So I'm looking forward to sleeping in a cool house tonight as the recent heatwave is broken. That's triggered me to reflect on some things around sleeping. I'm certain we all have sleeping preferences ingrained from the earliest parts of our life; an acquaintance told me he prefers wearing a t-shirt at all times (serious issue or minor habit?). As for me, I always feel the need to cover at least some small portion of my person while sleeping. It doesn't have to be much more than a calf or a shoulder, but I'm intensely uncomfortable without the "ceremonial" covering. It's really only a pain when the place is really hot.

I doubt that these male sleeping idiosyncrasies are truly due to any profound issue other than pure habitude. The women I've known, however, seem to have other, more deeply rooted issues leading to sleeptime quirks. A couple of them have been positively rigid about sleeping clothed. Maybe not a sweatshirt and jeans, but a top and bottom. I'm not sure if that's any different from the guys' quirks, but I always had the feeling it was a much different matter.

CDs listened to:

• Jean Francaix: Wind Quintet No. 1
• Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass: The Brass Is Back
  
• The Elms: The Big Surprise
  
• Elliott Carter: Symphony No. 1
  
• Olivier Messiaen: Trois Petites Liturgies de la Presence Divine
  
• Charles Wuorinen: Genesis
• Lou Reed: New York