Sleep On The Floor

[Parsifal]

I had a lucid dream the other day while taking Estroban before falling asleep.
But now I take it in the morning because I've read that it can cause insomnia, my dreams are less vivid now. I was surprised to have lucid and vivid dream, I barely could remember my dreams since some years.

 

[InChristAlone]

I do a 3inch foam futon on the floor, I prefer a harder sleeping surface but I have had to get used to it and sometimes feels a bit hard. But I like it!

 

[Giraffe]

post 97614

post 34635 Bump to add this:

Instinctive sleeping and resting postures: an anthropological and zoological approach to treatment of low back and joint pain

Nice find!

He often points out that the vertebrae are streched and realign themselves, and that gravity shuts the mouth.

Has anyone tried this posture?

I have tried this for a while now. It helped with my slightly hollow spine and forwarded head posture, and this in turn helped with my sinus issues. Stretching, massage... all inclusive. Love it!

Here what the author wrote:

Quadrupedal lying (fig ​(fig5)5) is ideal for stretching collagen fibre throughout the body. In the penis protect position, with the pelvis locked, the spine is rotated and flexed. With the elbows out sideways and the chest on the ground, many spinal lesions can be corrected gently using nature's automatic manipulator. Animals are clever because they use the radiant heat from the sun to encourage relaxation of their muscles when they adopt this posture. In this photograph note that the dog's sternum is in full contact with the ground but that of the human is not: this can be easily corrected by rotating the right arm medially to lower the sternum. It has been noted that guide dogs working in towns breathe the same pollutants as humans yet do not have asthma. Could this be because when they lie on their chests the kickback from the upper ribs keeps the corresponding vertebrae mobile, allowing the sympathetic system to work efficiently?

 

[charlie]

post 102246 I have tried this for a while now. It helped with my slightly hollow spine and forwarded head posture, and this in turn helped with my sinus issues. Stretching, massage... all inclusive. Love it!

Thank you for the update! Think I will give it a try.

 

[tomisonbottom]

Thank you for the update! Think I will give it a try.

Charlie, do you still sleep on the floor?

 

[charlie]

Charlie, do you still sleep on the floor?

Yes.

 

[Nstocks]

I've been sleeping on the floor for around 3 years now. I spent a lot of money finding a good (very firm) mattress but none of them worked for me.

What I use now is camping "self inflatable" mat which is basically just a foam sheet. That, along with a pillow under my knees has helped my back pain a LOT and I sleep very well too.

Google Esther Gokhale.

 

[Luann]

I sleep on the floor, sometimes I miss my bed but it made my legs and back hurt so the sacrifice is worth it :)

Bump to add this:

Instinctive sleeping and resting postures: an anthropological and zoological approach to treatment of low back and joint pain

THIS is awesome, it's cool how he goes into sleeping without a pillow, minimizing heat loss, etc.

 

[tomisonbottom]

Yes.

What difference did you notice? Is it for breathing? Joints?

 

[James IV]

Just came across this thread and I thought I would share. I currently sleep on a Japanese Futon. It is all natural and is basically a compressed pile of sheeted cotton. It is essentially like sleeping on a carpeted wooden floor, or dirt.
I believe that sleeping on a harder surface is completely natural, and is likely much healthier than sleeping on a soft mattress. I believe Soft mattresses spread the pressure over larger areas that are not designed to have pressure and may keep the body out of alignment, and inhibit sleep detoxification.
However, I think being comfortable trumps all when it comes sleep quality. And I believe that sleeping in a hard surface is much more comfortable when your soft tissue cells are properly energized, and you are "loose." If you are inflamed or "tight" from low cellular energy, then sleeping on a harder surface may be difficult to adapt to.

My n=1; Most of my life I had a tendency to crawl out of bed in the middle of the night and sleep on the floor. I also always ate tons of food and would also "sleep eat," eating lots of food in the middle of the night without really remembering doing it. I ruined an ex girlfriends birthday by eating half her cake the night before her party :/
When I got into paleo, low carb and eventually fasting and ketoginic dieting, for the first time in my life I bought a plush mattress because my floor no longer felt comfortable, and even my futon (6" thick foam) felt uncomfortable. For a few years doing low carb soft beds felt best, but I would always toss and turn, because I could never seem to stay in 1 position for more than a couple hours. Towards the end of my low carb, I honestly considered buying a $3000 mattress because I was convinced that the mattress was the problem.
As I have worked on my metabolism I again found myself crawling out of bed onto the floor. When I broke up with my girl, I decided it was dumb to have a monster bed that I was sleeping next to most nights. I bought the thinnest, and most basic Japanese futon I could find, and the base is a solid Japanese platform bed. It's very stiff, and has zero give. I am now uncomfortable in "real" beds and always end up crawling out when I have to use them.

