Originally Posted by
snakebit
First and foremost, welcome to the wonderful world of hammock camping. I share a similar story to you and I hope the hammock will be as much of a game changer for you as it was for me.
I bought my Warbonnet BB 13 years ago with the intention of hiking the AT, but shortly after hurt my knee and scrapped the AT. The hammock was barely used during the next 10. years.
Shortly after I scrapped that trip, I quit smoking cigarettes. When I did, I moved and threw away nearly everything, including my mattress. Not being able to afford decent mattress (and thinking about my BlackBird) I bought a $70 Mayan hammock and a hammock stand, and slept in that for 6 months til I bought my Tempur-pedic mattress. The Mayan hammock slept good, but the netting material was annoying and hard to manage. My feet would get caught in the netting etc.
Fast-forward 10 years, one wife, and two kids later. I gained weight and began to snore like a grizzly bear. I simply cannot be in the same room as my wife or she will not sleep a wink. And when the misses doesn't sleep, nobody has a good day. Like you, I slept on the couch, which is just awful for the body, and left me with a pinched nerve. So, I reached for my old hammock stand, and my Warbonnet BB and put it all together in my home office as a temporary solution. That was well over two years ago. I have slept in this hammock 99% of my nights since then. On the rare occasion I must sleep in a bed I am just miserable compared to my hammock. Shug (not surprisingly) gave you phenomenal advice - be patient and don't expect immediate results. Anything worth doing is worth doing well and hanging is no different. It will take some time to find the sweet spot, in general, just do what works for you. But once you find that perfect spot, it is life changing.
"I have tried asymmetrical sleeping and back while on center." - While generally I recommend people experiment and try different things to get the right hang, there is on exception to that - the body angle. I would urge you to find the correct asymmetrical body angle, there is simply no other way to get a good, flat hang. Sleeping on center will make you sleep with a back curved like a banana. I'm no doctor but I can't imagine a scenario where that isn't bad for your back.
A really cool benefit to hanging inside in a designated spot each night, is that you can cater your surroundings to your hammock. A shelf or piece of furniture for a glass of water, etc. A handle or something similar that is stationary, to help you get out of the hammock. Have fun with it and set up your space to your liking!
Happy hanging!
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