Sleeping on Floor?

[KMS]

Haha, I should clarify you need to do your research. If the mattress is full of stains or looks like it was part of a murder investigation, definitely pass. Friends or neighborhood yard sales may be more beneficial.

[Arbo]

I am from India, so sleeping on the floor is natural to me.
Even after moving to US, I slept on floor for most of the time.
After getting married, my wife insists on sleeping on bed, but I still
sleep on floor from time to time.

Hard floors are very uncomfortable to sleep if not used to.
Having a soft object reduces the discomfort. It need not be a thick mattress.
A double layered bed sheet will also do. You may have to gradually
reduce the thickness of the soft object to get acclimatized.
You can start with a comforter for that.

Thanks for your input, I'm still sleeping on the floor. Yes, life is hard and there are many obstacles, the sleeping situation being a great burden, living with a certain someone here who I do not get on well with(or I should say, there's a strain and some odd things), etc. It's quite difficult, but hopefully many of these things will work out for good in the long term

i.e. maybe sleeping on the floor, which I am stressed out about, can become a preferable method as some minimalists have suggested
maybe the constant stress will condition me so that I simply look forward to a peaceful ERE life, or.... Actually better not keep thinking, because if so I will get depressed again

I am currently sleeping on some covers on the floor. The actual sleep isn't too bad, but not having my own room is more stressful. Oh well. I'm trying to remain philosophical about all of this :}

[SimpleLife]

I slept on the floor for about 7 years give or take. Usually just on a blanket. Not that comfortable but I feel like a King when I crawl into bed now lol.

[Arbo]

I slept on the floor for about 7 years give or take. Usually just on a blanket. Not that comfortable but I feel like a King when I crawl into bed now lol.

I'm not that concerned about the comfort factor, but since starting to sleep on the floor I've had pretty bad back pain, enough so that I've given up messing around with my 50lb Kettlebell

I guess the main thing I'm still concerned with is... the adaptation process. It doesn't seem to be happening and I wake up feeling more immobile, which is really the opposite of what I'm supposed to be feeling, at least according to many people who preach the virtues of sleeping on your back

Oh well

[BlackRat]

I've started doing this, I sleep on the mattress out of my swag (about 2 inches of foam). I lay it on my carpeted floor, it has a double bed doona cover on it as a sheet which folds over and goes on top of me too, and blankets over that. I air it out in the sun occasionally since I'm worried about moisture/bugs building up in/under it.

I started just before or just after Christmas, it wasn't comfortable for ages; after about three weeks I'd wake up feeling very fatigued - I went to visit a friend around that point and slept about 12 hours a night for 4 nights in their spare bed, but since that I've been fine. I've spent 4 nights the last month sleeping in a bed when I've been away for work - I can appreciate the luxury of how nice it feels and I sleep fine there too. Perhaps I've just increased my 'sleep anywhere' ability.
I'm still not sure what sleep position is best, I find myself shifting position a lot.

I have been wondering if sleeping on a totally flat surface is unnatural - would people have traditionally sought out particular hollows in the ground to make themselves more comfortable (for example, for the corner of the hip)? The couple of times I've slept outside this year, camping (still sleeping on the swag), I've found it harder to get to sleep, but mostly due to the unfamiliar environment or really bright nights.

I'm not sure I'd want to invite someone over to sleep on the floor with me though - might come off a bit strange.

[Eureka]

I have been wondering if sleeping on a totally flat surface is unnatural - would people have traditionally sought out particular hollows in the ground to make themselves more comfortable (for example, for the corner of the hip)?

No, if you don't weaken your body with orthotics like mattresses and pillows night after night for decades, sleeping on hard surfaces is natural for a human body. And is very comfortable.

I have done a lot of yoga over the years and my joints and tissues readily adapted to sleeping directly on a wooden floor (on a wool blanket in winter for warmth) once I made up my mind to explore how that would be - and after a short while it felt much better than sleeping on a mattress, even a thin one, so now I do it all the time.

Or to quote my inspiration Katy Bowman:

The joint-alterations required for ground-sleeping are natural and they’re currently under used. Your muscles are simply out of (sleep) shape.
...
We tend to think of human movement only in terms of exercising, but every movement or position you get yourself into is fed into your body’s “adapt to this” file. Your tissues respond to environment whether the environment is “sleeping on this mattress” or “running 17 miles.” The process is exactly the same. The reason NOT sleeping on your pillow or mattress hurts is the same reason running 4 miles beyond your regular running distance hurts. You’re just exceeding the boundaries of your tissue strength and created a load greater than what you body is used to.

Blog post where I got the quotes is here
https://nutritiousmovement.com/your-pil ... -orthotic/