7 Life Lessons Learned From Sleeping on the Floor

I will tell you all of them — no strings attached

Before we begin, I would like to address the elephant in the room as I have had this conversation, many times…

Yes: I sleep on the floor, every night.

No: I do not use a pillow.

As for how: I lay a sheet down next to my actual bed, curl up with a blanket, and sleep like a baby.

Now we can proceed.

Let me set the scene: starting from the bottom bunk

Growing up, sleepovers were synonymous with adventure and thrill. Although they were quite clearly clever ploys created by our parents to get us out of the house for an evening, they were exciting.

Sleepovers were chock-full of nervous energy, sugar rushes, subsequent crashes, and the utmost bending of the truth as to what we were allowed to do at home. After packing an overnight bag (with a perfect ratio of 90% games/toys, 10% everything else) came the daunting reminder of what was to come… bedtime.

The same question always lingered:

“What if I can’t fall asleep?”

If you were like me growing up, you too had a very hard time falling asleep, especially outside of the comfort zone of your own home. Before a sleepover, I would obsess over every little detail.

“Where will I be sleeping?”

“A couch”

“A bunk bed?”

“The floor?”

Not to mention…

“Would it be dark enough?”

“Too dark?!”

And again… “What if I can’t fall asleep?!”

The lighting situation, comfortability, and potential creepiness of someone else’s house would haunt me, all week long.

Today, I’m thankful for these experiences as they have helped me to develop a mental process to overcome anticipatory feelings of nervousness and anxiety. I call it “Remembering to E.N.J.O.Y. the Moment”.

After a childhood of sleepless sleepovers, I began to better understand my sleeping habits and along with them, myself. After listening to the so-called Sleep Experts (and trying a plethora of gels, coils, and levels of firmness) to exhaustion with no luck, I decided to take my rest into my own hands.

“Bed?! You should be sleeping on a wooden board for at least a week.” — Cosmo Kramer

• The seed of an alternative sleeping method was first planted in my brain while watching an episode of Seinfeld.
• That seed was then watered with recounts of my most restful night’s sleeps coming from crashing on a friend’s floor.
• Ultimately the idea blossomed into reality when I tried it for myself.

Skip forward to present day

Eventually, I discovered that (yes, you guessed it) for whatever reason my body responds best to little or no support. Just me, a flat surface, a blanket, and all the imaginary sheep I could conjure up. Since choosing to sleep on the floor (medium pile carpet is my preference) full-time, I’ve seen many physical and mental benefits. I now fall asleep faster than ever, feel well-rested, previous back pain is slowly going away, I’m more limber than ever, and it’s easy to wake up and get my day started, each morning. I truly and genuinely just like it.

In addition to liking the way I feel after a good, solid, flat night’s sleep, moving to the floor has given me a different perspective on life and opened my mind to alternative thinking.

Here are seven life-lessons that I’ve learned as a result of taking my slumber to ground zero:

1. Labels are meant to be removed

I’ve always been of the mind, “to each their own.” That is to say that I like to think of myself as being very open and accepting of others. But, as I began to share my newfound sleeping preferences with my family, friends, and the general public I found that not all of them shared this sentiment.

Some were highly interested, others confused, and many tried to persuade me that I was insane. What I quickly learned was that sharing my unorthodox sleeping habits altered others’ perspectives of who I was. To me, I was the same person with a new habit. To them, I was a new, cooky person with a new, cooky habit. In doing some reflecting, I realized that I hadn’t been all that accepting of others myself, and I had previously judged others based on behaviour that I deemed to be inside/outside my realm of “normal”.

“Normal”, is on my naughty list of bad words along with “need”, and “should”.

You should never judge a book by its cover and the same goes for our fellow humans. Even if you don’t agree with a line, paragraph, or entire page of a book, if you like the author, you keep reading. We shouldn’t be so quick to re-write someone’s story based on a few seemingly odd habits. Humans can be many things and labels limit us. Facing judgement around my sleeping habits has taught me not to judge or label others, and instead seek to understand.

2. Water your “weird”

I used to work for a furniture company that spent tens of thousands of dollars each year training staff to become certified Sleep Experts. Despite this effort (and all the pseudo-science in the world), mattresses remained our most returned category. This is because some things in life are too personal to predict, sleep being one of them. People are unique and should be treated as such.

