Most people are hammock users. This is rooted in the several health benefits that hammock provides. As claimed, it facilitates better breathing, blood circulation, deeper and longer sleep. However, most people still fall prey to the wrong beliefs on how to effectively and comfortably lay on a hammock. While most people recommend tightening your hammock, or sleeping fully on your sides provide more benefit, this is not all true in all situations.
The following are the guide and tips that will help you sleep comfortably in your hammock.
How to avoid backache
Some users have complained of backache after lying on a hammock for a long time This is rooted again to the reason that most people are not using their hammocks in the right way. Most of them go lie in its length making their body fold up like a banana.
All you need to do to avoid this is to lie down diagonally.
How to fight claustrophobia while lying on a hammock
Hammock users have shared stressing experiences like being squeezed by the left and right sides of the hammock to the center. This situation will result in shoulder pain and uncomfortable feeling of sleeping.
The same position of lying down solves this problem. You just need to make sure that your body is spread in a 45-degree angle to avoid being squeezed to the center. This position will also give you more space in the hammock.
If the diagonal sleeping position still does not work and you still feel fearful of sleeping in the hammock, you can try opting to bigger hammocks. Bigger hammocks typically do not dip in the middle as much as smaller or average-sized hammocks do.
Sleeping on your belly
For most people, sleeping on their stomach is uncomfortable even if they are belly sleepers. This belief is not entirely correct. Belly sleepers can still rest in their preferred sleeping position and can still feel comfortable about it. However, a hammock is slightly different from a typical bed, so if you will try to sleep on your belly in a hammock, there is a tendency that you will end up lying on your back or your side after a few minutes. There is nothing to worry about because even if you are a belly sleeper, lying at a back or on your side is still comfortable in a hammock.
There is even a negative side of sleeping on the belly that belly sleepers need to avoid. Belly sleeping is commonly linked to lower back pain. This is because the lumbar spine is put in severe tension when you lie on your belly. This results in jammed posterior elements of the spine.
The Right Angle
Beginners often lay on the hammock in a parallel way; it is understandable because they think this will give them more space. However, contrary to what they think, this position does not give them enough space to turn even an inch.
Sleeping diagonally will never make anyone in the hammock sink into the fabric and at the same time, will stretch the material to create a flat surface, providing the users more space and comfort.
The following are the step on how to sleep diagonally in a hammock
Step 1: Sit down at the center of the hammock once it is strapped and hung.
Step 2: Slowly lay down on your back, slightly off-center to sleep. This will avoid back pain
Step 3: Once you feel cradled in the fabric, slide down or slide down on the hammock
Step 4: Put a pillow or a blanket (rolled-up blanket) under your knees to avoid straining your back
Step 5: Wrap yourself with the sides of the hammock fabric. You can also choose to be wrapped up in a blanket to stay warm.
Other Tips for More Comfortable Rest in Hammock
1.Hang the Hammock Properly
The two common mistakes that beginners make is that they hang the hammock too low because they are afraid to fall, and they hang the hammock too tight because they fear to sink inside the hammock. You can easily buy and review hammock stands online .
When you hang the hammock too low, there will be no chance to accommodate plenty of curves that you need to achieve in a hammock for full comfort. Hang the hammock between two trees in 12 to 15 feet apart.
Also, tightening the hammock just to get rid of the slack will provide no comfort but more stress on your body. Certainly, this will give you a flat surface but in turn, the hammock will become constricting. The curve in the middle and the slack in the hammock is good as it provides flexibility to the hammock to enable you to achieve a more comfortable sleeping position.
2.Cross Your Leg
After you are in a comfortable position (ideally, diagonal position) crossing your legs will help you get enough space for your body. You can prevent suffocation with this method, and also with bending your hand in your chest.
3.Chill Out
You can also push a foot out, wrap your body, or move around a little bit. Once you are now relaxed, you can position a pillow in accordance with your maximum comfort.
4. Choose the right hammock
No matter what your positions are, or how many accessories like blanket or pillows you use, if you do not use the right hammock with good quality materials, you will not experience the full comfort of it. That is why, above anything else, choosing the right hammock should be taken into consideration. Choose a hammock that is made with a soft, breathable material like nylon, DuraCord or cotton that will make your sleep sound.
Final Take
While the diagonal position is the most ideal position for a hammock, we understand that not everyone is the same. Just like what has been mentioned, belly sleepers might find comfort in sleeping on their belly or sleeping on sides. As a regular sleeper, any position is good as long as you feel comfortable in anything you do. There is no prescribed position; what works for you works for you.