Trouble Sleeping

[hairbear]

Dont get discouraged its a mental game . You dont feel secure in your new sleep system,so your brain is keeping you on alert.
This was my problem at first also. The more you use it the more relaxed your mind will be in its new suroundings.
Im now a full time hammock sleeper,and can fall asleep instantly.
The hammock is now my sleep system of choice,now sleeping in a bed is a challenge. Good luck

I will also add that the bridge hammock was what I finally found to be the answer,after getting used to that the gathered ends are also part of what I use. At first I swore id never sleep in a gathered end again,but it was my lack of experience that made me come to that conclusion.
Try different hang angles,my sweet spot is with a lower suspension resulting in a tighter hammock with less sag.
Others will tell you just the opposite,so experiment to find whats right for you.
For what its worth I probably spent forty sleepless nights before being a snore machine in my hammock.

[J.Andersons]

Ive had a complete opposite, got first time to nap in my some time ago purchased in new big brazilian cotton hammock and in planned 20 minute nap I ended sleeping without awaking and any tossing and turning whole 17 hours! (forgot to set an alarm clock)

[toygun]

I hang a very small battery efficient mp3 player from my ridgeline and plug in some headphones. Works everytime for me- drowns out nearby heavy snore factories and wandering squatches.

+1 on the short ENO's being a problem too. I just couldn't get comfy in my ENO.

[photomankc]

I find there is a huge mental aspect to it. If I go to bed in the woods thinking I have got to get some sleep now and expect to doze right off, well... I'll be staring at the netting still at 3:00AM. However, if I take my iPod and start to watch a movie, or listen to some music or... best of all an audio book then I can't keep my eye's open for very long. I need something to take my mind off the unfamiliar sounds, and movement or I can't sleep.

I'm not above taking an unneeded Actifed before bed time either. Once I fall asleep then I don't lay and try to feel cold spots or figure out if that taught section of fabric is going to bother my calf, or will my feet cramp. The longer I stay awake the harder it becomes to go to sleep.

After a couple days of hiking I can fall asleep on a wet pile of rocks so all the tricks are no longer needed.

For me the toughest part is warmth. I have a hard time judging the under-quilt correctly and my best rated quilt refuses to leave any down on the sides so my shoulders and arms freeze all night.

[jons4real]

I totally understand where your coming from. I've been there myself. I started off with a double eno myself. I never had a chance to put in a full nights rest untill I moved into a house with a basement. I was so excited ! So the night came when I was set up and ready to get my sleep on .... But there was very little sleep going on . It honestly was confusing. I'm 100% comfortable in a hammock but as soon as its nighty night time everything changes. I start feeling pressure in places there's normally not pressure. My first step in trouble shooting as addressing my rig, what can I change. Sag, head vs foot angle . Ultimately I came to the conclusion that at 6'1 the length of an eno wasn't going to cut it. So I started searching the forum and came across a pif for a hammock which I was then able to trade for an 11 ft'er. Wow the difference we incredible. I mean like life changing different . So I saved my pennies and went to dreamhammock.com and had randy make my rig to my dimension. It's hands down an amazing lay. But thus far my troubles are not completely over. I continue to try to make small adjustments when ever possible.