The only thing that keeps one going after a long, tiresome journey in the office is the mattress that they’re going to hit afterward.
Beds are a real blessing, and while no one can deny the comfort they provide, keeping you happy at night, there is a new trend that has been rising in the recent years, where people trade their beds for their floors while praising the numerous benefits that this practice has brought to their lives.
In a nutshell, floor-sleeping supporters claim that falling into a deep slumber on a hard floor is the best practice for your spinal health and back pain, considering that our ancestors didn’t have beds and used their levels as a sleeping surface.
So, how legit are those claims? And should you stop hitting the sack at night and scrap your mattress in favor of a carpet? Let’s find out!
Is Sleeping on the Bed Your Only Option?
“Why do we sleep on beds?”
This question has probably never crossed your mind. In our modern societies, beds are an integral part of the house from childhood, which makes sleeping on the floor seem like a punishment rather than an alternative to your soft (or hard), sweet mattress.
Just think of sleeping on the floor, and ideas of discomfort, back pain, restlessness, tiredness will cross your mind, all without proper arguments to support them.
We just ASSUME that the hard floor is nothing but a shortcut towards a tiresome, painful night.
Sleeping on the floor is not as uncommon as most people believe though, as many cultures still adopt this practice. The prime example of these cultures is Japan, where many people sleep on the floor or on a thin roll-out or fold-up mat.
Sleeping on the bed isn’t as superior as you thought, huh?
Not only that, but many doctors in western cultures prescribe sleeping on the floor as a treatment for back pain, which makes the idea worth considering.
Advantages of Sleeping on the Floor
Take a moment to think about your days, and you’ll realize that we live an over-cushioned life. Apart from sleeping on thick mattresses at night, most of us spend several hours every day sitting in chairs at work and on sofas watching TV or browsing the internet in our off-time. Feeling soft yet?
Sleeping on the floor, without a mattress, can give you numerous benefits. Floor-sleeping enthusiasts swear by their decision that doing so will help you sleep better, achieve a better quality of sleep, and wake up full of energy and lust for life.
Is Sleeping on the Floor Good for Your Back?
Back pain has been a major health problem since the dawn of creation. The moment you start suffering from this issue, sleep positions, how hard your mattress is, and how long you should stay in bed become real dilemmas in your life.
Now, does sleeping on the floor help with back problems? Are the claims of mattresses companies mere lies and marketing ploys when it comes to back pain and posture?
Well, there are two sides of the story, and it’s our responsibility to show you both.
Opinion One: It Depends
The first opinion is that of Jennifer L. Solomon, M.D., a psychiatrist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, who says that whether or not sleeping on the floor can be beneficial for you depends on the individual and how long you intend to do it.
Solomon elaborates that if you’re just crashing there for a short period, then yes, trying different positions on a hard floor can indeed be beneficial for your back, especially when you lie down with your knees up, which takes the pressure off of your back. This is basically the reason why hard mattresses were invented.
However, she says that sleeping on the floor can wreak havoc on your body in the long run and that you’re better off taking other courses of action to treat your back pain. These other solutions include using just a few pillows instead of a pile of them and putting a cushion between your knees to achieve proper spinal alignment.
Side Two: Hell Yeah!
On the other side of the spectrum are those who tried sleeping on the floor. Most of those who made the switch reported that the first thing they noticed was the vanishing of their back pain.
Big claim much? Maybe, but that claim does not come out of thin air, there is actually science behind it.
Here’s the gist of it: when you sleep in the floor, the hard surface forces your body to keep in line, thus giving you perfect spinal alignment, as opposed to mattresses, on which you may end up out of whack. Yes, the sinking-in sensation may feel good, but the adjustment that the hard floor offers can relieve some unnecessary back pain.
Not only can sleeping on the floor relieve back pain, but it can also help with posture, as your back gets straightened up thanks to the proper support that the hard surface offer. Considering the bad sleeping habits that we’ve been developing over the years, this aspect can be beneficial for those of us who start experiencing back pain the moment they stand up straight.
Will You Feel Tired Afterward?
We all know that feeling when you wake up, snooze the alarm, and feel that the bed is too comfortable to let go. Drake spoke for all of us when he said that he only loves his bed and his mom. They both can make you comfortable no matter how bad your day was.