I never really put things together until I started reading Dr Peats articles on how energy deprived cells become "stiff." This stiffness seems to translate into what we refer to as flexibility. Working as a phisical therapist, and sports trainer, I have has a chance to test this on equipment designed to measure range of motion in particular joints. And without fail on the days I feel energized and low stress, my range of motion is always larger, sometimes much larger. I've also noticed my posture is directly related to my energy levels.

It's no wonder all the yogi's are on high carb vegan diets. I don't know if that's optimal, but it definitely makes you loose!

 

[catan]

I've been sleeping on the floor for 2 years now, on a 2-inch coconut fiber/cotton mattress, and it has been working out well! It solved the lower back issues I was having during pregnancy. Sleeping on the floor helped me stay agile-- I was able to get out of bed on my own easily until the day I delivered. Both my girls have never been in cribs and sleep with me. They're so used to it, we end up sleeping on the floor in hotel rooms. (Also, I don't have to worry about kids falling off beds).

Question-- what pillow do you all use?

 

[Luann]

Sleeping on the floor is awesome, especially if you have back pain, neck injury, stuff like that.

 

[ken]

I have off and on slept on the floor. Then marriage and king size beds. Then Floors and coaches. Then memory foam. Since I have a weakness for health cults, the last couple of years have been a Nikken mattress. Must be a solid block of Styrofoam with a covering of marble size magnets, weird.

 

[caroline]

I sleep on the floor. A wool pad is nice and if it is on a hard floor, then some yoga mats under the wool pad works. When I sleep on a hard floor, the effect is much different than with a wool thin mattress directly on the floor. I need more padding for the hard floor versus when I am on the floor with carpeting. However, in either case, I feel infinitely better than when sleeping on a bed. It feels more "grounding" and less like my body is floating in a marshmallow with nothing supporting it. To me, this feels better, but I can see why this might not feel nice to others.

 

[DaveFoster]

Been sleeping on concrete with no pillow for a few years. Cured my lower back pain and made me a Spartan.

 

[caroline]

I have a problem with the dampness of the floor seeping in. How do you counter that, Dave? Is the floor you sleep on warm?

 

[catan]

Has anyone tried using tatami mats under a Japanese futon? I'm just wondering how much it matters to have one.

I've been sleeping on sheepskin (on carpet) with my two kids and it's been amazing. However, my older child is wanting her own sleeping space, so I'm looking at 3" organic Japanese futons. The room has cork flooring so it's not hard.

 

[YourUniverse]

@charlie @DaveFoster and others - how did you adapt for floor sleeping? How long did it take, and was it painful or difficult? At what point did it start to feel good?

I watched this:

I have some back/neck pain and 120 seconds on the hard wood with a pillow under my neck made me feel very sleepy and comfortable, but I'm worried I will still have terrible sleep today (Im used to sleeping on a fairly soft bed, on my side) and for the foreseeable future.

 

[DaveFoster]

@charlie @DaveFoster and others - how did you adapt for floor sleeping? How long did it take, and was it painful or difficult? At what point did it start to feel good?

I watched this:

I have some back/neck pain and 120 seconds on the hard wood with a pillow under my neck made me feel very sleepy and comfortable, but I'm worried I will still have terrible sleep today (Im used to sleeping on a fairly soft bed, on my side) and for the foreseeable future.

I slept on hard surfaces for many years as a form of self-discipline in pursuit of a Spartan, and, unbeknownst to me at the time, an ascetic lifestyle. It took a week or two to adapt to the practice, but that may just pertain to the psychological effects. Stress and inflammation can increase your susceptibility to back injury.

I have a problem with the dampness of the floor seeping in. How do you counter that, Dave? Is the floor you sleep on warm?

I didn't realize you asked me a question. I always slept on some minor padding just to have a barrier between the floor's cold surface and that of the skin.

 

[BTC]

I've been sleeping mostly on the floor for 20 years (usually on carpet with half my comforter underneath me and half over me - another one on top if it's cold). I sleep on my side. I think it helps me from having developed back pain, but who knows? I do find that on those nights I sleep on a mattress (gf won't sleep on floor - lol), if I oversleep, I get a sore lower back.

One benefit of sleeping on the floor I haven't seen mentioned in this thread (though maybe it was mentioned in the video - I have not yet watched it) is that it supposedly helps circulation. Most of your weight is absorbed at a few points (shoulder, hips, and to a lesser extent the knee and feet if sleeping on your side in the floor), whereas most of your side is compressed into the mattress when using a mattress. Thus, blood flow is slightly less restricted, though I doubt it's very much.