run a small fan near your bed. White noise covers other sounds and is soothing.

This just shows me how different our individual needs are! We get some very hot nights here in Sydney in summer - I'm talking over 30 degrees C in the middle of the night, with not a breath of wind, which makes it hard to sleep - although thankfully not too many like this so far this summer.

I have wanted to put the fan on to try and cool myself down as I lie sweltering on my hot bed. It feels better, but try as I might, I find that the sound of the fan, even purring quietly on a low setting, stops me from sleeping - there's something about it that I find intensely annoying. So I usually have to forgo the cooling effect and keep it off.

I can't sleep on planes either - even on long-haul flights. The droning of the plane affects me the same as the fan - probably worse, because there is a rumbling and vibration as well.

Strangely though, I will quite happily sleep through noises outside, such as traffic, night birds, sirens, rain, thunder (unless it's a really loud bang), even early morning noises such as people talking outside, bins banging and - dare I say it -

THE FLUSH OF A DISTANT TOILET!