It's not easy getting the doona/blanket/coverlet settings just right as we transition out of summer, through autumn and into winter.
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Goldilocks knew what she was talking about when it comes to bed comfort.
Not that she should be lauded for home invasion.
In temperate climates, this transition creeps up on the unwary as they move across daylight savings, Easter and perhaps into State of Origin.
One minute it's short PJs and an optional sheet, next you're waking up in the middle of the night sweating or shivering wondering if you have Covid.
Never rule illness out this time of year, but failing that you might have just gone too early on the doona. Or not soon enough.
Autumnal mercury variations play havoc with bed set-up and it's often more than just a matter of manchester.
Sleep attire comes into the equation too.
Hard chargers might March 'summer commando' long past February but such bravado inevitably shrinks as the days shorten.
The other night, for instance, I wore my long PJs for the first time this year.
But not with total commitment as I worried I might bake in full flanno.
I opted instead for a 'long sleeve top, shorts on the bottom' combo to see how it played. Everyone's tolerance for hypo or hyperthermia is different.
Sleep rating was so-so but that may have had something do with how much water I drank before turning in.
Note to self: never go to the toilet in your dreams. WAKE UP IMMEDIATELY!!
Having said that, waking up was not the issue this night. The PJ combo went OK, but the blanket mix was just off. And not because I went to the toilet in my dreams.
Rather, it got a bit fresh in the early hours as it does this time of year and things weren't just right with the blankie situation.
Triggering complex discussions next night with my partner about the ole whether/weather scenario.
Whether the weather will be hot or cold overnight?
Whether we should have long PJs or shorts? Whether we should we do something in anticipation re doona/blanket/coverlet? Or not?
Whether we will be sorry if we do, or don't, now, or later in the night?
Climate debate in it's purest form.
Ultimately someone might have to get out of bed and cry 'my god, where did we store those things last summer?'
Each item adding a nuanced level of insulation, which you get wrong at your sleeping peril. If you can recognise them in the dark (let alone the light). It would be easier if the seasons just made up their mind, because we're struggling.
Often this will be when you do the first ankle of the cooler months, too. As you step on the ugg boots now at the base of the bed as they come into seasonal footsie rotation.
Yeah, season's greetings people. It's a landmine out there. The mullet are running and winter is coming.
