Are you depraved on account of being deprived? Walking around groggy and grumpy because you didn't get a good night's sleep?
Even in optimal climatic conditions, most American adults experience some sleep deprivation, whispers the National Sleep Foundation. Tack on a summer heat wave, boiling our skin, drenching us in sweat, and there's no way you'll sleep easily.
There's always the "crank-up-the-air-conditioning-to-11" solution -- if you're lucky to have it and can stomach the cost to run it. Many AC users, instead of counting sheep, count coins dropping into the electric-company coffers.
Here are some products to chill you out -- or at least lay a pretty good breeze on -- in a more environmentally friendly, efficient and thus affordable fashion.
Chill out in bed
Todd Youngblood was born to the cause of a better night's sleep. His uncle Charles Hall created the modern water bed by adding a thermostat-controlled heater.
Youngblood and his wife Tara's first claim to slumber fame was the inflatable EZ Bed. Now they're saving marriages and sanity with the Chili Pad -- a high-tech, temperature-controlled replacement for a traditional mattress cover that helps keep you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.
The Chili Pad has hidden channels of soft silicon tubing filled with circulating water. The water is pumped through a small temperature-modifying box that sits on the floor -- best at the foot, I've found. Turn that thing on (either on the box or with the wireless remote) and a glowing LED screen shows the current temperature of the bed, say 75 degrees. Tap the down arrow and enter buttons to change the temp to, say, 69 or 70 degrees. Four minutes later, it's properly chilled. Even after 98.6 degrees of you climb into bed, the system holds the pad temp without breaking a sweat or pumping its fan faster than a pleasant whir.
