Memorable Sleeps: Up So High

Are the pleasures of sleeping far up in the air, above earth, all that great? Speaking from experience, the best part is the possibility: the moment you realize you can do it, and then, after that, when you know you will.

The next best part is going up there. You climb the steps to your roof or treehouse (this one, in France, featured in a recent New York Times article, costs $15,000, which would only be be worth it if you're planning a life of high sleep with the co-sleeper, kids, and the stray duck) (thank you, Vincent Thfoin, for the photos). It's daylight, or twilight, so you can see the thrilling new juxtaposition of bed + horizon. And then there you are, for the first time, in your pajamas — let's hope you're doing this right, the way people picnic with elegant baskets and nice wineglasses, because t-shirts and shorts are the sleepwear equivalent of paper plates — listening to the wind in the leaves, or looking at the stars. It's nifty, but here's the truth: it's a novelty, not the ne plus ultra of sleep.

Waking up in the sky has serious drawbacks. Think for a second about your early-morning routine. I don't have to explain this, right? Moreover, you probably have slept out in the open before. In your topless aerie, you are no less covered with dew, seeds, and flotsam, as are your down pillows. This is especially true of city rooftops. Our French executive has a staff hoist his Hästens bed into the sky. What are you sleeping on?

I'm not saying sky sleep isn't fun, only that the sweet part is in running away from the house, the ground, the received notion of "bedroom." It isn't a lifestyle choice. Pretty soon, on Night No.3, you'll be lying there thinking about your nightstand, your beautiful dry sheets, and the clear calm air of the bedroom you've taken such care to assemble. Even kids abandon their backyard sleeping bags before morning.

It's like flying dreams. The most amazing situation isn't zooming around up where the air is thin. The dreams where you can float just a few feet above the ground, where your perspective changes subtly but also somehow immeasurably, are most thrilling. Likewise, sleeping in a bed that's a foot or two higher than your usual bed, and with a roof over your head, is much more compelling than sleeping in a treehouse. Aren't you relieved?

The offical word: Sleeping in trees is Fluff.

Comments

[Looker]

"T-shirts and shorts are the sleepwear equivalent of paper plates." How true, your Sleepiness. And how shameful!

[Sleeper]

Don't feel ashamed. The world of sartorial sleep has opened to you! And I think Father's Day is coming.