Sleeping In A Hammock Changed My Life.
And maybe it can change yours…
I’ve always had a problem sleeping. I could never get comfortable. My nights were filled with tossing and turning, and when I woke up, my back would scream at me. I always thought I was doing something wrong. Everyone else could sleep in a normal bed without issues. Why couldn’t I? Then, I moved to a hammock.
How did I get here? What pushed me out of my traditional bed and into my hammock? Simple, kids. My four beautiful children. I love my kids for so many reasons, and while they are wonderful, they are terrible to sleep next to. I know what you're thinking, and no, all four of my kids don’t sleep in my bed. We are not the grandparents from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. It’s just one of them… The baby. They often sleep in our bed until they can sleep through the night. By my second child, I was tired of being kicked all night and pushed to the edge of the bed. So, it was the couch, the floor, or finding a creative solution.
I am not totally sure where the idea first came from. I grew up with hammocks, but they were always outside in a garden. Somewhere to kick back and relax on a sunny day. They reminded me of summers at my grandparents’ house, surrounded by vines and fruiting plants. Maybe I was just trying to get that feeling back.
So, I went on Amazon and ordered a stand and a Brazilian hammock, the kind you lie in and the sides cocoon you in, protecting you from falling out.
If you are seriously considering following in my footsteps, here are some things I learned along the way:
First: Pillows are kinda useless in a hammock, at least in the traditional way we use them. They just bend your neck into strange and uncomfortable positions. The only time I use a pillow now is when I am propping myself up to use my laptop so I can write or play games. Pillows aren’t completely useless though, so don’t toss them out just yet.
Second: Hammocks sway. When you get in, when you reposition yourself, when you breathe, they move. At first, I thought this was going to be a problem. Every night I closed my eyes and I could feel the hammock rocking back and forth ever so slightly. Sometimes I found it relaxing, sometimes I just wanted it to stop. But after a week or two, I stop noticing. It just becomes part of the experience. I occasionally notice it, but it doesn’t bother me anymore. Sometimes I even push off the wall and make my hammock sway more; I find it relaxing.
Third: Laying on your side becomes impossible, and I’m a side sleeper. Sleeping on my side has always been my thing. I would take two pillows, one for my head and one for between my legs. But no matter how hard I try, I cannot sleep on my side in my hammock. I can fall asleep on my side, but I will inevitably end up on my back. And it makes sense: the U-shape of a hammock isn’t really built for the contours of your body. And, while I would prefer to sleep on my side, I get better sleep in my hammock on my back than I do on a mattress on my side. You win some; you lose some.
Fourth: Speaking of U-shaped hammocks. Your legs have to get used to being bent slightly upwards. It can be an uncomfortable way to sleep at first. It was really my only real gripe about the entire experience. But I was determined not to get kicked in the face by little baby feet. How did I fix it? Well, I didn’t need a pillow under my head anymore, so under my legs it went. I wasn’t using it for my head, anyway. Over the past five years, I’ve just gotten used to it. No more pillows needed, and before you ask, no, my legs aren’t bent funny when I walk because if it.
Fifth: Hammock stands have a large footprint. Hammocks are fairly thin, taking up almost no space, especially if they don’t have a human in them. But the stand sprawls out, which makes sense when you think about it. How else would the stand keep itself from flipping when you get in and out? If you want an indoor hammock but don’t have a lot of floor space, I would suggest getting a set of wall-mounted hammock anchors and fixing them to a stud or hire someone to do it for you.
And the last thing: If you are going to sleep in a hammock, either get a sleeping bag or a hammock mattress (yes, that’s a thing). It’s probably the last thing you’d think about, but hammocks are made of a kind of thin cloth. If you sleep in one during the summer, you might not even realize theirs an issue. But eventually, the temperature will drop, and you will wake up with a cold back. So learn from my mistakes. I spent too much time wrapping myself in blankets trying to keep my back warm at night.
All my issues aside, I set up my hammock and, like a giddy child a jumped in and melted into my new sleeping space. I comfortably rocked back and forth while my wife wrestled our restless toddler, trying to get them to lie still and go to sleep.
The first week took some adjustment and learning. But if you can get past the first week of 2, it’s worth it. I’ve been sleeping in my hammock for 5 years now and I have no regrets. I wake up well-rested; no more tossing and turning. My back no longer screams at me in the morning; in fact, most of my back issues have all but gone away. If you’re thinking about switching to a hammock, here’s a link to the set I bought ( https://amzn.to/3ZTN7vR ). Now, if I can just solve my soul-crushing 9 - to - 5 job that zaps all the motivation out of me, we’ll be all set!
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