Super stiff neck...

**Pyrogen** · 03-08-2016, 11:42

Oh sultans of swing, I plead for your advice. Last night was my third night sleeping in my ENO Junglenest. The first night I chickened out sometime around 3 in the morning. I attributed that to my body getting used to sleeping on my back. (I've never been able to sleep on my back prior to hammocks, so I'm SUPER excited about this!!!) The night before last, I slept the entire night in my hammock, but woke up about an hour early with a stiff neck. This morning, I woke up almost 2 hours early with a very stiff neck and couldn't get comfy enough to fall back asleep, so I dropped down to my bed. Knowing that this is a learning curve, I'm not giving up.

Here's the breakdown: I try and sleep at an angle, but indoors attempting to keep the bug net out of my face seems to limit how sideways I can get. I sleep with a pillow under my neck too. That being said, on a bed, I usually sleep head-to-the-side and on my belly, so this neck pain being in the back of my neck, feels completely different from the normal stiffness. Doing some research and using the search button, this doesn't seem to be an uncommon problem for noobs like me.

So, what seems to be the general consensus- Is it technique, or is it gear related? The wife said I could put a hammock up in our room if we got rid of the bed eventually. (Due to health issues, she sleeps on a couch, so no bed in our room means the couch will move in.. hopefully I can get her to join our ranks too!). That having been said, she also told me another hammock was a small price to pay in comparison to a new bed, if that meant permanent comfort. I'm super thrilled about sky sleeping and have otherwise woken up feeling very rested and feeling as if I can breathe better over all. I need an Underquilt eventually, and the wife doesn't mind inheriting the Junglenest (She's a fraction of my size). I'm 5'11", 200lbs or so, and have been eyeing up Dutch's hexon 1.0. Thanks for all the input!

**OneClick** · 03-08-2016, 11:49

I would make sure you're not sleeping to close to the head end of the hammock. Maybe you are and that is pushing your head up too much, not flat enough? Also, the pillow could be exaggerating that effect. I like the comfort of a pillow, but often find it bends my neck too much. For some reason it's different than in bed for me.

Or maybe you are trying to "look" in one directing to avoid that netting without realizing it.

**Pyrogen** · 03-08-2016, 12:06

The back of my neck into my upper back and shoulders feels like my chin was buried in between my clavicles. Shoulders really don't feel like I was shrugging and crowded all night, and are relatively loose.

The "look in one direction" pain is what I get when I lay on my belly in a bed because my head is forced one way or the other to avoid suffocating. That's part of why I want so desparately to move to a hammock, I've literally never before in my adult life been able to sleep on my back. This is completely new neck pain, and it's totally welcome pain because it's different, and hopefully, something I can work past. I've never slept so soundly in my life, otherwise!!!

I think I'm going to trust $40 of my monies to Dutch and have him work some sewing machine magic.

**sqidmark** · 03-08-2016, 12:08

I use an underinflated pillow under my neck. It has just enough air in it to allow slight side to side head stabilization but not so much it raises the back of my head. Hope that makes sense. I use a similarly underinflated pillow under my knees. I know it sounds odd, but raising your knees a bit just might help. Can't hurt to try.

Edit: I'm not familiar with ENO's. What length hammock? Maybe it's just too short. The majority seems to prefer 10.5' - 12', even many of us short folks. What length ridgeline? Start the RL at 83% fabric length and adjust from there for best lay/comfort. Another thought is that some folks, myself included, prefer to have the foot end higher than the head end. I like about 12-13".

Edit 2: Given the issues you've cited already, you may find the hexon 1.0 has a little too much stretch for you. I'd suggest the 1.6. Much less shoulder squeeze and butt sink. Heck if you're only using in the house, go for the 2.4. If I ever hang full time at home, that's what I'd use @ 12', maybe even a DL with 1.0 inside and 2.4 outside (only because 1.0 has a nicer hand than 2.4). I'm only 5'4" 150lbs, have lower back discomfort and locked shoulders.

**Dublinlin** · 03-08-2016, 12:12

I use a car travel-type neck pillow to sleep in my hammock. It is far more comfortable to me than a regular pillow, plus it doesn't slide away...stays wrapped right around my neck.

