
Hammocks Make Sleep Easier, Deeper - pitdesi
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/06/20/137300311/why-hammocks-make-sleep-easier-deeper?sc=tw
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blhack
I've been sleeping in a hammock every night for a little over a year now.

Hammocks are cold, that is the biggest problem. You also can't really just
flop down on one and lounge out the same way that you can in a bed.

From a totally utilitarian standpoint of "place for sleeping", a hammock has
some benefits. It's small, it's highly portable (mine fits in my backpack),
and it is pretty comfortable.

In reality, though, most people use their beds for a lot more than sleeping.
Reading in my hammock is pretty difficult, so is using my laptop if I want to
type anything. You can't comfortably fit more than one person in one (unless
you've got a garden hammock with spreader bars on it).

~~~
dmix
May I ask why you've been sleeping on a hammock?

~~~
blhack
It's a psychological hack.

Basically, by intentionally depriving myself of something, it stops being
"normal" and becomes a luxury. I was at my parents' house for Christmas in
December, and felt like I was at a 5 star hotel.

I've done similar "hacks" to my diet. I did a month where I ate nothing but
rice and beans (a very very healthy dish, actually). The first week or so when
I was finished with the experiment, everything I ate tasted _amazing_.

The car that I drive is fairly beat up; I drove my sister's car to San Diego a
few months ago, and I might as well have been driving a Bentley. A CD player?
I can listen to whatever music I want!? It doesn't rattle when I go over 55?!?
I can hold a conversation inside without having to yell?? etc. etc.

Silly, I know, but effective.

~~~
dan00
"Silly, I know, but effective."

Absolutely not. You could try it the other way. Work harder to earn more
money, to be able to buy better stuff to get the same fealing. ;)

~~~
jonsen
Hardly. His method is steady state repeatable. Yours is progressive.

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goldmab
Really misleading headline. The study wasn't about hammocks at all, just a
normal bed that sways. Makes me think more of being on a boat. I haven't
experienced the effect, but David Foster Wallace wrote about it:
[http://www.harpers.org/media/pdf/dfw/HarpersMagazine-1996-01...](http://www.harpers.org/media/pdf/dfw/HarpersMagazine-1996-01-0007859.pdf)

(Not going to give the page number of the sleep thing because I believe
everyone should read the whole thing :)

~~~
javert
Why should we read the whole thing?

I read a few pages, and it's absolutely shit. This guy has a terrible
attitude. Why would I read 20some pages about some guy bitching about cruise
ships?

EDIT: I've actually _been_ on a cruise, so I can tell this is all just a bunch
of (highly subjective) crap.

~~~
verisimilitude
I appreciate that the writing style isn't for everyone, but he's not "some
guy", he's one of the best writers of our time. Don't worry though, others
have made your mistake: <http://kottke.org/11/04/infinite-jest-blindly-judged>

~~~
javert
I'm not worried because I didn't make a mistake. I'm not surprised he's a
popular author; "sign of the times." But thanks for the info.

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vimalg2
I've been sleeping on a woven dried-grass mat for over 2 years. Best Sleep in
my life.

It all started by accident when we moved bachelor-house and a grass mat was
the only available sleeping spot left at 2am.

Benefits:

\- Insulated from cold floor - never gets too hot or too cold.

\- Keeps my spine fit; I've never had a better back in my life.

\- Feels really secure - That may have more to do with me being a 250lb fat
guy.

\- Freedom to toss and turn as much as you want without worrying about whats
happening beneath you.

\- You can literally crash onto the mat with your day's exhaustion and nothing
will break. I've mastered the art of falling into it without breaking bones.

The hammock sounds positively uncomfortable and terrifying from where I'm
coming from.

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nico
When I was in Panama, in one of the places I went to, I had to sleep in a
hammock, and it was hell! Really uncomfortable, my back hurt from being bent
the whole night, and I kept waking up all the time because I couldn't find the
right position. Also, I wasn't swaying, that might last for a few minutes
only, but after you fall asleep, if you are not moving, you don't sway at all.

Even though it wasn't the best sleep, I could bear it. But the friend I was
with couldn't take it, he wanted to leave at 5 in the morning the first night
there, he was totally desperate.

From that experience I'd say there's no way hammocks make sleep easier.

~~~
zedpm
This of course depends on the quality of the hammock, in much the same way
that a poor mattress will make for a bad sleeping experience. I own a
Warbonnet Blackbird hammock (<http://warbonnetoutdoors.com/blackbirds.php>)
and it's extremely comfortable. They're one of the very best hammocks out
there and are very popular with the backpacking crowd.

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16BitTons
Here is a link to the article: [http://download.cell.com/current-
biology/pdf/PIIS09609822110...](http://download.cell.com/current-
biology/pdf/PIIS0960982211005392.pdf)

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Jach
The article says it "increased the length of N2 sleep, a form of non-REM sleep
that takes up about half of a good night's rest." Presumably this is at the
cost of REM sleep? How is this then a good thing?

~~~
GHFigs
It could also mean shorter N1 or N3 phases of non-REM sleep. From my limited
understanding it seems like the subjects falling asleep faster would
correspond to a shorter N1 phase, but I haven't read the paper yet.

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erso
Daunted by the cost of a mattress bed and the idea of hauling it up my fifth-
floor walkup in Manhattan, I opted for an indoor hammock instead. It's been
the best sleeping experience I've ever had.

I used to get lower back problems when sleeping on a mattress that have
disappeared since sleeping in the hammock. There are no real pressure points
and it supports your body perfectly.

blhack mentioned that hammocks get cold. This is true as they don't retain any
heat. I use a 'maximum heat' twin-size down comforter when the temperature
drops.

