Sleeping on Floor?

[Arbo]

Hi guys. I'm currently ERE out of survival/necessity, so following most of jacob's tenets simply because i have too -- and well, I now have to deal with not having a bed

I was sleeping on the couch, but to avoid a long story, I will probably need to sleep on the floor with at maximum, a few covers

I guess I'm wondering... Has any ERE'rs done this? Is it useful? Beneficial? Possibly do-able?

In the past it seems that I've slept bad on the floor, very fitfully without being able to get a good night sleep... But if somehow I can make this work(and the ERE community in general), it will be one more consumer item to cut back on -- the mattress, that is.

[IlliniDave]

I've done it for periods of time in the past when I was much younger. It's something you get used to. A longer-term solution for me was an inexpensive futon, slept on one of those for many years. There are various mats and small inflatable mattresses used by campers. They can help keep you a little warmer in cold weather if that's an issue where you live.

Until a certain point I did very well sleeping on the futon, the firm surface I guess kept my spine fairly straight or something, and it was my preference. Then age caught up with me in the last handful of years and I began to appreciate a more pillowy surface to alleviate some of the pressure points around my shoulders and hips.

[jacob]

I've slept on a thin pad while camping on a campground (dirt, no grass). After 5+ days, my spine conformed and I "developed" new positions and ways of for rolling over, etc. (likely spread my weight out more evenly to avoid the pressure points IliniDave mentioned) and it was alright... until I went back to my regular bed and went through the same period of adjustment again.

Now I bring a thicker pad and put a couple of folded blankets on top of it. I don't feel any difference or need to adjust from that.

For covers I use an army surplus patrol bag (the green one), usually as a duvet, and a sheet.

[Open Space]

Here is a good self inflating pad which I've used for camping. ALPS is one of the more economic brands in this area. If you want more comfort, check out REIs Camp Bed 3.5 which is just as comfortable as my bed (and very warm). I use these for car camping and for guests who are visiting.

FYI - REI has these garage sale events once every few months where they sell returned items at steep discounts. The last one I went to had a stack of sleeping pads which were returned with leaks. if you can inflate them and find the hole (look for one away from the seam) they are very easy to patch and you get a great deal. I did that with a pad I bought for my son and one for a friend.

Beware...one of my cats seems to love attacking these for fun and I have another hole to patch now Sharp little claws and teeth are not compatible with inflatable objects. Other than that, they hold up very well.

A trick to inflating the "self-inflating" pads, especially when new...open the valve(s) and let them sit for a few minutes. Close the valve and roll the pad starting at the valve end. This pushes the air into the cells furthest from the valve. Unroll the pad again, open the valve and the cells near the valve will have a higher vacuum and start sucking in more air. On the larger pads this is easier than blowing them up manually.

Another thought...if you don't care for being on the floor, a cot would be another low cost alternative to a bed. Some people also like sleeping in hammocks.

[DividendHunter]

I sleep on this $75 Japanese floor futon by choice:

http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Japan ... nese+futon

When I was young, if I had trouble falling asleep, I would roll off the bed and sleep on the floor. I slept like a baby, even though I was crammed between my bed and my dresser.

I don't think big Western mattresses are very good for your spine and circulation. Floor sleeping makes you antifragile.

[Gilberto de Piento]

One of my friends slept in a hammock for a couple of his college years.

If you aren't going to have to pack it up every morning and hike with it I'd suggest something like this over a camping pad: http://www.amazon.com/Air-Mattress-Sing ... e+mattress. Very cheap and softer and wider than a foam pad for the same price. It looks like some of them leak though so you might want to try to buy it somewhere local so it can be returned until you get one that holds air.

[Arbo]

I sleep on this $75 Japanese floor futon by choice:

http://www.amazon.com/Traditional-Japan ... nese+futon

When I was young, if I had trouble falling asleep, I would roll off the bed and sleep on the floor. I slept like a baby, even though I was crammed between my bed and my dresser.

I don't think big Western mattresses are very good for your spine and circulation. Floor sleeping makes you antifragile.

Sorry for just getting back to this. I've been going through a very tough time, a very confusing time. I will post about it on another thread hopefully

-- Question, how do you find you sleep on this Japanese Futon? And since you have begun sleeping on this instead of a bed, have you noticed any pro's and cons you want to share?

I really want to be careful before I make another purchase, since I've been buying a lot of small, cheap things that have added up -- I remember a blog post that talked against this, one that was about buying 'nice' or high quality things(ie winter boots that you don't have to replace each year). I've been being very, very dumb in my purchases and getting discount(aka cheap) everything --

With that, is that what this Japanese Futon is? Am I going to be able to classify it into, once again, another one of the super cheap purchases that I'll need to replace or 'upgrade' at some point?

[Arbo]

I've slept on a thin pad while camping on a campground (dirt, no grass). After 5+ days, my spine conformed and I "developed" new positions and ways of for rolling over, etc. (likely spread my weight out more evenly to avoid the pressure points IliniDave mentioned) and it was alright... until I went back to my regular bed and went through the same period of adjustment again.

Now I bring a thicker pad and put a couple of folded blankets on top of it. I don't feel any difference or need to adjust from that.

For covers I use an army surplus patrol bag (the green one), usually as a duvet, and a sheet.