The thing is, that very comfort that you get every morning can be an obstacle for productivity. How many hours are you wasting each year just doing nothing, in a state of woke sleepiness, just because you decided to “rest your eyes” before getting up? I bet your answer is “ a lot.”
Sleeping on the floor can give you the same quality of sleep without providing too much comfort for you to hit the snooze button several times before starting out your day.
Floor-sleeping enthusiasts report that not only do they feel rested after a night of sleeping on a hard surface, but they also feel more refreshed and willing to leave the bed and get their day going.
Bear in mind that the initial getting to sleep process may feel uncomfortable at first, but once you fall into a slumber, you won’t feel anything till it’s finally time to rise and shine.
Also, keep in mind that everybody is different. As similar as our anatomies are, they bear several differences and varieties that make each person’s experience unique. In other words, the only way for you to determine whether a hard floor is better than a mattress is by trying both then comparing the result.
Are There Any Other Benefits for Sleeping on the Floor?
Glad you asked! Besides health benefits related to back and posture, sleeping on the floor can bring other perks to your life.
You’d Get More Space
The bed is the piece of furniture that takes up the most space in one’s bedroom. Should you switch to sleeping on the floor and get rid of that massive mattress, you’ll get much more space.
Why would you need more space, you may ask?
Picture a room where you have exercise equipment in the corner, with a bunch of chairs in the middle, and plants all over the place.
Seems appealing, huh?
All of that can be achieved using that extra space!
You Can Sleep Anywhere
Once you get used to sleeping on the floor, you’ll become the ultimate survivor, as you’ll develop the ability to fall into slumber anywhere you want.
Feeling tired at the office? Roll out your yoga mat and take a nap.
Is the flight taking too long? Plop down on the floor and fall into slumber.
No extra beds while you’re visiting a friend or a family member? No problem, you just need a carpet to pass the night.
The possibilities are endless, and developing the ability to sleep without a mattress can be a real handful skill.
How to Sleep on the Floor?
Here is a fair warning before you start; it won’t be easy at first.
If you’re like most people, and you spent years of sleeping on a mattress before stumbling upon this article, the switch won’t be easy at first.
Trading the softness of the bed for the hardness of floor may not hit you like the brightest of ideas, but if done correctly, your sleeping habits and patterns will get a helluva better in no time.
1. Start by Preparing for the Switch
As with all significant changes in our lives, switching to sleeping on the floor requires mental preparation. You need to understand that you’re probably going to forget about comfort for a couple of nights before getting used to the new situation. If you are the type of person to call off a trip because there is a chance of rain, sleeping on the floor may not be your thing.
2. Choose the Right Surface
Sleeping on the floor doesn’t mean that you’re going to lay on the ground directly. Instead, you need to choose an item that can soften up the experience a little bit, all while keeping the benefits. There are several options that meet that criteria, including, but not limited to:
Tatami
The tatami is a mat that the Japanese have been using for centuries as a barrier between their bodies and the floor.
It comes in different sizes, and it’s made of rice straw core covered with soft rush straw, making it comfortable for both sleeping and walking barefoot.
Tatami mats have a sleek design that allows them to be more comfortable than the bare ground, all while keeping the benefits of sleeping on the floor. It’s that brilliant design that led to the creation of Tatami mattresses for those who can not leave the comfort of their beds.
Futon
Futons are also excellent alternatives to mattresses for sleeping on the floor. Not only are they thick enough to be comfortable, but they’re also thin enough to keep the benefits of the hard surface.
If you found switching to the floor to be a hard transition, you can start by spending some nights on a futon then move to a harder surface.
Massage and Yoga Mats
Yoga and massage mats are yet another alternative to sleeping on the ground. They come in different sizes, and they can pack some unique features such as the heating ability that some massage mats boast.
Besides, these mats are quite affordable, making them an excellent solution for those who haven’t decided whether to adopt the new sleeping style or not.
3. Get a Suitable Pillow
Some may think that using a pillow would defy the whole purpose of sleeping on the floor, but it’s actually quite the opposite, as our ancestors used to their arms or anything that resembles a cushion to support their heads.
What you need to do is to get a pillow that’s thick enough to support your head and neck.
