I noticed that our little one was sleeping in a puddle of sweat. His pillow was soaked, as was he. The summer heat in Milan, even at night, can be hard to bear.
Air conditioning is one solution and we do have it, but in Italy, having the air conditioning on all night can be bad for one’s health, or so my other half and millions of other Italians believe. So, no air cond. Another solution was needed.
What, I asked myself, could be done about the puddle of sweat on the pillow problem? Enter, as usual, the Internet and after a search for ‘sweat absorbing pillows’, I discovered that pillows made of cotton with both the filling and the cover made of the same material, are well adapted to use in hot and sweaty climates.
Apparently, the cotton wicks the sweat away from the sleeper which ends the puddle of sweat problem. Nasty synthetic pillows, on the other hand, tend to leave you in the midst of a sweat puddle. Sweat absorbing cotton pillows also dry out more quickly than their artificial cousins.
On Monday, after having collected the wee our child from school, we went on a cotton pillow hunt and found the things in a bedding shop not too far from where we live in Milan. I bought two of the things, one thinnish one for Marty, my son, and anther thicker, and harder, one for myself. 28 Euros a piece. Not exactly cheap, but pillows tend to last quite a long time and I wanted a good night’s sleep!
Stop reading, start speaking
Stop translating in your head and start speaking Italian for real with the only audio course that prompt you to speak.
This was money very well spent and these wonderful pillows do just as I had read. No more sweaty heads, I am pleased to report, and our little one seems to be sleeping more soundly too, as am I. I did not get one for my other half, because being 100% Italian, she hardly seems to sweat. Lucky beast.
So, if you are suffering from the heat here, you could do a lot worse than investing in a few cotton pillows.
Milan, Italy, where I live becomes very hot and sweaty from around late May until mid-September or so. Getting a good night’s sleep with all the heat is not easy, having a cotton pillow really does make a difference. I know, I have one.
Other cities and towns around Italy can become as hot, if not more so, than Milan, so the cotton pillow trick should help you wherever you find yourself in Italy – if you don’t have air conditioning, that is.
Just a useful nugget of information which might prove useful. Sleep well!
