Sleeping on the Floor: A Path to Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Sleeping on the ground is the original “bio-hack.”

Sometimes radical, life-transforming ideas are simple.  Disposing of your mattress to sleep on the floor will make people think you’re insane. On the contrary, it is truly insane to waste money on a massive, ugly object that is inferior to cheaper, longer lasting alternatives.

Buying a mattress is a fool’s errand once you know the truth about the #1 cheaper, healthful, and obvious option for sleep: sleeping on the floor!

What are the benefits of sleeping on the floor?

Sleeping on the floor has healed lower back pain for countless people. Doctor’s agree, albeit quietly, that sleeping without a mattress is superior to sleeping on a mattress. “Grounded sleeping” is the #1 thing the mattress industry does’t want you to try because they’ll lose a customer for life!

Luckily for them, sleeping on the floor is not a widely considered idea. However, with the growing minimalism movement, it won’t be long before sleeping on the floor becomes the norm!

The best benefit of all is the personal emotional transformation that happens when you get rid of your mattress. I became a new man when I got rid of my mattress and embraced “grounded sleeping!”

Sleeping on the ground is an adventure … in more ways than one!

One married couple ditched their bed to sleep on the floor with their dog. The wife  found out that sleeping without a bed “has reconnected us with our younger selves who wandered the world.” Who doesn’t want to feel young and adventurous? I’m sure her husband was pleased. Breathe new life into your marriage/relationship by ditching your bed!

Are there any health concerns that come with sleeping on the floor?

Curious about the health effects, the same couple consulted a spinal surgeon about sleeping on the floor. He recounted many stories of patients who would sleep on the floor when their backs went out or were re-injured.

These patients said mattresses kept them awake in pain, while sleeping on the floor delivered them pain relief! Once healed enough to tolerate a mattress again, they reverted to “conventional sleeping” on a mattress.

Then, once the pain was too much to bear, they would begrudgingly go back to sleep on the floor for relief! Why they went back to “conventional sleeping” after they knew it was stressing their injuries is a prime case of insanity caused by societal norms.

“Yes! I found relief from my crippling back pain by sleeping on the floor, but I am going to go back to sleeping on my mattress until it irritates my back enough to force me back on the floor!” – A typical patient programmed to ignore his/her own body and what is right for him/her!

Is there any drawbacks to sleeping on the floor?

When the surgeon was asked if the are drawbacks to floor sleeping, he revealed there are none. In fact, he has found no proof beds are beneficial besides “maybe . . . emotional support.”

Are beds really just for emotional support?

He was joking about the emotional support part, but he revealed the truth . People associate beds with comfort, sleep, and sex. Beds are treated like a womb to escape to after a hard day.

Countless hours are wasted resetting alarm clocks to get “just a bit more sleep.” How many of these people physically need the sleep versus being emotionally “tired” of school, their job, or life itself?

Using a laptop in bed to browse the internet or watch movies is a dangerous combination for your health and happiness, and this behavior is encouraged when you use a traditional bed!

 “I don’t hang out in bed anymore. . . I don’t lay in bed watching Netflix”  ―   Success story of a floor sleeper joining the “grounded sleep” revolution!

This man also reported that “the floor is comfortable but only when I’m ready for bed.” How many hours  have you  wasted lounging in bed when you weren’t truly ready for sleep? Once I threw out my mattress  I didn’t waste a second lounging in “bed” before going to sleep.

Over indulgent mattress beds waste your time and money that could be used for doing what you love!

Imagine having no desire to lounge around which would give you extra time to maximize your health, acquire more wealth, and have improved, richer relationships? Imagine feeling young and adventurous rather than old and calcified. Put some spring in your step by getting rid of your mattress!

Sleeping on beds is for lazy people who can’t think outside of the box(spring)!

Take a look at this floor sleeping success story again.

“I don’t hang out in bed anymore. . . I don’t lay in bed watching Netflix”

Notice his word choice: Hang out, lay, Netflix. All words associated with simple, numbing comforts that get in the way of long term happiness and success. Netflix and chill/ hang, lay/ get laid/sleep with, sleep/bed. People are attached to their beds because they associate them with the basic needs of sleep and romance/sex.

Why else do you think you see mattress ads and stores everywhere? This $7,000,000,000 a year industry capitalizes on subconscious associations with a consumer product. You don’t need a bed to sleep or have romance/sex in your life! 

These Skeleton People are happy and have positive relationships without needless consumer products. They told me your skeleton will thank you if you sleep on the floor!

What People are saying about sleeping on the floor:

“I have slept on the floor by chance during my travels. My back didn’t hurt any more, so I started sleeping on the floor full time.

It was amazing. We have all floor for ourselves. It does not take up any space at all. My back doesn’t hurt. I researched internet on benefits sleeping on the bed, but couldn’t find any.

Yes, it is more comfortable at times, but I found out that it distorts our body natural positions. That is why half of the world has back problems. I have none any more.”

―  Another success story brought to you by sleeping on the floor

Get rid of your mattress! Think about how much money it would take to purchase all the items in this room – and remember most people do it on credit! You could take the same amount of money and travel the world building memories you will never forget!

Do you really want to flush your hard earned money away to enrich CEOs that only care about quarterly earnings instead of your health, wealth, and happiness?