No matter what you to choose, avoid stacking up pillows like the plague, as that’s a shortcut to bad spinal alignment and neck aches, regardless of how nice they feel under your head.
How to Transition from Bed to Sleeping on the Floor?
If you decide to pull the plug and start sleeping on the floor, avoid doing it immediately, as you’re most likely to burn out and return to your bed quite fast that way.
Instead, you should do it gradually, following one of two methods; either the Half-Half or the Layers method.
The Half-Half Method
Weird name, huh?
The half-half concept is quite simple, all you have to do is follow these steps:
- Prepare your floor mat or futon, then go back to sleep on your bed as you would normally do.
- If you’re used to waking up at 8 a.m., set your alarm at 6 a.m.
- Once the alarm goes off, get up and start your day. Now, the trick here is that you’re going to feel too tired to get into the day. Instead of falling back to sleep on your bed, do so on the floor. You’ll probably feel tired enough to fall asleep immediately.
- Repeat the same process gradually while setting your alarm even earlier every night, until you start spending the same time on both your bed and the floor.
- Once you’re there, halfway through, leave some time for your body to adapt, then start practicing sleeping on the floor without passing by your bed.
- Voila! You’re now sleeping comfortably on the floor!
The Layers Method
The layers method is quite simple as well, and it’s for people who’d rather keep their sleeping cycle intact.
What you should do is take every blanket you have and place them on the floor. The resulting sub-mattress may not be as comfortable as your bed, but it’s surely not as hard as the ground.
Start sleeping on your pile of blankets. Every time you get used to a specific number of layers, remove one. Few days in, and you’ll find yourself sleeping on the ground without breaking a sweat!
What about Sleeping Positions?
One may think that the only comfortable position when sleeping on the floor is on the back, but that’s actually not the case. Michael Tetley, a physiotherapist, studied the effects of sleep positions on lower back and joint pain. His study[2] proved that people who sleep on the floor are less likely to develop musculoskeletal lesions, and explored how different sleeping positions have various benefits, indicating that some of them actually help with the correction of different joints.
Sleeping on the Side
Michael Tetley reports that many primates sleep on their side, using one of their arms as a pillow. He concluded that when sleeping on your side, no cushion is needed as long as your shoulder is fully hunched in a way that ensures proper neck support.
Sleeping on the Stomach
After observing how four-legged animals, such as dogs and cats, rested, Michael discovered that sleeping on your stomach while pushing out your elbows and using your forearms as a pillow can correct your spinal alignment, thus giving you a plethora of health benefits.
Sleeping on the Back
While Tetley encourages people to sleep on their side or stomach while resting on the floor, a slew of other researchers are singing a different song, claiming that sleeping on your back is the way to go, as it’s the only position that ensures a proper spinal alignment.
These contradictions and debates in the scientific community prove that the only way of finding what works for you is by experimenting yourself. Try different sleeping position, give your body some time to adapt, then decide which one relieves pain and which doesn’t.
Any Downsides To Sleeping on the Floor?
A wise man once said, “if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
You shouldn’t throw your mattress away the moment you lay your eyes on the benefits of sleeping on the floor, as this practice does come with a couple of pitfalls.
Do not panic though, as these downsides aren’t that big. As a matter of fact, they’re more of inconveniences rather than disadvantages.
First, the floor is cold, especially during long winter nights (duh!). If you’ve ever tried walking around barefoot, you must have noticed that. It all depends on the surface though, as sleeping on concrete is way colder than sleeping on wood. So, if you’re sleeping on the floor tonight, maybe consider getting extra blankets.
Next, if you decide to sleep on the floor with your partner, you may find it awkward and uncomfortable to have sex. That doesn’t last for long though, as you’ll get the gist of it in no time with some practice. Besides, nothing’s wrong with exploring new positions, right?
Well, that’s about it. As you can see, these downsides can be combated quite simply through discussion and cushioning.
Verdict
Having read all the benefits of sleeping on the floor, you must be thrilled to try out this sleeping style.
Before you start, set a minimum experimenting timeline, as your body will need some time to adapt.
You may find it hard at first (pun intended) but keep going for a month or so to make sure you’re giving yourself enough time to make an honest assessment.
Have you tried sleeping on the floor before? If so, how was
your experience? We’re thrilled to hear your story!
References:
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1119282/
