Side Sleeper

**KBr00ks** · 10-26-2016, 16:17

Good luck with your project! Post pics.

Like others who have posted, I sleep on my side 100% of the time in bed, but can comfortably sleep on my back in a hammock. In bed, I too wake up with poor breathing if I'm on my back... but not in a hammock. Maybe because my head is slightly elevated...?

But I am also able to comfortably lay on my side in my 10' gathered-end hammock, and that's typically where I end up. Sometimes I end up in kind of a semi-side position, halfway between back and side, that is very comfortable -- and impossible in a bed, or on the ground.

Longer hammocks seem to be better for this, and for a flatter lay in general. That's the key difference between a DIY or small company hammock and an ENO -- they are too short for most people. (I could get pretty comfy in mine, but I'm only 5'9"... totally loving my new 10' DIY hammock, seems so luxurious.)

**Gutyones** · 10-26-2016, 16:45

I am a side sleeper also. I tend to comfortably sleep on my back in my Warbonnet XLC but I will also switch between both during the night. It's not that I want to sleep on my side and can't, back sleeping somehow works well instead while in the hammock. I admittedly have to fiddle around to get a comfortable side position in my SLC but can easily find a comfortable side position in my Clark TX-270. Hope this helps.

**tollermama** · 10-26-2016, 17:18

Welcome to the forums! I also had this quandary when I went to a hammock. I suggest you get a sleep apnea test. One thing to know about that is if you do have obstructive sleep apnea that is mild to moderate, you can get a custom fitted dental device that will reposition your jaw and open your airway that way you can still backpack without having to have a cpap machine.

I find that I sleep in sidelying and on my back in my WBBB but side sleeping is very fine. I am 5.0" and have plenty of room. I like my hammock with my feet not much higher than my head as if I am sideslipping and my feet are too high I feel crunched. I can't attest to whether I snore when I am on my back, but I don't seem to wake myself up either. I do use the dental device that helps. Good luck, wish I could sew well enough to do a DIY bridge hammock.

**soul embrace** · 10-26-2016, 18:40

I'm a side sleeper in my bed but in my gathered in hammock I'm sleep on my back 100% of the time. I can't sleep on my back in my bed at all and I've tried laying on my side in my hammock and can't do it more than 30 seconds. It's just not comfortable to me and I may be doing it wrong I don't know. So you never know you may be a backnsleeper in a hammock.

**Campdavid** · 10-26-2016, 18:59

100% side sleeper in bed. 90% side sleeper in my gathered end hammock (10% on my back). I sleep in my hammock four or five nights a week

For reference I'm 5'10" 185 pounds. Primary/favorite hammock is a WL Night Owl.

My ENO is great for lounging but not sleeping so don't use yours as a yardstick.

Since you are into the DIY projects I recommend trying an 11' gathered end in addition to the bridge. It's probably worth the small investment.

**Grumpy Squatch** · 10-26-2016, 20:51

100% side-sleeper in bed. 99.9% side-eleeper in an 11' gathered end. I fell asleep on my back in a hammock exactly 1 time, after being awake for 36 hours and walking 14 very hilly miles on my second day of a 3-day trip.

My only advice is to avoid an asym gathered end design so you have a choice of sides to sleep on. In my Dream Hammock Sparrow, the right lay asym design is OK because I mostly sleep on my left side anyway, but sleeping on the other side is tough. I usually end up in some kind of "s" configuration; kind of a semi-fetal position. Once I find the sweet spot, I usually drift right off. Because of this, I use full-length underquilts exclusively. No way I'm keeping a pad under my feet this way.

**Dman62** · 10-26-2016, 22:21

I'm a restless side sleeper (I roll from side to side all night). A fabric without a lot of stretch works best for me. My gathered end hexon 2.4 from Dutch is hung in my bedroom and gets 2 thumbs up. Never tried a bridge so I can't compare the two.

**mr hvac** · 10-26-2016, 23:17

I have a warbonnet xlc and I find it difficult to sleep on my side and have learned to sleep on my back.

**PharmGeek** · 10-27-2016, 09:15

I sleep on my stomach at home almost exclusively...in a bed.

Last year I got an XLC...I pretty much sleep on my back, but kinda lean my body slightly left with head a bit left laying on my pillow. I have found that *for me* this feels quite a bit like side sleeping and not simply on my back and I tend to fall asleep and do well.

I still tend to sometimes wake up and shift, and will for a bit side sleep in the xlc and do fine for a while.

I also have just went out in my amok dramr and it was pretty good for side sleeping, although I am still fiddling with it and will await any meaningful review...but got solid sleep even in it..it is a bit too heavy for backpacking beyond simple short trips (it will be primarily used for kayak camping or overnight trips with family.

I have yet to try a bridge hammock, but would love to, but I suspect that most would do well to attempt to sleep on their backs in a hammock (more or less), as it is just very comfy. Side sleeping in the XLC for me is good too.

I stomach slept in my amok dramr but discovered I had the pad too rigid or something and retreated to side sleeping...still fiddling with that hammock and deciding how I will like to sleep in it. Only logged a single night in it so far.

**Chemguy** · 10-27-2016, 10:34

I am a stomach sleeper through and through, but not in a hammock. I found that an 11 ft DIY gathered-end, plus some fiddling with ridegeline lengths, gives me a setup that can allow me to sleep on my side or on my back, but mostly on my back. The change from stomach to back/side was a bit tricky at first, but not too bad.