You would be surprised if you get to know that some individuals never sleep in the bed. Few civilizations never use the bed for rest. People in ancient times also slept on horses while they used to move from one place to another.
If you look into the past, it feels like we are spoiled with the luxurious things we have in our lives in today’s world. The good reason behind it is that we advance our knowledge day by day and accordingly improve the quality of life. We utilize most of our daily time at work and naturally want a soft bed at night with comfortable pillows and mattress.
However, the main reason for our damaged health is the wrong type of bedding. Sleeping on the floor is common in Asian Countries as they believe it helps in maintaining posture and overall health of an individual. Many people sleep on the floor in routine life and have made their habit to sleep with or without pillows.
Human beings spend one-third of their life while sleeping, so if you do not sleep well, it will affect many different aspects of life. The experts have mixed reviews about sleeping on the floor whether it is good or bad for your health.
Is Sleeping on the Floor Good for your Back Pain?
If you have back pain daily while sleeping in bed at night along with sleep problems, then you need to start sleeping on the floor. However, many people assume that a soft mattress is a solution to this problem. These beds are too thin and do not ease the back pain. They lead to misaligned spine and poor posture with no support to the back.
Sleeping on the floor helps in the reduction of back pain. Sleeping flat on back on a firm surface takes away your lower back pain. To get the most while sleeping on the floor, you should lie down on your back to provide support to your spine.
You can also sleep with knees bent so that lower back and sacrum rest on the floor and result in decompression. It allows your body to let the pressure release and get distributed to the broad area of your body, resulting in no soreness in hips and shoulders while you wake up in the morning.
Avoid using too many pillows while sleeping on the floor as the purpose is to support the back.
Tips for Relaxed Sleep on Floor
Remain comfortable while lying down on the floor and prefer a yoga mat as it is a good option. It provides you with the cushioning effect so that you remain comfortable and you have back support.
The best tip is to sleep on back rather than the stomach to achieve most of the benefits while sleeping on the floor.
The fetal position should not be adopted while asleep as it results in tightening of hamstrings and hip flexors leading to back pain. Sleeping in this situation might also lead to the tightening of your pectoral muscles resulting in upper back pain.
Benefits of Sleeping on Floor
Following are the amazing benefits and advantages of lying down on the floor at night:
1. Needed stretch:
The whole body benefits if you sleep on the floor. Mattresses result in havoc to your body’s alignment resulting in your hips to sink in and causing the lower back to collapse. It leads to the hunched and tight body which is termed as “front-loading.”
It also interferes with the lung capacity, not letting you breathe properly. When your body receives less oxygen during sleep, your body gets stressed when it needs to get relaxed during sleep.
A soft mattress, however, feels comfortable, resulting in lengthening and strengthening the skeletal system while asleep.
The posture is an essential part of health if your neck and head are in the wrong position, your posture will be incorrectly leading to severe issues.
Sleeping on back aligns the head, neck, hips, spine and whole body. The link between the body and the head enhances the circulation, healing along with better functioning of the entire body.
2. Alignment of the hips and shoulders:
A straight wooden floor allows your shoulders and hips to realign in a natural way and a more symmetrical posture.
Mattress sleeping results in sore hips, shoulders, and pinched nerves. Poor posture, imbalanced muscles, and misaligned bones lead to pinching and trapping of nerves. Misaligned joints result in straining of neck and back resulting in chronic pain along with headaches.
If you sleep on a hard surface, you might result in hip bursitis, but misaligned pelvis or hips lead to the imbalanced body or muscles, misaligned bones or poor posture leading to trapped nerves.
The misaligned body has severe consequences that take time but results in the most significant injuries.
3. Circulation of growth hormone:
Correct posture allows your body to circulate sleep growth hormone which is produced by the pituitary gland, resulting in the distribution throughout the body. It helps in lengthening and thickening of the bones. Sleeping on the hard surface allows the alignment of the spine and causing the growth hormone to travel throughout the body.
Sleeping on a hard surface is perfect for the right amount of resistance our body needs for optimal breathing, proper alignment, and healthy circulation.
Sleeping on a firm surface keeps your musculoskeletal system in a perfect tone 24-seven.
4. Offers you tranquility:
The sense of repose is achieved while you sleep on the hard floor. It does not need your body to tense and allows you to relax deeply and sleep well. It will enable you to let go of tensions from the body.
Studies have concluded that a natural sleeping position produces the light and happy signals to the brain leading to boosted optimism and mental health in daily life.
5. The health of the spine is preserved:
The spine is an essential part of the body that holds the central nervous system and has a direct link to the brain. A good posture is crucial for the excellent health of the spine.
6. Reduces the lower back pain:
Proper posture during sleep helps in reducing the lower back pain. It usually occurs in individuals who suffer from back pain due to bone dislocation or pinched nerves.
7. Simpler and cheaper:
It is simple to sleep on the floor as you do not need to buy any special furniture or tools. It is cheaper as you do not need to use anything practically and is the most affordable option for a sleeping habit.
8. Reduces the possibility of wrong sleeping posture:
It does not result in sinking, slouching or accidentally misplaced part of the body at the bedding end. There is no pillow which means no chances of suffocation.
Is Sleeping on the Floor Bad
Many individuals claim that sleeping on the floor is not good for your health which isn’t true. You might feel some pain in the morning if you are used to of sleeping on the bed and that too on a soft mattress.
However, sleeping on the floor is not practical for individuals who have underlying medical conditions that require unique bedding or if you reside in the basement area with the dead winter season and concrete floors.
Exposed to dust:
The unfortunate part of sleeping on the floor is that you are exposed to dust that accumulates on the floor. It is essential that your surface should be regularly cleaned to prevent yourself from allergic reactions and respiratory problems.
Uncomfortable sleep during cold weather:
Another issue of sleeping on the floor is that it is freezing if the outside temperature is cold, leading to the permanent health risk to your body. Sleeping on icy surfaces is the worst situation for your health. You can catch a cold quickly if you sleep on the floor in winters resulting in ailments such as pneumonia.
Invitation to bugs and other insects:
Sleeping on the floor might invite lots of bugs and insects, sticking to your body and resulting in bug bite. It is uncomfortable and results in sleeping issues in many individuals. Bugs are frightening and result in diseases that you might have been able to avoid if you slept on the bed.
Once you manage to sleep on the floor, you will never want to sleep on a bed again. It is more comfortable and allows you to get rid of any back pain along with the morning stiffness. Bear in mind to keep something between the floor and your body so that you do not trigger yourself to allergies or health problems. Keep the above-mentioned tips in mind to enjoy the maximum benefits of sleeping on the floor.
To conclude it is perfect for most healthy individuals to sleep on the floor, although it has few concerns.
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