Have you heard of Sleeping Porches?

A recent post from the Facebook page 'A Michigan Thing' claims that sleeping porches are, indeed, a Michigan thing:

I'll admit I've never heard of them but, then again, I am fairly new to the Michigan area. Perhaps I'm just a slow learner. However, after asking a few colleagues about these sleeping porches they all seemed a bit confused as well.

So, are sleeping porches actually a Michigan thing?

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A quick Google search would indicate that it's, instead, something that originated in the South.

They became popular in the early 1900s in the Southern states to provide relief during the hot summer months. Remember, air conditioning was not a thing at the time. And when temperatures have the potential of reaching 90-ish degrees by late morning, you'd want all the cool air you could find. As well, when diseases like Tuberculosis were running rampant, doctors recommended plenty of fresh air to, "starve off the respiratory disease," according to Southern Living.

The sleeping porches were usually screened in and typically resided on either the 2nd or 3rd story. It was accessible by a bedroom and positioned in a way that would, hopefully, catch a generous cross-breeze of the cool nighttime air. Read more here.

Now, in modern times, sleeping porches are still around but are generally fully enclosed and called 'sunrooms' instead. Still, it sounds like a cozy place to take a quick snooze.


Living in Michigan, it's not unusual for places to offer window units for cooling instead of central air conditioning which, from personal experience, does very little as far as cooling an entire apartment. Even if they didn't originate in Michigan, perhaps it's time to bring these sleeping porches back.

Or, you could just sleep with your window open.

If you're looking for inspiration for your very own sleeping porch, here's a quick video tour of one from the south:

Perhaps the idea of a sleeping porch is what inspired this house on top of a Chicago building...

House on the Roof of a Building Downtown Chicago

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