Australiana: Live in a Queenlander house to get a good night's sleep.
There isn't much doubt that the Australian climate can wear you down. This is not so much the case in winter, but those rainy cold days in Melbourne are off-putting. It is the hot balmy nights that are a burden with many people not getting enough sleep. Some would say that they wake up with a hangover when they didn't drink any alcohol.
Humans have evolved to only fall asleep when body temperature dips. If there is hot air around you that puts a kibosh on that. You get dozy, momentarily drift off, then quickly wake up. It is the surrounding heat that keeps you awake.
The problem in Australia is that we build the wrong kind of houses. They are based on the English. The double brick has been dropped in favor of brick veneer. A visitor to this country wonders how the the roof can be finished before a brick is laid. Brick are only for looks. However, bricks take in heat during the day and store it at night. This makes the interior at night unbearable unless you have air conditioning.
In the bush our forebears had ideas of their own. They first built houses out of chamfer board. This allowed heat to pass through. Galvanized iron sheeting was also used. This was good at night. However, the walls constructed of sheeting got so hot during the day that you had to sit outside in the shade. Fibro cement sheeting was a compromise it store some heat, though it cooled down rapidly in the evening. This typical house is called a Queensland, though it is found throughout Australia. Open the front and back doors at night and open the windows at night. You will get a good night's slumber. Just leave a fan on to gently blow over your body.
There isn't much doubt that the Australian climate can wear you down. This is not so much the case in winter, but those rainy cold days in Melbourne are off-putting. It is the hot balmy nights that are a burden with many people not getting enough sleep. Some would say that they wake up with a hangover when they didn't drink any alcohol.
The problem in Australia is that we build the wrong kind of houses. They are based on the English. The double brick has been dropped in favor of brick veneer. A visitor to this country wonders how the the roof can be finished before a brick is laid. Brick are only for looks. However, bricks take in heat during the day and store it at night. This makes the interior at night unbearable unless you have air conditioning.
In the bush our forebears had ideas of their own. They first built houses out of chamfer board. This allowed heat to pass through. Galvanized iron sheeting was also used. This was good at night. However, the walls constructed of sheeting got so hot during the day that you had to sit outside in the shade. Fibro cement sheeting was a compromise it store some heat, though it cooled down rapidly in the evening. This typical house is called a Queensland, though it is found throughout Australia. Open the front and back doors at night and open the windows at night. You will get a good night's slumber. Just leave a fan on to gently blow over your body.
◆ Australiana by Ty Buchanan ◆
Australian Blog
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warm balmy nights stop prevent from falling asleep queenslander articles news politics economics society anthropology historiography history sociology people nations country asia europe africa u.s. south america central Mediterranean eastern western interesting funny technology free news sex
