Does anyone find they sleep LESS in the woods?

[Kevin Burton]

I seem to sleep fewer hours and more efficiently when I'm in the woods.

Further… I have FAR more vivid dreams and remember them more often.

I sleep 8-9 hours at home and like 5-6 hours in the woods.

Anyway… I suspect that the physical activity causes me to go into REM more and maybe this causes me to sleep more efficiently?

I would LOVE to figure out a way to duplicate that when at home :)… sleeping only 5-6 hours and being fully rested would mean more time to do other things.

[Stephen M]

I find I sleep better outdoors as I hardly drink any booze or have my eyes glued to an ipad/computer/tv or stressed out over something at work.

[Ken Thompson]

At worst I sleep well a whole bunch of times during the night. At the other end I have slept 14 hours straight through in my hammock too. I sleep well everywhere.

[Tony Wong]

Kevin,

I sleep a lot less in the woods, is a bit maddening.

Typically, I will fall asleep for 3-4 hours straight after kicking out 15 miles on the trail.

Then I will wake up to go to the restroom and struggle to fall back asleep.

Often, I find that I will lay awake for 30-45 minutes and then wake up one or two more times til sunrise.

Sometimes, I am just laying there wide awake, hoping the sunrise will come sooner than later so I can get breakfast and hit the trail.

Annoying, but it is what it is….small price to pay to enjoy the spectacular views of the back country.

-Tony

[Kevin Schneringer]

I seem to crash hard for 3-4 hours as well.
Then nature calls and I am lucky if I get another 1-2 and that is restless.

I often think I would feel better if I just packed up and hiked instead of laying there tossing n turning!
.

[Hiking Malto]

I probably sleep longer but not as well in the woods. I end up waking up from bear noises, falling tree noises, Bigfoot noises, mouse with fang noises and mutant psychopath noises. Basically, I'm a light sleeper but thankful I fall back to sleep quickly. It's just not as much quality sleep.

[Kattt]

I sleep much longer in the woods than at home, mainly because I can. At home I get between five and six hours at most, but uninterrupted and comfy. In the woods, in my hammock I can easily sleep twelve hours, maybe waking up once to adjust something. Thankfully I still don't get nature's calls at night for the most part.

[Nick Gatel]

Malto,

Your opinion doesn't count. You are insane.

If I could do your mileage of 30-40 miles a day for weeks or months on end, I would sleep like a baby.

:)

[Randy Martin]

Location and sounds are the biggest factor in good sleep for me.

Location-Level, near a stream (see sounds). I can't tell you how many times I think I have a level location only to find myself sliding in one direction during the night which then results in multiple re-positioning attempts and sleep disruption. Of course, arriving at camp late often prevents a thorough assessment of my location..

Sounds – Silence or constant sound preferred. Ear plugs can help with the silence part, streams or steady rain provide great white noise.

[Delmar O’Donnell]

I don't sleep as well, particularly when solo. Seems my ears are on "security duty" all night long, and that comes at the cost of deep sleep.

Somewhat concerned that using earplugs is counterproductive to my body's natural "security system."

Obviously non-solo requires just as much vigilance, but my brain doesn't understand that.

[HkNewman]

I usually need a night to adjust to new situations, so another reason in choosing to sleep at the TH the night before if at all possible. Same with hotels, etc….

[Dena Kelley]

I sleep less but it's because I'm constantly waking up – I'm hyper alert and any noise will wake me.

[BlackHatGuy]

Depends. If I'm ground dwelling, yes, I sleep restlessly. If I'm hammocking, no, I sleep soundly throughout the night.

[mark henley]

+1 on the hammock …

But it also has to do with visibility … if I can see out, for some reason, the night noises don't bother me as much … if in an enclosed tent I toss and turn all night

[Steofan M]

4 to 5 hours per night is all I get, inside or outside. Sunrise and fresh coffee are always good early-morning companions.

[Joe Geib]

I wake up at the slightest sound when sleeping outside. Every time I hear a mouse fart I wake up.

Love to be outside and hiking, but that's my main issue with BPing. i NEVER sleep well.

[Justin Baker]

In the winter i get most of my sleep between 6 am and noon when i understimate how much insulation i will need.

[Mobile Calculator]

…

[Kattt]

That was funny Roger!

[Mark Cashmere]

I used to have the same problem until I found the equation that worked for me:

(Miles + Elevation Change) * (Alcohol + Earplugs + Neoair) = Rest

'Changes in Latitude : Changes in Attitude' also helps

[Brian Camprini]

Seems like us hammock folk sleep better, at least in places where we can hang. Comfort aside, being above the ground, especially in wooded areas with lots of critter action going on, I feel like I am above the fray. I've hung in a swamp and watched poisonous snakes under me with no bug net and never stressed…and I ain't no Bear Grylls. That would have freaked me out on the ground, but then again, that would never have happened in a decent campsite in the mountains. The perspective raises my comfort level and confidence I suppose. I live in the southeastern US and find that I only truly sleep like a baby on the ground in the winter and when I'm out west at or above treeline. If I'm deep in the woods or some other thick vegetation area, I guess I treat a hammock like a tent–it gets me out of the line of fire, at least mentally–and then I feel the wind, the sway of the trees, I can see and hear better, and I zonk out easily and stay asleep. Peeing out of a hammock is easy too…

I think we all go through some fear of the unknown, and that surely affects our sleep. Don't remember where, but I remember reading a hysterical story by a guy who stayed up all night after something hit his tent and he kicked it off. Turns out is was a hiking pole, but he imagined all kinds of things. If anyone knows what I'm referring to, shoot me a link. I'd love to read it again.

Don't take sleep meds, even something like Tylenol PM. Even if it means you lose some sleep, you'll gain a lot more from the experience without them and you won't wake up groggy.

[Larry De La Briandais]

After I started using ear plugs at home I sleep the same on the trail. Noises and light are what wake me up. With ear plugs and inside a tent they are about the same on the trail or at home.

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

I usually sleep poorly the first night or sometimes two. By the 2nd or 3rd night I'm pretty darn tired and I'll have a great sleep. On average I sleep worse but it's always improving as I spend more time outside. A lot of it is mental.

[Brian Johns]

I really don't have any better or worse sleep in the woods. Sure, heat, light, bugs all wake me up, and are more likely found in the woods, but I find that I sleep the same – sometimes even better (I love sleeping in when I'm out in the backcountry) as I think about it. Maybe – and I want to qualify I have never had time to do more than five nights outside – it's because as a kid I camped all the time. A few times a year with my family but in the summers since I was 10 or 11, my friends and I would spend days in the woods of central east Georgia; right in our own backyards. We built forts or slept on the ground (and we carried heavy packs a lot of the time) and, aside from big temperature changes up or down, I have never even given it any thought until this thread.

[Scott Toraason]

As a soloist and often using a bivy a good routine helps, but generally I never see anyone when I’m out. Occasionally a good night’s sleep but mostly only for the first few hours then it is fitful and I’m tired in the AM but that goes away after morning coffee. I do sleep better in my Carbon Reflex 1, but often no place to pitch above tree line.

[Author]

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