I’ve been sleeping in a regular bed for the past 3 years or so. I know what you’re thinking. So have I, but what do you mean 3 years? To be honest, before my most recent bed purchase, I’d been sleeping on the floor for almost a decade. And I’ve arrived at the conclusion that I much prefer the floor to a bed.
My floor sleeping escapade actually started out of necessity. When I was in the military, I lived at a friend’s apartment, but didn’t have any money for furniture. Plus, I wasn’t really an official roommate, he just let me crash there.
Since I didn’t really live there, I didn’t see much reason to have a bed. What I usually did was just grab a couple sheets, one for under me and one for on top of me, and a pillow and just go to sleep.
Now, being good sailors, there was usually plenty of drinking at this apartment so I did have some sleep aids. My personal favorite at the time was Jack Daniel’s. But I was so happy not to be sleeping on the ship that I wasn’t going to complain about the accommodations for even a millisecond.
I did this for almost a year and it never really bothered me. In fact, I came to rather like it. Every time I slept in a bed, I treated it just like my rack on the ship. The racks were so tight that I basically didn’t move at all. I actually had to wake up to change positions, otherwise I’d smash some body part into some metal part. In a bed, I would wake up in the morning and not even have to make it because I hadn’t moved an inch all night.
Once I got out of the military and moved back home, one of the first things I did was ditch the bed. I did purchase a mat to put on the floor this time, but I was right back to my floor sleeping ways. And I never missed the bed.
However, when I moved into my new apartment, I purchased a bed and decided to give it another shot. What I’ve found over the past three years is that I wake up stiff and tired more often than not. I just don’t get quality sleep in a bed.
When I sleep on the floor, I change positions more often, so I don’t end up stiff. The floor also applies pressure to my body differently than a plush bed. While you would think that a plush bed would help me relax more, I’ve found that it just ends up putting me into awkward, unnatural positions. The floor applies steady constant pressure that helps to stretch tight muscles, especially in the spine, and squeeze inflammation away.
While I don’t think it’s a magic cure, going back to the floor has definitely improved the quality of my rest. If you want to try it yourself, I recommend transitioning slowly. Don’t just jump straight to the floor. It’s helpful to add a little padding when you first transition. You can do this with comforters or with a mat like I did at first. If you think I’m insane for giving up my bed, that’s cool too.
If you have a floor sleeping experience, share it with me! I’d love to hear what you think!
