I didn't used to require a running fan to sleep at night. Now I do.

 

I am, by and large, a very good sleeper. I fall asleep quickly, and for the most part I stay asleep.

I do, however, have two requirements:

1. The room must be relatively cool. I do not sleep well in the heat at all.
2. There must be a fan running.

#1 has always been true for me. #2 only became a thing within the last decade.

I don't recall how it happened, but at some point I turned into one of those people who must have white noise in order to sleep. There is a small white window fan on the floor near my side of the bed that I switch on every night as Terry and I are settling down.

I realize I'm not alone in this and that many people also like to have a fan going at night. I just wish I still had the same championship-level sleeping ability that one time allowed me to get three full hours of sleep while laying on my friend Kevin's concrete driveway in the middle of a hot summer night (this is absolutely true).

Maybe it's because I've hit middle age, I don't know. The fact is, to get the rest I need, that fan has to be humming along all night.

My son Jared is the same way. It is not the only curse I have passed down to him, but along with my addiction to nasal mist, it is among the worst. I'm sorry, buddy.