Why can't I stay asleep in my hammock?

[hutzelbein]

Could be lots of reasons. Many have been addressed already. It's very difficult to help, though, because hammock comfort is incredibly individual. If I have understood correctly, you have never ever before slept in a hammock, with the DangerBird being your very first hammock, right?

For what it's worth, I have 2 Dream Hammocks, and love them. In theory, that is. They're incredibly well crafted, have so many great features - and I love the fabric. And still I have the same problem as you: I can't sleep through the night. I haven't figured out what my problem is, but my guess is, that the type of gathering (channel ends with the rope creating an o-closure) that makes it uncomfortable to me. When I get in the hammock fresh, I always think I must have been wrong - it feels so comfortable. But after a couple of hours, I wake up and feel squeezed and curved and have to get out. I can sleep in other hammocks with different gathered ends no problem. I have had good luck with channel ended hammocks when I run the rope through open ended to create a u-style closure, but only no-net hammocks that can "spread". Warbonnet whipped hammocks work as well. Both create a fold similar to the accordion fold, which also works for me. So does the Hennessy-style fold.

That is me, though. What I would suggest to you is, try another hammock that is constructed differently and see if it changes things for you. Maybe also see that it is less stretchy, since stretchy fabrics create the feeling you described, too. It also wouldn't hurt going to a hang and have more experienced people have a look at your set-up and your hang, in case it's user error.

[brino]

For me, I need to have the head end about 6 inches lower than the foot... of course that's in a WBBB, you basically NEED to do this because of the foot box. Never laid in a dreamhammy but imagine it's pretty similar.

I sleep in mine out in the garage pretty frequently. It seems like I wake up faster ... I wake up fully refreshed ... just much sooner than I would in a bed. Normally in a bed I'd toss and turn for an hour or two before finally getting up. In the hammock, I wake up about the same time I'd start tossing, but fully refreshed.

So the question is ... how do you FEEL when you wake up?

[SteveJJ]

Just tough it out for one week straight. Your body will sort out its issues. Worked for me anyway and now I'm full time at home or on the road.

[trent562]

I had the same problem at first. The more I slept in mine the easier it was, and I could not go back to the ground now.

[cougarmeat]

My first night after a lay off of hammock sleeping always feels a little weird. The muscles need to learn to relax more. I've found it can make a big difference on how tight or loose it is hung. If possible, start with afternoon naps. There are a few things you need in a bed that you may not need in a hammock. For example, I don't need a pillow under my head. The hammock supports my head just fine so if I have a camp pillow, it might go under my knees - to give variation there. I don't need to toss and turn because I and no building up pressure points, like in a bed. But I can easily roll on my side and curl up - again, if the hammock is hung not to tight, not to loose.

[HungLikeANorse]

Some of these responses do give me a couple additional thoughts. 1) Although I'm actually a little on the shorter side at 5'8", I partially wonder if I might have been better to go with the 11' option rather than the 10' to lay flatter. I went with a heavy fabric as well and two layers of it at that. Maybe that is contributing? Second, I slept in the hammock only on weekends and both nights I was hanging at the bar a bit with some buddies before hanging in the hammock... sometimes that actually hurts my sleep unlike alot of people. Third is probably the biggest factor outside of the cramping: on all three attempts (2 in the Dangerbird and one in a cheap Grand Trunk Ultralight) I was having trouble tuning out all the ANIMAL NOISE! The deer and raccoons sound like a marching band in the otherwise silent woods. This Saturday night in fact, I could swear that at least twice during the night I heard the rattle of two bucks locking antlers about 75 yards away (though it seems a little early for the Rut). Combine fighting deer, the cooing and rustling of raccoons and later, the squeaking of some small rodent milling around below my hammock, possibly threatening to chew into my $300 underquilt (yes i was too low but i was also on a hillside) and it can be a little tough to drift off. Earplugs may be in order.

Also: don't have a beard....yet to answer the question haha. (already thoroughly hooked on the axes tho, another one of those things where one is probably more than you need but never where you stop)

[SpitballJedi]

I'm fairly new to hammocking and the first few attempts were pretty uncomfortable. I understand what you mean about being used to tossing and turning in a bed because of pressure points, I'm the same way. I'm a serious snorer too. In a bed, I can't really fall asleep on my back without snorting myself awake.

I think this is why I had a hard time in a hammock at first because I basically sleep on my back in it and I think my body just hasn't really got used to it quite yet. A memory foam travel pillow helped tremendously. I have one the "U" shaped ones that has a zipper to remove the memory foam. If I'm on a packing trip, I leave the foam at home and just stuff it with clothes or a towel or something I'm already bringing anyway. If I'm just chillin at a friends house or not worried about weight and bulk, I use the foam. As simple as it may sound, it really changed my experience.

Now, once I fall asleep, I hardly wake up at all. I adjust a little here and there, but I now sleep so much better than in my $900 bed. Even if I only get 5-6 hours sleep, I feel more rested than sleeping 8-10 hours in a bed. This week, I'm looking at going full time hammock in the bedroom.

I don't know exactly why the travel pillow helps so much, but I notice a big difference when I don't have it. I don't really feel that uncomfortable without it, but I wake up a lot more for some reason.

[Thumbs]

10' was WAY too short for me. I'm comfortable in a 11' and that's what I travel with. At home I hang every night in an 11.5'.
I can tell you that comfort does take some time to get used to. I used to toss and turn in a bed a lot.
Like others have said, no pillow is necessary. I tried various sizes and finally realized none was a good option.

Once I got used to getting a full nights WORTH of sleep in a hammock, that happens for me in 6 hours instead of the 8-9 hours it took in a bed, all is good.
Now I go to sleep in my hammy with my cell on my chest, and I wake up with it there. That's good sleeping.

[slbear]

I've slept on my side for years (decades) for one reason - to minimize my snoring. Now I'm used to that and figured I would be a side sleeper in the hammock for that same reason. I know I snore when I've tent camped, but no one has said anything about me snoring in the hammock. I've noticed I don't turn completely on my side, but sleep at more of a twisting angle. It would be completely uncomfortable in a bed or on a pad, but it's natural in the hammock.

Spent two nights in my Dutch 11' hammock this weekend, and woke up a lot during the night. I felt like I wasn't ready to go back to sleep, but then I would. I wrote in another thread that I hadn't found the sweet spot, but now I'm thinking it is just as the OP reports - not sleeping through the night. We both equate this as not rested, but I think I was pretty rested - more than I would have turning over and over on a ground pad.

Like many, I have this urge to nap as soon as I hit the hammock any time of day. My new theory is the hammock sleep is so restful, you need less of it (unless you hiked 15 miles). And hammock campers don't snore!

I'm hoping for a SoCal Hang sometime soon to get some first hand feedback and tips.

-Slbear

[SilvrSurfr]

I'm also strictly a side sleeper in a bed; if I sleep on my back I snore. Snoring, in my book, is not good. When I first started hammocking, I used a full-size pillow and tried to sleep exactly like I do in a bed. It was not comfortable. Eventually, I dumped the pillow, resigned myself to sleeping on my back (no pressure points anywhere), and learned to cock my head to the side to eliminate snoring. It's been working great for me.