It’s scientifically proven!

The study is about sleeping in a rocking flat bed versus a stationary flat bed. Hammocks don't always rock and most of them don't sleep flat. I do get your point though.

"Sleeping in a hammock allows for the best quality sleep…"

Except in deserts, above treeline, on beaches…

It's just something I found on the internet while avoiding work, don't take it too serious, I was actually laughing at the fact that scientist actually research on hammocks.

"light up" guys and girls and have a laugh! :-)

"Hammocks don't always rock"

Well now, I'll just flat out disagree with that statement. Hammocks ALWAYS rock! Even when they're not moving….. ;-)

Sorry if I offended…I tend to be a bit too ANALytical at times.

Sure would love to sleep better, need to find two trees though.

You can travel light and sleep in a hammock if you bring a hammock stand carried by these helpful friends :-) :

no trees, no problem! (not my image)

-Tim

Craig, there is truth to this, but also fallacies.. not every beach is devoid of trees. Many beaches are packed with trees. in the Desert, where I live, (lower Sonoran) hanging can be a difficult task to those who are not trained to look for and find trees. I have had some pretty wild hangs! But there ARE trees.

we hangers make the best of it here in the desert, by using rocks, shelfs, vehicles, other areas. See Tim's plagiarized picture. HAHA Tim! ( a friendly poke in the ol' ribs )

I have been thinking on this matter for the better part of 3 days. I have one conclusion: the amount of areas that hammocks cannot be deployed is a direct and equal inverse of area that tents cannot be pitched. This may be, in my mind, the reason why hangers in the South converted from tents to begin with.

Speaking in defense of the original posted article, they did use beds, yes. But, had they compared a rocking bed to a ground pad, I doubt anyone would have had any dispute that ground pads of any variety, thickness, weight or cost can compare with a quality mattress or a hammock. and fwiw, most if not all ground pads force your body to comform to the flat shape of the ground below you, to varying degree. I have used Neoair, ccf, big agnes iac, prolite, etc.
Hanging is what kept me from back pain, insomnia, and overall is the main cause of my continuation of backpacking. Im not alone in this assertion. Far from alone.
thanks for listening!
(buy te-wa underquilts)

:)~

Hey! I have a Te-Wa under quilt and it has made my pack lighter (by replacing a Thermarest) and my sleep more comfortable. No science…just experience.

As I have previously posted, I regularly hang from the fence posts where two barbed wire fences meet at a 90 degree angle. I doubt that the ranchers like that, so I set up late and take down early.

I might have opened a wire gate then hung across that opening, but I won't admit to that. There may have been no sign of cattle in either pasture. It was summer and that was at a lower elevation, winter/spring pasture.

"Hammocks don't always rock and most of them don't sleep flat."

Okay, my Hennessy won't rock much if I use the side tie-outs, but all the hammock development I have researched is pointed at getting the flattest lay possible. Even a simple gathered-end hammock will allow a flat lay if it is properly hung and adjusted.

The manufacturers add to the confusion by using photos that show the most improper setups imaginable, with people laying straight fore and aft in a hammock rather than on a diagonal as they should be used. Of course, with the model laying on the diagonal, there isn't a whole lot to look at other than a sheet of nylon strung between two trees with some lumps in it– about as visually stimulating to the prospective buyer as a sack of potatoes.

These are product photos showing terrible use of the hammocks and typical of the major retail-oriented suppliers.

Those manufacturer's more in tune with the use of hammocks show their products with proper hangs (hang=pitch), like Hennessy, Clark, Warbonnet, Tree to Tree, etc.

It is no different than showing a tent with a sloppy or inappropriate pitch. Certainly a manufacturer should know better.

Even though "science" says the opposite, I find it impossible to fall asleep in a hammock for more than a few minutes. I tried for six nights, and got only an hour or two per night, after trying every relaxing trick I know. Pity, because I really like the idea of a hammock!

^same here. I just can't sleep in one. Not because they are not comfy cause they are. I love lounging in them but every time I try to sleep in one I end up on the ground under it in the middle of the night.