You actually sleep on a large bag? Wait, you cover up with a bag? Haha, interesting

So after 5 days you seem to have adjusted to sleeping on the floor, that's good to know... I really didn't consider that the body might get used to it -- especially since I've had some very bad experiences sleeping on the floor, very poor sleep and also vertigo and back pain

I'll try to keep up with it. I've been sleeping on the couch 2/3 of the time, and then on the weekends when my brother gets my nephew, I sleep on the floor(to not be woken up by the little kid, who stays up much later than me)

[theanimal]

I've slept on a thin pad while camping on a campground (dirt, no grass). After 5+ days, my spine conformed and I "developed" new positions and ways of for rolling over, etc. (likely spread my weight out more evenly to avoid the pressure points IliniDave mentioned) and it was alright... until I went back to my regular bed and went through the same period of adjustment again.

Now I bring a thicker pad and put a couple of folded blankets on top of it. I don't feel any difference or need to adjust from that.

For covers I use an army surplus patrol bag (the green one), usually as a duvet, and a sheet.

You actually sleep on a large bag? Wait, you cover up with a bag? Haha, interesting

So after 5 days you seem to have adjusted to sleeping on the floor, that's good to know... I really didn't consider that the body might get used to it -- especially since I've had some very bad experiences sleeping on the floor, very poor sleep and also vertigo and back pain

I'll try to keep up with it. I've been sleeping on the couch 2/3 of the time, and then on the weekends when my brother gets my nephew, I sleep on the floor(to not be woken up by the little kid, who stays up much later than me)

Be wary that once you switch over it does take significant adjustment to go back. On my NOLS course where I slept on the ground for 75 days it took me probably about 3 weeks to get comfortable in a regular bed again (chairs too for that matter).

[Jean]

In Central Asia, a lot of people don't have beds and sleep on a pile of blankets on the ground.
You'll need some time to get use to it, but I found it comfortable.
Maybe it's cheaper to buy a very cheap camping matress (you should find one for less than 10$), and the result should be similar. You'll need a blanket over you.
As long as you don't feel cold from the ground, you don't realy need a matress. If the surface isn't pointy, it's not a problem if it's hard.
But coun't a week or to to get used to it.

[stand@desk]

I slept for several years on the floor during my bachelor days (by choice). I bought 3 mattress toppers, the space foam kind and I found it reasonably comfortable. I figured getting up off the ground was an extra element of exercise than getting off a raised bed so I liked that benefit as well. Also, with more open space above you compared to sleeping on a normal raised bed surface was my preference. Now we sleep on the Wife's normal Queen sized bed. I'd prefer sleeping on the floor but we'll continue to use the normal bed for now.

[Arbo]

Sleeping on the floor has been going pretty terribly -- an Old ACL problem seems to have resurfaced and my lower back is quite sore, sore enough so that I can't do KB swings

What I'm wondering is if this is because I need to 'adjust' or could it be because I'm using too tall of a pillow? Do you think it's possible that the pillow I'm using is somehow messing up the alignment of my body? I'm kind of suspecting this, but I'm going to keep sleeping on the floor and try to see if I can adjust to it

[black_son_of_gray]

While in Japan, I slept on a wood floor for a month on a traditional futon + buckwheat pillow. After one of the first couple of nights, I woke the next day with a killer crick in the neck (maybe a pinched nerve?). I couldn't move my neck without severe pain for several days and it probably took 7-10 to go away completely. I didn't have any problems after that, but I can certainly relate to having a pretty rough transition period. Hope things clear up for you moving forward!

[leeholsen]

I can sleep on the floor no problem if there's carpet.

the suggestion that I do and would offer is a really good air mattress.

many here worry about staying warm and not running central heat, but in Texas; its all about staying cool and when I started going full ere; I bought a queen size air mattress for $50 and put it in the living room during the summer so I could stay cool but not run the AC in rooms I wasn't using. worked fine but had to be re-inflated(with power inflater) about once a week to keep the firmness. I will start that up again in march.

[trfie]

In the past I once was living in a place without heat and without a bed. Those were the worst nights I've had, the sleep was horrible and I felt terrible due to sleep deprivation. I tried to pad the floor and slept in my coat. I just don't think it is possible to sleep on a relatively flat hard surface. If you have a few layers of a comforter/blankets/sheets then it is definitely possible and I have slept well like that. Also couldn't you get a used mattress on craig's list fairly inexpensively?

[NewReality]

I slept on the floor for a couple years. It took a while to get used to, but after a couple weeks or whatever it was no problem. Also no sheets--which, if your place is cold, you quickly learn how to ball yourself up with your extremities minimally exposed.

It's easier to do if you're drunk, although that may not be a viable long-term option.

Eventually I got a thin futon mattress thing and a sheet from Pic-n-Sav that was probably close to 300-grit sandpaper, which felt luxurious at the time. To this day though I prefer having little or no sheets.

[unno2002]

Bad back. Sleeping on the floor with minimal padding hurts less than a normal bed.

[mbkumar]

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.

[KMS]

Call me crazy, but can't you find a free bed on Craig's list or yard sales? Seems like that would be a preferable option. A solid night's sleep, without creating skeletal problems that may stay with you down the road, is worth perusing CL or scouring local yard sales.

[DSKla]

There are tons of free beds on craigslist in my neck of the woods, and all of them are disgusting. To take a used bed, you need to have a high level of confidence in its cleanliness and lack of pests. I'd take one from a friend, likely not off CL.