam.
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