When I interviewed Erwan Le Corre a couple of years ago, one of the things I asked about was sleep. I was expecting an answer about the importance of sleep to health and recovery but while that was there, he also talked about where and how to sleep:
I thought of Erwan's answer today when I was on Facebook and saw that Mark Reifkind had posted a link to a really interesting study of how hunter gatherers sleep. The paper is a few years old but it is fascinating:
Instinctive sleeping and resting postures: an anthropological and zoological approach to treatment of low back and joint pain
The whole paper is there and is worth reading. This is the summary
Sleeping enough, resting frequently, going to bed early, leave a window open to make sure air is renewed, avoiding synthetic fabrics.
I personally like to sleep on the floor, not in a bed, not even on a real mattress. To me it's more comfortable this way, and this way I can sleep about anywhere without experiencing discomfort whenever I'm travelling.
I thought of Erwan's answer today when I was on Facebook and saw that Mark Reifkind had posted a link to a really interesting study of how hunter gatherers sleep. The paper is a few years old but it is fascinating:
Instinctive sleeping and resting postures: an anthropological and zoological approach to treatment of low back and joint pain
The whole paper is there and is worth reading. This is the summary
- Forest dwellers and nomads suffer fewer musculoskeletal lesions than “civilised” people
- Nature's automatic manipulator during sleep is the kickback against the vertebrae by the ribs when the chest is prevented from movement by the forest floor
- Various resting postures correct different joints
- Pillows are not necessary
Largely anecdotal evidence has been collected by “old timers” for over 50 years from non-Western societies that low back pain and joint stiffness is markedly reduced by adopting natural sleeping and resting postures. This observation must be recorded to allow further research in this direction as these primitive societies no longer exist and the great apes living in the wild are heading for extinction. All we have to do is to be good primates and use these preventive techniques.
Comments
i am a belly sleeper and something that i cannot seem to overcome is the ridiculous pain i can get when my knee cap is straight down for hours at a time while sleeping. it is excruciating to wake up and slowly move my leg. also, sleeping on the floor is something my wife won't do thus it is not great for the marriage.
all in all, the sleeping on the floor experience has been very positive for me.
I have found that I tend to sleep uninterrupted while sleeping in bed, yet when I wake I feel sore, stiff and not refreshed. Sleeping on the floor, I will wake several times during the night, but when I do get up, I feel more refreshed without the aches or pains. My back spasms have also eased.
Window open, under reindeer skins or cotton sure.
I have found the paleo worlds's insistence on a full nights rest does not match up with anthropological reports of extant or near extant HG people who frequently stay up well into the night and hunt early in the dawn.
Brief and to the point.
I don't know where else I'd get this info; that's why your on me RSS feeds.
-Steve