“The more so, I say, because truly to enjoy bodily warmth, some small part of you must be cold, for there is no quality in this world that is not what it is merely by contrast. Nothing exists in itself. If you flatter yourself that you are all over comfortable, and have been so a long time, then you cannot be said to be comfortable any more.
For this reason a sleeping apartment should never be furnished with a fire, which is one of the luxurious discomforts of the rich. For the height of this sort of deliciousness is to have nothing but the blanket between you and your snugness and the cold of the outer air. Then there you lie like the one warm spark in the heart of an arctic crystal.” ~ Herman Melville, ‘Moby Dick’
It’s best to sleep in a cool room. There’s an old adage that claims benefits and health to the practice of sleeping in cooler temperatures, and I’m all about it. As Melville so perfectly renders it, the contrast between a cozy bed and a chilly interior is what enables us to enjoy the comfort of the thing. It also makes getting up on a winter morning the stuff of trolls and devils. Some of us weren’t made for such hardships.
Personally, I’ve always preferred being on the cool side. It is much easier to warm up than to cool down. A sweater, a blanket, a cape, a turban – the options for gathering heat are many, and fabulous. When you’re trying to cool down, there is just so much nakedness you can achieve before the public calls the police. (I won’t even mention the difficulty of stripping down in an office setting, well, beyond this anyway.) The point is, it’s easier to add than take away. Think of it like using spices, and turn down your thermostat at night. Saves energy too.