We are all different, weird even, and there’s nothing wrong with embracing that. Nurturing your inner weirdness means discovering what works for you instead of seeking external validation. My advice is to turn the volume down on metaphorical Sleep Experts and spend some time discovering who you are. Shop around, check out different stores, and don’t be afraid to go to a garage sale. You might even find that you don’t need to buy anything at all — that you already have everything you need.

3. Self-reliance is a beautiful thing

“Need” is a four-letter word comparable to “f**k” and *sh*t”.

What I mean to say is that you should never fork yourself out of the opportunity to learn something new or shut the door on the idea that you can do it yourself. What did you think I meant?

Becoming comfortable in the uncomfortable has taught me that we limit ourselves more often than we think. Since realizing that I don’t actually need a mattress to get a good night’s sleep, my mind has been opened and perspective shifted. If your sock has a hole in it, why not learn how to sew it? And if you’re craving something sweet, why not see if you have the ingredients to make yourself some cookies, at home. We often have the tools to help ourselves but let them collect dust, because using them is uncomfortable.

4. Your brain is a water slide

Our brains love routine and thus resist change. This is why making changes to our routine is so difficult, especially at first. Much like a water slide, positive change is all about momentum. It looks fun but without a constant flow of water, you can get stuck. I find the easiest way to actuate change (and not get stuck), is through incremental steps. The first few steps should be baby sized; effortless; a steady flow of water. As you find your footing, you will gain confidence, and the steps will become larger and faster.

When I first began sleeping on the floor, it was painful, difficult, and I would end up moving back and forth from my bed to the floor. Over time, I became more comfortable and it became easier. Eventually, I started noticing results. Without the comfort of a plush mattress, I was forced to face muscular imbalances more often, and remedy them. Instead of trying to force myself to stretch every day or setting aside hours to foam-roll at time, I was strengthening my body passively. Now, I’ve become so used to it that I actually prefer the floor to a mattress.

The first few steps of any change are uncomfortable and scary but they help to carve out pathways in your brain; a routine. As you continue to enforce these positive habits, the pathways become more defined, and easier to fulfill. Before you know it, you’ll be sliding along with no effort at all, having a great time and enjoying all of the benefits!

5. The right path is often the toughest and simplest

We all know that the toughest things in life yield the biggest results. But, it’s easy to confuse difficulty with complexity. Just because something is challenging doesn’t mean it has to be complicated. In fact, complexity can often distract us from the hard work ahead.

For example, we all have the opportunity to exercise every day but most of us don’t. We may tell ourselves it’s because we need the right equipment or atmosphere to be successful but the truth is we are just avoiding the hard work. The “perfect” anything doesn’t exist and the idea that it does can be used as an excuse.

Sleeping on the floor each night reminds me to keep things simple. It’s not as glamorous as sleeping on a cloud of therapeutic pocket coils but it yields great results for me. Plus, it’s incredibly simple! Earlier in my life, I spent exorbitant amounts of time, money, and mental energy searching for the “perfect” mattress because I thought that there was such a thing. Discovering that, with just a little bit of effort, any flat surface on Earth could become my ideal “sleep number” was incredibly empowering. It has also allowed me to appreciate what I have and where I am, opposed to searching for the next best thing.

6. Happiness = (expectations — reality)

One of our most powerful tools in life is our ability to be grateful. We attract more of what we focus on and in that sense, can create our own reality.

Personally, I find that the more gracious I am for what I have, the less entitled I feel, and the less I expect. We all have so much to be thankful for but it’s easy to forget what you have when you’re constantly looking for what’s next.

Sleeping on the floor has helped me discover many new perspectives and build my own philosophy around reliance. By having less I appreciate more.

7. Try “it” for yourself!

This is not a call-to-action and I am not urging you to try sleeping on the floor. I am not a doctor and it may not be the answer for you. I will, though, encourage you to try new things, in general. It’s easy to get hung up on what’s “normal”, “best”, or what others are doing but a lot can be said for simply trying something and coming up short. Failure, is sometimes the quickest path to success, so why not give “it” — anything — a shot? If you’re interested, be interested. And if you want to try something, try it. What’s the worst that can happen?

For me, ignoring the so-called Sleep Experts and nay-sayers has improved my sleep quality and quality of life. I wake up refreshed, free, and ready to embrace each day. You can spend a lifetime measuring the water, waiting for the perfect temperature or you can dive right in!

Perspective is everything

Perspective really is everything, and our reality is shaped by our experiences. Whether you’re sleeping atop a mountain of massaging foam and heating/cooling gels, in a hammock, or on the bare Earth staring up at the stars, all that matters is that you are comfortable.

No matter what anyone else says.