Sleeping on the floor? page

[Reepicheep]

Dear Mark,


I decided to sleep on the floor yesterday, wrapped in my comforter. I've camped a fair amount in my life and so am no stranger to uncomfortable surfaces; sleeping on the floor didn't seem to cause any problems for me this morning, but I do have a good mattress and wonder if I'd be crazy to stop taking advantage of it.


Grok obviously did not sleep on memory foam or feather beds, but is curling up on the carpet without a pillow taking primal life too far?

[BarbeyGirl]

I slept on the floor for years. Finally built myself a "raised floor" (queen-sized platform at low bed height, but no mattress) to get up out of the dust and dogs. I love it.


Mattresses -- yes, even the really good posturepedic ones -- just don't cut it for me.


Seems to me that we'd get less creaky with age if we did more getting up and down from hard and low surfaces, and if we didn't coddle our bodies with cushioning on every side.

[fidelity]

I have a memory foam mattress topper and the other day I slept on the floor since I had a guest over and I didn't wake up aching. Definitely cause for thought.

[Grumpycakes]

I am 100% onboard with the idea of simplifying sleep as much as possible. A few times a week, I will stretch out on the floor of my office for a nap at noon. But I find my nose getting stuffed up after about half an hour. Could it be the dust?


I'm looking into alternative bedding for when I move out. A few squares of puzzle-piece exercise mat with a few pillows might be all I need.

[PrairieProf]

Hmmm, given that even animals sleep on the softest places they can find (just ask my greyhound!), so I bet Grok was too. I don't think sleeping on hard surfaces does good things for the alignment of your spine, either.

[iniQuity]

I agree with Prairie, my gf's dog will always try and end up sleeping on the couch even though he passes out on the floor all the time. He may not be looking for comfort but possibly warmth though. I've slept on minimal support before and it hasn't been bad but I like my bed much more.

[BarbeyGirl]

@PrairieProf -- Oh, I use a little padding -- an eggshell pad plus a couple quilts. My spine (and all the rest of me) definitely prefers it to the excessive cushiness of modern matresses. YMMV.


My greyhounds usually prefer their Costco beds, but it's not uncommon for them to flop out on the hardwood.

[paleo_piper]

How about a hammock? I've read that the U shape supports the natural curve of the spine a lot better.

[TenYearStorm]

Hammock! Yes. There really is no way for me to get one into the house though. I don't think my significant other would like it if I decided to sleep outside

[goeyj]

I got rid of my bed and started sleeping on the floor sometime in September. Started out meaning to find another bed quickly, but I started to REALLY like the sleep I was getting on the floor. The only thing I have to worry about is oversleeping. I think I get such a deep sleep that it takes a little bit louder of an alarm to wake me up...

I used to have occasional back issues/soreness from my bed and I haven't had any such thing on the floor. It took about a week to get used to the hard surface. I don't use a cushion, though. The carpet is plenty of padding


@Primalchild: I have woken up with some allergy-like things a few mornings. I'm pretty sure it is the dust. I gave it a good vacuum and haven't had a problem since.