Why You Should Consider Sleeping On The Floor

Thinking of trying a new way to sleep by tapping your mattress directly on the floor?

It could be a wonderful new experience, one that may probably earn you more and better hours of shut-eye time. On the other hand, it could just be what you do not need. So, is sleeping on just your mattress something you should even think of trying now?

Sliding down, smacking only a pillow and sleeping mat right on the floor has its own pros and cons. But sleeping on the floor presents a couple of different considerations to make.

How about we delve into those and answer the concern?

Considerations to Make Before Sleeping on the Floor

You’ll want to consider the type of flooring you have, the type and material of your mattress, the climate of the place you live, your surroundings, as well as if you have health concerns such as lower back pain, sleep apnea, and painful joints.

For example, a significant number of western-cultured people who travel to eastern cultures (Japan, mainly) report reduced back pain, rejuvenated energy levels, and better overall health and rest on coming back.

This could be because the floor provides the firm type of surface you might need to experience sleeping comfort and spine alignment, this is true especially if you're overweight. But this is dependent on the type of mattress you use and your sleeping posture. For example, using oriental furniture Tatami mats (Japanese-origins) or a roll-up Thai mat works fine for many, and costs around $200+.

We went out on the hunt for the best beds for overweight people, and here we uncovered five of the top rated options.

To Sleep or Not to Sleep on the Floor?

If you sleep on your back, the floor’s firm support may be good for you combined with a medium firm mattress such as a memory foam mattress (read more). With a bit of customization to see what works, stomach sleepers can also hop onto a mattress on the floor.

However, side sleepers may not find it either supportive or comfortable to have a hard surface beneath and may experience joint discomfort and back pain if this sleeping position is sustained for the longer haul.

In fact, especially if this is a new experience for you, a Harvard Medical School Special Report found most people feel uncomfortable on hard surfaces. Still, you can choose a layered mattress to help offer a medium-firm experience.

Yet, sleeping on a mattress on the floor is usually a good idea for young children and the elderly, especially if they are uncomfortable with getting out of a bed or risk falling.

Still, sleeping close to the floor in warmer climates tends to offer cooling benefits that help cut off distracted sleep due to heating and sweating. For colder places, though, breathing cold air aerating just above the floor (whether it is carpeted, wooden, etc, or not) may invite serious respiratory health bouts such as hypothermia and pneumonia.

Sleeping on Floor is Better than Mattress (Back Pain, Sciatica, Pinched Nerve) - Dr Mandell

Why Sleep on a “Bed”?

Important too, is to go back to asking why the “Bed”, as we traditionally understand it (that cushy combination of foundation/platform/wooden slates, mattress, pillows, sheets and blanket) was ever invented.

The traditional bed has meant to offer an ideal safety, height, and comfort for sleeping. That encompasses a mix of cool-enough air, practical height for getting out of bed and keeping crawling insects and reptiles out of an unwarranted sleep partnership with, on or by you.

More importantly, most traditional beds offer space between the floor and mattress for aeration purposes.

This is crucial in ensuring you keep it off dust and dust mites floating just above the flooring, mold that builds up between the floor surface and mattress lower covering due to heat trapped from your body, and so on.

So, should you sleep on the floor?

In practical sense, the mattress is yours and you can put it wherever you want in the house. All you might need to do is put the above considerations into perspective before kicking it on the floor.

If you decide to floor yours, be sure to clean up the spot thoroughly with water and soap and let it dry out completely before flooring the mattress on top to shield it from mold growth. You might also want to add a carpet or bed sheet right under the mattress to keep heat or cold from sipping through to your body. Even better, ensure to clean and lean the mattress on its side at least once a week so it can breathe.