Can A Hammock Really Replace a Bed?
7 reasons why you should try sleeping in a hammock
1 Fall Asleep Fast
Is it because we all rocked back and forth in our mama’s tummy once?
A sleep study found that when you rock gently, you move more quickly from light sleep to NREM sleep (N2 phase). This sleep phase is crucial for transferring memories from our short-term memory to our long-term memory and creating free memory in our brain for the next day.
Read details of the sleep study
The study was devoted to the sleep of 12 healthy men. Twice they had to go to the sleep lab for a nap. During one of these appointments, a connecting rod moved the bed back and forth a few inches at a 4-second cycle. The effect on sleep and brain activity was not absent, the scientists report in the journal “Current Biology”:
After turning off the light, all participants in the cradle bed entered the second sleep phase (N2) more quickly and also stayed in it longer during the 45-minute nap. Slowly oscillating brain waves with frequencies of 5 hertz or less were more pronounced, and sleep spindles, typical waxing and waning wave packets, occurred more frequently than when sleeping in a motionless bed.
Signals about the cradling movement are transmitted to the brain by the organ of balance in the inner ear and by receptors in the skin and muscles. It is possible that this regularly changing input influences the synchronization of the cerebrum and diencephalon and thus promotes sleep.
2 Good For Your Back
Contrary to what you might expect, you don’t lie with a hunched back in a real sleep hammock.
In the suitable net hammock (to a certain degree also in big canvas hammocks) you don’t only lie with a straight back, but the weaving will adapt to your natural body shape. Unlike a mattress, there are no pressure points because you are not resting on individual points of the body (head, shoulder blades, buttocks, etc.), but rather the weaving adapts evenly to your entire body.
3 Save Space
In the Navy, hammocks have been used for centuries as a place to sleep because of the little space required. Hammocks take up less space than a bed or couch and can also be taken down in less than a minute. You also save time because making your hanging bed takes only seconds.
By the way: A Hamacama Sleep Hammock can be attached to the ceiling due to the especially wide lying surface and thus enjoy full lying comfort even in a small room.
4 Tested by Millions
In South America (especially Brazil) millions of people sleep in hammocks every day and often do not even own a bed.
5 Cheaper than a Bed
A high-quality hammock costs between €100 and €500 – no comparison to a high-quality bed frame (from €200) including slatted frame (from €50) and mattress (from €200).
6 Bug-free
No mattress needed and no contact with the floor. This makes you inaccessible to mites, bed bugs or other creepy crawlies.
7 Transportable
Where your hammock hangs, your bed hangs. In the apartment, in the garden or at the lake.
Which hammocks are suitable for longer sleep?
Traditional South or Central American hammock
These hammocks have been used and optimized for sleeping for centuries. No matter if cloth or net hammock you can not fall out while sleeping.
Wide lying surface (the wider the better)
Larger and wider hammock means more possible reclining position, less pressure points and most importantly a reclining position with a straight back.
No hammock equals a net hammock in this aspect, especially for tall people.
Fine cotton fabric
For indoor use, cloth hammock or net hammock made of cotton are best suited. Cotton feels good on the skin. With a mesh hammock, you should make sure that the mesh is as fine as possible.
No hammocks with wooden poles
If you move too much while sleeping, you fall out of hammocks with spreader bar (American-style hammocks)
None under 100€ hammocks
A hammock for sleeping must be large and wide. Of course, this requires more material and more work and is therefore more expensive to produce. Saving money is usually at the expense of the quality of the bed.
Better no polyester
Hammocks made of cotton offer the best skin feeling. It’s better to avoid synthetic fabrics that can rustle when you sleep, create frictional electricity or feel slippery.
You want to replace your Bed with a Hammock?
We believe that due to the extremely wide lying surface (over 2.5 m) and the gossamer net fabric made of mercerized cotton, no hammock is better suited as a bed substitute than the Hamacama Heaven.
Frequently asked questions about sleeping in the hammock
Don’t you lie curled up in a hammock?
Isn’t that bad for your back?
Almost 2 m tall person lies with correct lying technique in the Hamacama Strong Natural(). The back is straight. Pillow and/or blanket are optional.
With many hammocks, you are actually forced to lie curved due to lack of space. You then lie like the hammock sags and your back is bent like a banana.
But it is different with large traditional hammocks. In these hammocks you lie diagonally or even crosswise. Thereby the back remains straight.
Can I fall out of the hammock while sleeping?
No, if you sleep alone in a traditional cloth hammock and net hammocks (also Hamacama sleeping hammocks). The body weight creates a bulge in the lying surface that prevents you from falling out. You can toss and turn in your sleep any way you want.
From hammocks with wooden spreader bars? Yes – there, the whole hammock can rotate around its axis.
Isn’t it too cold at our latitude?
If you sleep in a hammock, your body hangs free-floating in space. However, this also allows the heat to escape in all directions. So that one does not cool down, one should provide for a correct room temperature, at least 22° should be it. The hammock could be fixed near a radiator or tiled stove for this purpose.
If it gets colder in the room, or you even sleep outdoors, be sure to keep your back warm. You can use a blanket, fur or sleeping bag as a base in the hammock.
Can two people sleep in the hammock?
In Central and South America, several people sleep together in the hammock.
But you have to be used to that, and we don’t recommend sleeping two in a hammock.
It’s not that the hammock won’t hold the weight, it’s that any movement or even getting up will negatively affect the other person’s sleep.
Can a stomach or side sleeper sleep in a hammock?
Yes and no. There are stomach, back or side sleepers who sleep well in a hammock and still others do not find it comfortable.
In short, try sleeping in a hammock every day for a week and draw your own résumé.