The bed industry is always dreaming up new ways to sell comfort and relief from back pain. More springs, less springs, foam, water, space juice and new patented technologies to give their marketing and sales departments a new hook. Not getting quality sleep? Try this new mattress. In pain? We have another mattress for you.

Only one in ten people know the cause of their back pain so people will buy beds in hope of finding a cure. “We needed a new one anyway” will be the justification.

People spend  around $700 on a mattress and box-spring every 7 years, which does not include nightstands, matching end tables, foam toppers, sheets, pillows, new pillows with “enhanced” technology, duvet covers, and other alien technologies. Some will pay into the thousands or more for a single mattress plus thousands more to buy matching bedroom accessories!

The typical American is enslaved by work for over week to afford the privilege hosting dust mites and irritating back issues! Not to mention even more money and time to pay for the kid’s mattresses! And even more $$$ if he gets divorced over financial issues (most common cause of divorce) and “needs” a mattress for his new studio apartment!

Great Job! We have added another monthly payment with interest into the global financial scheme!

What benefits do mattresses give us other than emotional support?

None. The more a mattress is used the less ideal it is as a sleeping surface. Since a mattress is used every day for ~8 hours it does not make sense to own one. Even spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to have a new bed every day gets beaten out by a thin mat or blanket when it comes to preserving your back health!

What science has to say about the negatives of mattress sleeping and the positives of floor sleeping

Here are some quick quotes from Dr. Mandell  about the drawbacks of sleeping on a mattress and the benefits of sleeping on the floor if you don’t want to watch the video:

• “If your spine is in a wrong position for 8 hours out of the 24 hours” you can “start getting disc inflammation, nerve inflammation, muscle spasm, muscle cramping, stiff neck, pain in the lower back, pain down the leg and the list could go on and on.”
• “One of the most important things is you need to get away from that soft mattress”
• “Studies show that being on your back is definitely the best position for the spine to be in. It helps keep the spine in line and helps keep everything in the neutral plane. But studies also show that being on a hard surface helps keep the spine to where it does not sag into a mattress and that’s actually a better position to be in where you have less muscles spasm and less stress”
•  “I recommend keeping the knees slightly bent, you may want to put a little pillow underneath the knees” to decompress the sacrum (triangle between pelvis and lower back).
• “When you first start this process (being on the floor), you may wake up with a little bit of soreness, you may be achy throughout the back, throughout the back of the shoulders, but that should only last a couple of days.
•  “…as you do it  you’ll start to notice your pain will start to dissipate, hopefully you’ll see a lot relief for the muscle spasm, you’ll wake up more refreshed and hopefully you’ll feel like a new person.“

If your room looked like this you wouldn’t even dream of wanting a mattress!

Did anyone succeed with the advice from Dr. Mandell to sleep on the floor to heal your back?

A woman who watched the above video and put the advice into practice told her story about how sleeping on the floor removed her back pain:

“I decided to try sleeping on the floor but on a very thin mattress topper, with a pile of pillows under my knees. So far it’s working to stop the worst of the back pain I always have whilst sleeping! It’s taking some getting used to as it’s uncomfortable in other areas of my body, but the excruciating pain has definitely subsided so I’m pushing through”

Another user says he’s “Been doing it for 2 months now!!!! I have a bed in my room but it’s for mid day naps. Love the floor lol.” Yet another says:

“I was having problems with my bed/ mattress so i started sleeping on the floor and now it has been nearly 2 years and i definitely prefer it, i find it much more comfortable even when i sleep on a bed /couch i want the floor! I only use a sleeping bag under me”

Imagine paying hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars for a product that ends up being inferior to a sleeping bag! Having the sleeping bag out and being used regularly will inspire more camping adventures than if it were tucked in storage.

Adventures and unforgettable experiences beat mattress shopping and payments any day of the week!

Go on a Nature hike with all the comforts of home – that is, if you normally sleep in a sleeping bag!

Products recommended by Dr Mandell to have an ideal healthy, comfortable, sleeping experience:

“I recommend when you’re on your back use a yoga mat,  a soft little blanket, a towel, maybe even just lying directly on the carpet alone”

I found that wrapping myself like a burrito in a blanket worked well, but I’ve gotten to the point where even bare hardwood floors are comfortable. I do not miss  my mattress at all!

If I had a yoga mat, I would have used that, but now I’m thinking about digging out my sleeping bag for some “indoor camping.”

Buy em’ online, buy em’ at at a store, find em’ in a thrift shop, or find em’ lying around in a closet unused. Whatever you use or don’t use, give floor sleeping a try! I promise it will be an experience you will not regret.

Sleeping mat or yoga mat? Why not both?

 What are you waiting for? Move your mattress out of the way and see how you feel when you sleep on the floor today!

PS:

If you like the idea of sleeping on the floor, but fear the “social repercussions” for making such a move you can invest in a Japanese style bed.  People in the minimalism movement love them because they can be folded up and tucked away. Some even fold into couches!

PSS:

Here is a popular song by the Lumineers titled “Sleep on the Floor” that I just stumbled across. Watching the video while listening to the music will motivate you to go on an adventure by sleeping on the floor (or take it further and sleep on the ground under the stars!)