Sleeping On The Floor: Good Or Bad for Your Health?

Is ditching your comfy mattress to sleep on the floor good or bad? Find out here.

Sleep, as described in a MedicalNewsToday article by Jenna Fletcher, is an essential part of human life.

Aside from the fact that it serves as an avenue to rest your mind and body from the day's stress, it also does a lot of other important things to ensure your great physical health and overall well-being.

Getting the right amount of sleep, which must not be less than seven hours per night, according to the U.S. National Institute on Aging, has the capability of repairing your body to make you wholesome for the next day's activities.

However, that's not exactly our focus today!

In this article, we will actually be looking at three things;

So, without wasting much of your time, let's go-ahead to examine the good side of sleeping on the floor…

The Good

Today, we're all so used to our mattresses that we do not even take a minute to consider sleeping on the floor to enjoy our good night's rest.

But, if you're also considering sleeping on the floor, here, in this section of the article, are a few of the advantages you'd like to know about it:

Helps Regulate Sleeping Position

Mattresses, as we all know, are usually soft, cozy, and extremely comfortable. The foam they're made of can easily sink in to accommodate your body even if you're sleeping in a bad position.

Sleeping on the Floor

However, when you sleep on a hard surface like the floor, your body will be automatically regulated into the neutral sleeping position that works perfectly with your body structure.

If you sleep in a bad position, you'd either hurt yourself or not be able to sleep easily as you would on soft and comfortable surfaces, which is why you'd be forced to sleep in the normal position until you get used to it completely.

Related, Sleeping Positions – Personality Traits & Effects on Health

Helps Straightens Body Posture

Sleeping on the floor can help to straighten some parts of your body, like your hips, shoulders, and side, and also realign your body posture.

Sleeping on the Floor Body Posture

It helps in promoting spine realignment, which can considerably reduce the risk of back pain and other health problems.

When you sleep on the bed, some parts of your body can sometimes reposition themselves as a result of your mattress slouching or sinking in to accommodate your body. This can cause serious joint discomforts and/or pain, in some cases, if nothing is done to have it fixed.

But, when you sleep on the floor, some of your body parts can be straightened out to realign with the hard surface of the floor and neutral body posture you're supposed to have.

Improves Breathing & Blood Circulation

Another great advantage of sleeping on the floor is that it can improve the way you breathe and also help with the circulation of blood in your body stream.

Improves Breathing and Blood Circulation

As I mentioned earlier, sleeping on the floor helps in maintaining a neutral body posture. And, having a good body posture is one of the most significant factors necessary in keeping your breathing and blood system fully organized.

You Feel More Comfortable & Well-rested

Just as I said earlier, getting the proper amount of sleep you need when you need it actually has the ability to do and fix a lot of things in your body. A good night's rest can be of help in limiting the risks of heart diseases, improving our body's immune system, keeping our physical body in shape, and doing so many other things as well.

Well-rested and comfortable

This is why we must always strive to sleep well.

Sleeping on the floor, as unbelievable as it seems, can make you sleep better. It significantly boosts the quality of sleep you have and leaves you fully energized later in the morning when you wake up.

You'll be forced into the correct position of sleeping which will in turn force your body to have the right amount of rest it needs to run the next day's affairs.

The Bad

As they say, every good thing also has its disadvantages. Like many other things, sleeping on the floor also can also have some disadvantages too…

Back Pain

While some people have confirmed that sleeping on hard surfaces can be a great option for pain relief, many others have, however, complained about it causing them great pain, too.

Back Pain

There's no specialized research that has been done to confirm this. However, a study done in 2003 by a jolly group of researchers has confirmed, using firm and medium-firm mattresses, that people can develop chronic pain when they sleep on firm mattresses and surfaces.

Although this study is outdated and doesn't exactly provide a specific answer to whether hard surfaces can increase body pain, but, it does slightly explain why some people might experience pain when they sleep on the floor.

If you need a mattress for back pain, click here to get it.

Allergy

If you're asthmatic and allergic to dust, mold, and dust mites, then you'd want to completely avoid sleeping on the floor.

Allergy with sleeping on the floor

Sleeping on the floor can cause the above-mentioned allergens to trigger symptoms like difficulty in breathing, coughing, sneezing, and many other related conditions.

Exposure to Cold

Sleeping on the floor can be good during the summer when the weather is hot. But, during cold periods, sleeping on the floor would be a bad idea. This is because the floor is usually way cooler than your room temperature and can further reduce your body temperature in cold seasons.

Sleeping on The Floor

Sleeping on The Floor tips

If you'd like to sleep on the floor, there are also some things you'd like to do before finally laying down to rest your body:

  • First, you'd want to choose the material you'll be using. You could use a mat, a blanket, a carpet, a sleeping bag, or just sleep directly on the floor. Whichever option you choose, make sure it's pretty comfortable and wouldn't cause any pain or interruptions as sleep.
  • Second, find the right space and spot on the floor in your home where you can spread your sleeping materials on. Make sure the space is large and comfortable enough to accommodate you,  because, in the night when you're snoozing away, you'll be doing a lot of kicking, tousling, and turning.
  • Spread your mat, blanket, or sleeping bag, whichever option you go for, on the floor. You can even use more than one layer of any of them to make your sleeping space pretty comfy.
  • Use a stack of pillows to avoid neck strain.
  • Lie down and try to position yourself to the posture that best works with you. You can try sleeping on your sides, your back, or your stomach.
  • If you're going to be sleeping on your back, add an extra pillow below your knee level for great comfort.

    Conclusion

Sleeping on the floor might seem difficult at first. But, as time goes on you'll get used to it because your body will be straightened out to fit the hard surface.So, don't get discouraged after trying it out for the first time.

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