~~~
grinich
How do you mount it in your apartment?

~~~
fletchowns
More importantly, how do you have a girl over if you only have a hammock?

~~~
tintin
Put her on the sofa.

There is nothing romantic about sleeping.

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wyclif
A lot of long distance through-hikers on the Appalachian Trail here in the
Eastern US use hammocks instead of tents. They're gotten a lot more popular
due to the "lightweight" craze in backpacking (trying to shave every ounce off
your full pack weight) and set up/break down a lot faster.

~~~
pyre
How do you use the hammocks in the snow though? (Don't know if this applies to
the Appalachian Trail, but I know that sleeping in the snow happens on the
PCT).

~~~
zedpm
You use both an under quilt and a top quilt to insulate the hammock, which is
of course suspended above the snow. I haven't tried that yet as I'm more of a
fair weather camper, but comments on various hammock forums suggest that
winter camping in hammocks is common.

~~~
wyclif
A lot of hikers do that, or use a liner which is a lot like a sleeping bag,
but attached to the hammock and unzips for cleaning.

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n-ion
"A dozen adult research subjects" :(

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staunch
I really want a hammock in my (small) office. Any great options?

~~~
dmix
I hear Hammock Huts is a good place, also Hammocks-R-Us on third. And then
theres Swing Low, Sweet Chariot...

~~~
regomodo
Matter of fact, they're all in the same complex; it's the hammock complex on
third.

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colinwinter
I didn't realize you could buy a hammock for under $20:
[http://www.amazon.com/Texsport-14258-La-Paz-
Hammock/dp/B000P...](http://www.amazon.com/Texsport-14258-La-Paz-
Hammock/dp/B000P9GZUA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308619592&sr=8-1)

Now does anybody know how/where I can get something that rocks/pulls my
hammock back and forth?

~~~
GHFigs
Get a cat.

~~~
regomodo
and enjoy being randomly clawed in the chest when sleeping

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nothis
I don't like how they basically squeeze around your body, wrapping you all up.
It's hard to turn around or even just to the side.

I guess the article was more about the 4 second rocking motion, though, which
sounds delightful just from description.

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Gustomaximus
This makes sense in that I have always found I sleep really well on small
boats. I always assumed it was the sound of water lapping the hull lulling
ones brain but the rocking of the boat might be what does it.

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swah
How much better? Give me a number so I can judge if I think its relevant...

~~~
rcthompson
It seems that the main focus of the article is on the difference in brain
activity, not the sleep time. I would imagine that the time to sleep is not as
important as the quality of the sleep thus attained.

~~~
dmragone
I agree, and as such this article leaves my main question unanswered: with a
bed that rocks (or a hammock), could I get the same amount of rest in less
time?

In other words, what is the ratio of sleeping hours in a non-moving bed to a
rocking-bed?

~~~
hyperbovine
> could I get the same amount of rest in less time?

I'm dubious of anything that claims to pull this off. My own failed attempts
have convinced me that sleep is not something that can be lifehacked. There is
some variation in sleep requirements between individuals, but you and I each
have a number (probably ~8 hours) below which our bodies start getting cranky.
There are loads of studies showing that any form of sleep deprivation -- and I
would include here trying to optimize down your overall sleep time -- has
reliable, long term negative consequences. What's more, there seems to be an
unusual level of consensus on this subject. (I say 'unusual' because medical
researchers never agree on anything. :-)

~~~
delackner
This is basically true, but it doesn't necessarily all have to come in one 8
hour shot. The past month I've been taking 10 minute naps once an hour from
roughly an hour before lunch on through about 6 in the evening, and it makes
my working hours much more focused and my after-work hours feeling much more
refreshed.

~~~
swah
That reminds me of a polyphasic sleeper than slept for 1 hour every 4 hours of
something like that.

Then I asked him:

\- And at night?

\- At night I sleep!

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fmavituna
Now we know why rocking babies to sleep works.

~~~
city41
The article does say "It's not like rocking like you would see some mothers
rocking their babies, it's more gentle.", which seems to imply this type of
rocking is different?

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klipt
So, is it possible to set up an indoor hammock in a small room?

~~~
ChuckMcM
Of course it is (my roommate and I set up two hammocks in our dorm room
between the wall studs) however the article suggests that simple rocking (not
necessarily 'hammocks') is the key. And doing _that_ is easier, in that you
need only put your bed on a platform that can rock. (baby cradles have rounded
ends sometimes for that).

~~~
jodrellblank
How about sleeping on a water bed? Is that enough motion?

Mechanically pushing a waterbed would also be easier than making a bed
rockable.

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noelchurchill
This reaffirms my wanting to buy a house boat and live on it.

~~~
svmegatron
I live on a boat (a sailboat rather than a houseboat, but it rocks in more or
less the same way) and I can confirm that it is awesome. This article makes me
want to get one of those sleep-quantifying bracelets and graph boat sleep vs.
land sleep.

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dgroves
Try this: <http://www.lebeanock.com/>

