I like the cold. I love those brisk, late- fall days, when it’s a perfect 50 or 60 degrees outside, or those cloudy winter nights. The clouds trap the warm air in atmosphere, so it’s only 40 degrees or so, and you can feel cold air filling your lungs. It’s so refreshing, so invigorating. Whenever I talk walks on those nights, I come home a new man, a wide awake man.

My entire life I’ve kept a fan in my bedroom. I claim it’s for the white noise, which is part of it. I can’t stand it when rooms are too quiet, and a buzzing silence fills you ears. But mostly, I like it cold. At night, I’ll go the bathroom, and it will get noticeably warmer.

I can’t sleep when it’s too hot. The paralyzing heat keeps me lying awake all night, tossing and turning, trying to find a cool spot on my mattress. But that cool breeze puts me right to sleep. Once, I tried to go without a fan, and couldn’t sleep. After I turned it on, I drifted right off.

If I don’t have a fan, I open the window, the source of many arguments freshmen year, living in the dorms. My bed was by the window. Every night my roommates begged me to close it, but every night I forgot.

I’ve always thought I was simply peculiar, but it turns out I might have been onto something. You see, when you fall asleep, your body temperature drops. If this change can’t happen, sleep can’t happen. In fact, it’s recommended that you keep your bedroom cool, to assist sleep.

So, while I may have been made fun growing up for keeping my fan full blast all year (even the winter) I have the last laugh.

Cameron Elliott, a sleep specialist, is an internet manager for AirSleep.com where he champions the benefits of a good night's sleep both for individual health and also for a more safe and efficient world. For more information on ordering air mattresses, visit http://www.airsleep.com/overview.php/1.

celliott@create-on.com