Also, different hammocks sleep differently. I love my 11 foot WBBB XLC, even though I'm short (4' 11"). It has a flat lay. I NEVER sleep on my back in my hammock or bed...I always sleep on my side and can do so quite comfortably in my hammock.

**Pyrogen** · 03-08-2016, 12:43

Sqidmark:
Makes perfect sense to me. I lay with a pillow under my knees already to avoid hyper-extension. The pillow under my neck is a standard bed pillow, so it may just be too large. I don't really need anything under my skull, it's neck support that's in question I suppose. I'll see about swinging by a CVS and finding a lightly filled travel pillow or blow up to expirement with. May just have my wife sew me a custom one out of fleece. The ENO Junglenest is 9'5" and a single, in terms of width. I'm finding a lot of folks seem to sweet-spot around 11'. I'm not using a structural ridgeline inside, it seemed to force too much "taco" action when tight enough to not be completely slack. 83% ridgeline for my 9'5" hammock wound up being too long for indoor use but works OK to pretty swell outside where I've got more space between anchor points. I'll try lowering the head of my hammock a bit too. After reading up more on ENO's supplied fabric, it seems to be pretty stretchy. I think this may also lend to my butt sinking, and my chin being forced into my throat. Looking at dutch's website, you're right, the Hex 1.0 may not be enough. The 2.4 might be the option I go with. I'm not a texture fanatic honestly, I can sleep on carpet, I can sleep on velvet. My biggest issue is feeling trapped in my own heat and sweat, and from reading up on Hexon fabric, it's got a cottony feel, for being a synthetic feeling, so I think it'll do nicely.

Dublinlin:
Looking to get a neck pillow to try out. It's all but impossible for me to side sleep in my Junglenest, which I attribute to it's overall size.

**sqidmark** · 03-08-2016, 13:16

I'm going to suggest the 9.5 may be your biggest issue. Perhaps it's just not allowing you to get flat enough. My wife and I recently tried knotting our longer (11'8" and 11'6") hammocks down to 10' and found it uncomfortable compared to full length. We also have a GT 8 foot 6 incher...yikes no thanks! We're quite new at this and we've been spoiled already! All that said, a lot of folks much taller than us say they are quite comfortable in shorter hammocks. Much younger and more flexible I suppose. HYOH!

We've been using ours mostly in the house as well. It took me a lot of trial and many errors to get the mounting points right. At least it's in the heated garage where the sheetrock was already buggered up. 19' wall to wall, I wound up putting the eyes into the ceiling joists and moved the one end in closer to the other by a couple feet.

1.0 is silky smooth. 1.6 a little less so but still very nice. 2.4 is a little more canvas like by comparison, but also not bad at all. 1.0 breathes really well, almost like going "naked". The other two, not so much, but still breathable. 2.4 is our choice in terms of comfort, mainly due to lower back support and for me, no shoulder squeeze. 1.6 is my go-to for backpacking because it's lighter than 2.4, still has far less shoulder squeeze and butt sink than 1.0. 1.0 will be my backpacking choice during hot and humid conditions.

**OneClick** · 03-08-2016, 13:19

^ good point. It's not just about weight and feel, but support. The Warbonnet site has some good info regarding the fabric of their hammocks...how you may be within the weight limit, yet not have the right amount of support/comfort. For example, 1.1 is fine for me at 160lb, but the 1.7 is much more supportive and comfortable.

**Pyrogen** · 03-08-2016, 13:29

Markr6: Noted! Material is FAR more important than I thought. The ENO Junglenest was kind of an impulse buy. I don't regret it, but methinks I need something larger. Sqid, Thanks for the fabric advice. I think I'm going to go with a Coyote Brown Hex 2.4. The canvas feel of the fabric actually sounds appealing to me, I slide around a bit in my ENO.

That said, I REALLY like the poppy red Hexon 2.4, but I'm concerned about colorfastness. (Also, some bugs are attracted to bright colors, so there's that..) Coyote brown will fade out to be a lighter brown or tan but red... red fades to pink. I don't want a pink hammock in a few years. Anyone have any input on this?

**mudsocks** · 03-08-2016, 13:40

It sounds like the full size pillow is the issue. I think the smaller pillow should be your first stop. I think you'll find most hammock users here use a much smaller pillow (I use my down jacket in a loose stuff sack).