yea I had a similiar problem, I tried mine out for the first time the other day and it was amazingly comfy but I just couldnt fall asleep on my back and after laying around i fell asleep and when I woke up I felt amazing. Don't think I will go back to tent sleeping again haha, I dont even wanna sleep in a bed anymore. just give it time and try different things out.
Dont give up!
This past weekend on the Canaveral hang I slept 12 hours the first night, 10 hours the second....drove home, crawled into the hammock in the bedroom and did it again.
I add one to mine, right at 100", and it made a world of difference in the flatness.Originally Posted by Mancat
I think it is rare for someone to crawl into a new sleeping mechanism and sleep well right off the bat. How many times have we slept in a "strange" bed and not been able to sleep, let alone in a whole new way of sleeping in a whole new environment. Little things can make a big difference in sleep.
One of the things that I think makes sleeping much easier outdoors is that we are exposed to very little light. Darkness aids in the production of Melatonin, a natural hormone produced by the Pineal gland in the center of the brain which induces sleep. I know for me at home, prior to bed I will spend time on the computer or television or reading, all of which has me looking into bright light. When I do this, it inhibits my sleep. I don't sleep as well as when I am outside.
I guess what I am saying is that there may be other variables that are having impact on your inability to sleep well. A hammock is only as good as the environment we provide for sleeping. In the woods, I sleep soundly, set up on my front porch, 30 ft. from the road, not so much.
It also takes time and the "fiddle factor." Give it both, know that others have had the same experience, and the worse thing that can happen is that you go back to the ground. (OMG, no, not that) I am guessing though, that you will eventually find what works and you will one day reflect back on this learning experience and smile with a rested and elevated perspective.
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If you find that no matter what you do, even with help from others, you might want to look into a bridge hammock. I do know that I can sleep on my side when I'm in my eureka.
There are pros and cons to every hammock so dont give up and if you find something going on or someone on the forums near you, try and hook up with them and get some hands on advice.
This is what I just did and am very happy with my set up now.
Wrong hammock? How tall and heavy are you, and which HH did you get?
I have lots of hammocks, and my HHs(all longer models) are among my most comfortable.
Your back was "all bent"? It should not be bent much more than if you are laying on your back in bed, or maybe a very slight "recliner" type position. When you got in the hammock, was the hammock ridge line straight and somewhat taught, but not as tight as a guitar string?
Make sure the head end and foot end are ~ equidistant to whatever you are attached to, and just pull the suspension rope moderately tight. You don't have to pull it really tight, but you don't want it so loose that the RL sags once you are in.
Were you sliding to the foot end? Raise the foot 6" or so higher than the head end.
Were your knees bent even very slightly in the wrong direction? Put a pillow under your knees. As you lay in the hammock, have your head on the left side and feet in the right corner. With a zip model, make sure you are laying with the zipper on your right.
To get on your right side, keep your head on the left(away from zipper) and feet to the right and pull up into fetal, at a pretty good diagonal position. For left side, head to right side of hammock(towards zipper) again get pretty darn diagonal and fetal. Works REAL good for me, anyway.
Forget the stomach, IMO. If you have a bridge hammock MAYBE some folks can sleep on their stomach, but not me.
If none of the above works, get a bridge hammock. But it is not uncommon to have a few bad nights in a hammock at first. It is just quite different hanging in the air. My 1st night in a hammock was horrible in every way, but all ( or 99.5%) since then have been wonderful.
Assuming the hammock is big enough for you, probably the two most likely culprits are needing something under your knees and needing the foot a bit higher than the head.
"Hang" in there, and good luck!
Last edited by BillyBob58; 04-01-2011 at 07:52.
As others have noted, there is definitely a learning curve with how to set up a hammock properly.
Some general things that should help shorten the learning curve:
http://gear-report.com/hammock-campi...-illustration/
http://gear-report.com/how-to-pitch-...-hammock-tarp/
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I'll echo this.
A bridge type hammock is going to be your best (maybe only) bet for stomach sleeping. Stomach sleeping requires a pretty flat surface to avoid hyper-extending the back. Gathered and cinched end hammocks are never going to be able to provide as flat as a sleeping surface as a bridge style hammock can.
Good luck! Like others have said, don't give up on hammock sleeping. It's worth every single moment of trial and error.
Trust nobody!
I thought I'd throw this out here in this post. My friend bought a hammock and was having a hard time getting the 30 degree suspension angles. Go buy one (or even two) of those cheap protractors at the drug store. (walgreens has them for 99 cents) http://img.walgreens.com/dbimagecach..._450x450_a.jpg Tie or tape it to your suspension line so that it crosses the 0 and 180 ticks. (with the zero pointing down towards your hammock)
Thread a piece of string through the center hole and tie a weight to the end. As you adjust your hammock you get instant feedback about the suspension angle. Remember back to geometry class and you'll recognize that the angle of your suspension will be the difference between the reading and 90 degrees....
i.e.
if your protractor reads 67, then the suspension is 90-67=23 degrees... too tight
If it reads 50, then the suspension is 90-53=40 degrees... too loose.
Take it out backpacking and exhaust yourself.....it will for sure lull you to snooze-ville.
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