Help me sleep on the floor

August 21, 2020 5:52 AM

I'm a 44 year old, 6'2'', 245 pound dude who has trouble getting a good nights sleep. Please help me sleep. I've steadily become a lighter sleeper over the last few years and it seems like the last year or so I've had a hard time getting a good nights sleep. Specific question inside.

The room is too bright at night, my spouse snores, the dog barks, etc, etc. I would love to put in ear-plugs (I do most nights) and blissfully sleep all night. However, even with good ear-plugs I'm think I'm woken by something 4 or 5 times a night. I feel like I'm at my wits end.

My master-bedroom closet is about 7 feet long, long enough for me to lie down. The closet with the door shut is pitch-black and very quiet. It even has a HVAC vent. So, from now on I'm sleeping in the closet. Can anyone recommend a floor-mattress? Is there a way to make sleeping on the floor comfortable? I prefer a firm mattress, but not carpeted floor firm :). I spend most nights sleeping on my stomach. I'd love to spend less than a couple hundred bucks.

I have read about trying to improve the conditions that would help me get some sleep (caffeine in the late afternoon, digital devices before bed, etc.). I think for this ask I'd like help figuring out floor sleeping options.

Thanks.

posted by tayknight to Health & Fitness (23 answers total)

To check the obvious, a twin mattress does it doesn’t fit in the closet?
posted by raccoon409 at 5:54 AM on August 21, 2020

Response by poster: Forgot to add (didn't get much sleep last night)... I'd like to be able to roll or fold up the mattress and put it out of the way when I'm not sleeping on it.
posted by tayknight at 5:54 AM on August 21, 2020

Sounds like Japanese futons might be the way to go, since they are meant to be used on a relatively hard floor (I'd recommend getting tatami panels to get the right balance), and put away during the day. Here's some imported ones that is available in the US, assuming that is where you are! I'd lean towards getting the real thing if possible, they can be really comfortable. It's one of those things I really miss from Japan...
posted by rambling wanderlust at 6:02 AM on August 21, 2020 [11 favorites]

Tri-fold foam mattresses are a thing. When I was younger I slept on a 4" plain foam mattress on the floor for a few years and it was fine, though I would want something with a softer top layer these days.

Folding it up or at least putting it on its side during the day will likely be important so that the bottom side gets air and doesn't get mildewed.
posted by needs more cowbell at 6:09 AM on August 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

Definitely check into mattress toppers as an option. Not as thick or hard to store as a twin mattress, and quite firm and comfortable.

I love my twin size Casper Layer. I've had it for a couple of years now and I really enjoy it. It's $195 at Target. I bought it specifically for floor sleeping and I place it directly on the hardwood floor on my living room under a gentle breeze from the ceiling fan. Perfect for me. It's 2" thick and folds up easily into quarters -- there's a zipper closure to make everything compact, and a handle to make it portable. I store mine behind a bedroom door.

I'm a 5'5" lady, but I've slept on it at 195 lbs, 110 lbs, and after several surgeries to great comfort, especially when dealing with major bouts of back pain and restless legs. I don't use it every night, but sometimes it's the only thing that allows me to sleep. I use a lightly padded mattress cover over it to keep it nice, and it looks as good as new.

Casper also has a 3" topper I haven't tried.

Other brands make toppers, too!
posted by mochapickle at 6:25 AM on August 21, 2020 [5 favorites]

You should be able to get a 5 or 6 inch foam twin xl mattress delivered to your house for $200 or less. I’m currently sleeping on the floor on a 6-inch twin size Zinus brand mattress that I bought for $85 on amazon and finding it quite comfortable (but I am smaller than you). Prop it on its side during the day to get it out of the way.
posted by mskyle at 6:29 AM on August 21, 2020

I bought a Japanese style futon that you roll up every morning. When used on a carpeted floor, I think it’s fairly comfortable. I use a twin fitted sheet to protect it. The rolling helps redistribute the stuffing and allows your floor to air out. If you use this frequently, you might consider a cot frame.

Talk to your doctor today about getting a sleep study for both of you. My husband finally did one and the result was a kind of mouth guard device that I was incredibly dubious of. However, it has been amazing. I have terrible sleep patterns and his snoring would wake me up and then keep me awake. I wear an eye mask at night and do earplugs most nights to keep from waking at odd sounds. I sometimes get annoyed with the eye mask and find a soft t-shirt to throw over my eyes. Sometimes I like that better. There are also meditation and sleep inducing podcasts out there for help.

I found the futon cushion on Amazon.
posted by amanda at 6:30 AM on August 21, 2020 [8 favorites]

One more thing. Talk to your doctor about sleep medication, too. There’s also Tylenol PM for a gentle OTC. I also have melatonin and also tend to sleep better after taking a Calcium/Magnesium supplement at night.
posted by amanda at 6:33 AM on August 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Consider getting a test for sleep apnea. I tried lots of things to make my sleep better and that was the problem.
posted by conscious matter at 6:39 AM on August 21, 2020 [6 favorites]

I slept on a Coleman air mattress for a couple of years. Air mattresses have a bad reputation, but mine was comfortable. It's also widely available, and reasonably priced. I got my king-sized one at Target for $50. It's worth a try.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:51 AM on August 21, 2020 [2 favorites]

Talk to your doctor today about getting a sleep study for both of you

As soon as I saw "I'm woken by something 4 or 5 times a night" I started scrolling down here so I could say the same thing. From that sentence alone I would wager you don't have "type of mattress" sort of problem.
posted by mhoye at 6:58 AM on August 21, 2020 [6 favorites]

I love Japanese futons (one of my favorite things about visitingJapan). But I would go the sleeping bag & air sleeping pad route, with a couple of extra pillows for spot support.

