Advice needed! My first night in a hammock did not go so well.....

I recently got my first hammock (ENO Doublenest) and have up until last night only used it for relaxing on my college campus and lounging about. Last night I figured I would test sleeping in it for the night and I did not have the best experience. I was unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in and had to move to my bed after 2 hours of restlessness. I was doing my best to lay on the diagonal but I was still unable to get a flat lay. I had the most discomfort with my legs being hyper-extended. I guess I am just looking for some tips and tricks so that I can get some sleep because I have some camping trips planned and I do not want to go back to the ground, obviously.

Also, in a bed I usually sleep on my stomach. That may have something to do with it but I can't see how I would be able to sleep like that in a hammock.

How tall are you? I am right at 6' and could never find a comfortable spot in the DN. I went to a 10 ft hammock (only a bit longer) and it became much easier to find a comfortable lay.

Also, consider adding a SRL to the DN to get a good, repeatable sag.

Was your shoulder at one side and your feet at the other side. If not you were still not diaginal enough.
You can try a pillow under your knees or try to lay on your side. I can not sleep on my back and have to side sleep.
Good luck.

Did you try it with different amounts of sag? Not enough sag can keep you from getting diagonal, hence flat.

I am about 6' as well. I was thinking about adding a SRL but I wasn't sure about what the length should be. I will for sure try the pillow idea though.

In a hammock always sleep with a fleece jacket stuffed under my knees, otherwise I also feel like my legs get hyperextended no matter what the sag of the hammock is.

Not being able to get a flat lay could be caused by insufficient sag as others mentioned (check that your suspension is at about 30 degrees). It could also be that you just have to get used to the feel of lying in a hammock, as I sure needed to when I started.

Didn't sleep at all my first night in a hammock. But after another couple times I got the best nights of sleep ever. I now find hammocks very comfortable.

Every new experience requires acclimation. 48 hours is usually what it takes to adapt to new surroundings. In this case the body will want to sleep if there are no other disturbances with which to deal. It's not a problem if you don't think it is. But 48 hours without sleep and a lot of anxiety about it can cause psychosis; so, be careful to have a back-up plan. But give it more than 2 hours, I'd think.

The first time snow skiing I skied all night in my dreams -- but it was sleep, the subconscious sorted it out well enough and the next day I skied much better, though I decided it was not the sport for me.

The same thing happened when I learned how to sail.

Big changes and profoundly new experiences just take some time. It's true what they say about relaxing into it, that is, into the natural process of thing (unless there is a physical harm or a moral wrong, of course).

I am about 6' as well and I experienced the same issues you are having. What i did was add a SRL which is basically set at about 85% of hammock length, which helped me to pitch my hammock in a way that would give me a comfortably flat lay.I also started placing a pillow under my knees to combat the knee-hyper extension problem.

I recently just made a DIY Tablecloth hammock (90"X132") and it gives me a very flat lay without the knee hyper extension problem. Most comfortable hammock i have ever slept in. Generally, longer hammocks are going to eliminate the problems that you are experiencing.

How far apart were the supports?

How high up did you tie them?

Do you have a ridgeline installed?

This might help.

http://theultimatehang.com/hammock-hang-calculator/