Please be safe and make sure there is air exchange around the door, or crack the door a bit. If the vent is not constantly flowing, it is not adding oxygen.

I'm going to be that person an say there are reasons we don't sleep in closets. Two of those reasons are the dust from your skin and the humidity from your breath, which, in addition to attracting bugs and mites, combine to form an environment for black mold. Making this a long-term solution will become increasingly complicated if you have to add a dehumidifier, anti-dust measures, and pest solutions.
posted by zennie at 7:33 AM on August 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Any kind of sleeping pad on the floor will need to be got off the floor daily, or it will make a steamy damp patch underneath that quickly smells funky and inevitably goes mouldy.

Futons are designed to be used exactly that way. Traditional futons are cotton all the way through, and need to be rolled up every day or they get hard and lumpy. Wool core futons are a bit more forgiving. Foam and wool core futons are not at all traditional but they are absolutely the business. Roll one of those up every other day, turn it over every couple of weeks, and in ten years it will still feel like it did the day you bought it.

I am also a front/side sleeper and my back hurts in the morning after a night on an innerspring mattress. The firmness of my foam and wool core futon is exactly what my sleeping body needs.

If you have even a quite minimal slat base under a foam and wool core futon for ventilation, you can get away with rolling it up only weekly instead of every day or two. A couple of wooden forklift pallets, sanded smooth and then oiled with linseed, is the traditional student-housing solution for this and should work really well in a closet.
posted by flabdablet at 7:56 AM on August 21, 2020 [3 favorites]

We got one of our foam mattresses that we loved from a custom foam store - we didn't get an fancy size, but they can cut to 1 inch specifications. We we later made a storage bench and wanted some padding, so went to the same place, gave them the measurements and a few days later picked it up in a compressed storage bag making it easy to move/pack.

However if you don't want to sleep in the closet, I have problems with light, and am an ... active sleeper, so often remove blindfolds. I recently purchased a nite hood from: https://www.nitehood.com/ and the thin bamboo isn't too warm, and only twice have I removed it, or moved it too much such that I was woken up by the light in about 3 months of use.

Similarly, my wife is very sensitive to noise. She's got a white noise maker (from Dohm - recommended to my wife by other Mefites) on her nightstand in addition to a fan at the floor of the bed, and an air filter.
posted by nobeagle at 8:05 AM on August 21, 2020

Camping self-inflating sleeping bed like this one from REI. Easy to fold away and set up. I'm 260lbs and it's very comfy.

https://www.rei.com/product/147924/rei-co-op-camp-dreamer-xl-self-inflating-deluxe-bed
posted by Arctostaphylos at 8:31 AM on August 21, 2020

Futons (or "yo" in Korean) are the best option in my opinion. You will want to get a thicker one (5 inch instead of 3 inch for example).
posted by spamandkimchi at 8:56 AM on August 21, 2020

I've been sleeping on a folding gym mat for a while.

It's obviously not a mattress, but it's firm, and folds for storage easily. The only issue (and it's not much of one) is that the middle panel has been slowly compressing into a dent.
posted by Gorgik at 9:50 AM on August 21, 2020

I don't have any suggestions for mattresses, but you did mention that your bedroom was too light so I just wanted to say:

When I first met my now-husband he used a sleep mask and I teased him MERCILESSLY for it for months. He looked like a ridiculous 1980s-era soap opera star. He looked like Blanche from the Golden Girls. What kind of person USES a sleep mask???????

Then I tried one and it literally changed my life. I had suffered from insomnia since I was a TODDLER. Now I .... don't. I put one on and I go to sleep AND STAY ASLEEP. It just .... sends a message to my brain that it's nighttime and I should be asleep? I have never experienced anything like it in my life.
posted by kate blank at 10:04 AM on August 21, 2020 [4 favorites]

My spouse and I replaced our bed with a couple of inflatable sleeping pads from Thermarest. It is very comfortable, and provides more support than our old coil mattress.

The pad does not transfer moisture in either direction, and is insulated so it doesn't draw heat away from your body. It is designed for car camping/glamping, so although not suitable for backpacking it does roll up nicely. It's nice to take our own bed with us when visiting the in-laws for a weekend.

We have two of them strapped together with nylon straps, which gives us a total sleeping area slightly larger than a queen. We just leave them set up on the bedroom floor, but can be easily propped up or deflated quickly if needed.
posted by gox3r at 10:15 AM on August 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

FWIW I slept on a good quality air mattress on the floor for several years. Comforters above and below kept it from damage.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:41 AM on August 21, 2020

For car camping, we've switched to camping cots instead of airbeds or thermarests. You're off the ground, and if you add a layer of foam or a thermarest they can be very comfortable. Plus they pack up small.

I've used it in a spare room when I had a bad cough and didn't want to disturb my wife. Worked great.

I use one similar to this.
posted by kaefer at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2020

In addition to the excellent advice above, consider a noise machine (one of the real analog ones). Helped us a ton.
posted by jenkinsEar at 1:02 PM on August 21, 2020 [1 favorite]

Thirding sleep study. I just did one at home, ordered by my primary care physician after a phone consult. Fyi if the nose piece smells of off-gassing, I was told to wipe it down with an alcohol wipe and let it air dry until the next night.
posted by postel's law at 6:38 AM on August 23, 2020