Sleeping

[andyjaggy]

How well do you guys usually sleep while camping? I continue to struggle to get a good nights rest anytime that I am sleeping in a tent. On big trips when I completely wear myself out during the day I sleep okay, but if I haven't completely exhausted myself I am lucky to get 5 hours in the tent.

At home I am a pretty restless sleeper most nights and tend to re-position a lot through the night, so when I do that in my sleeping bag I get all twisted up. I have yet to find a good solution.

 

[slc_dan]

I think you answered your own question. Hike harder.

I think that is good advice for anyone with insomnia in general, do more physical activity during the day, if you are exhausted you will sleep better.

 

[Parma]

i had had troubles sleeping well, so i got a better pillow:
http://www.backcountry.com/therm-a-...ToxOnRoZXJtYXJlc3QgcGlsbG93&skid=CAS0444-DM-M

yes it is big (weighs 12 oz.), but i sleep great now, so it's well worth it to me and it does compress down pretty well.

 

[andyjaggy]

I think the biggest problem is the sleeping bag, when it's warm and I can unzip it most of the way and just kind of lay it on top of me I seem to do much better. Perhaps I would do better with a quilt?

 

[Opi]

I use my sleeping bag like a quilt a lot. But sometimes by the time morning comes I maybe zipped up all the way. I like to adjust the bag as the temperature changes throughout the night. Sometimes I keep a leg out. Seems to help regulate my temperature.
But yeah, It's good to be worn out by the end of the day too.
I don't, but some use Benadryl

 

[Parma]

melatonin is a good thing to bring too

 

[John Goering]

The quantity of sleep is inversely proportional to how big the bear poop piles are and how many twigs snap during the night. Some nights I spend a lot of time looking at the tent ceiling. There is a lot to be said for getting completely exhausted before you turn in, but that usually only lasts until the ibuprofen wears off.

I usually don't sleep too well even without bears so sort of in the same boat.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I usually sleep OK, but typically wake up more frequently during the night than I do at home.

 

[andyjaggy]

I think I may also have unrealistic expectations for tent sleep. I think 5 hours is probably not too bad considering. I mean heck sometimes I only get 5 hours at home.

Another thing that I think I also do that doesn't help is going to bed to early, especially when I am solo. It gets dark and you don't have anything to do, so you just hit the sack. Then you are up at 3:00 because you have been laying in the tent too long and it's no longer comfortable.

 

[Opi]

Neo air ain't Serta that's for sure.
I like to entertain myself when solo with a good fire when allowed and stick gathering in the dark can be fun.

 

[Bob]

Usually Excedrin pm, or sometimes ibuprofen.......relaxes you out.

 

[fiber]

OP, what kind of sleeping pad do you have? If you sleep on your side like I do, the type of pad matters a lot. My Neo Air is a dream compared to the old close cell foam pad I used to use.

 

[Nick]

I sleep better on extra large, fully rectangular pads than I do on smaller, semi-rectangular ones. It's worth the extra weight to me.

Also, a little bourbon goes a long way to get me to sleep a little better out there.

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

... especially when I am solo. It gets dark and you don't have anything to do, so you just hit the sack.

There aren't too many things I enjoy more than stargazing while solo deep in the woods. Part of the reason I used closed cell foam is so I can use it outside on the sticks and stones before I eventually shake it off and bring it inside.

 

[toejam]

I wake & roll over often, but usually sleep well, get more hours of sleep than most nights. A couple snorts of whiskey, a benedryl, and earplugs help a lot.

 

[HomerJ]

First night out is always the worst for me. By night 3 I sleep like a log usually. I sleep a lot better now on the 1st/2nd nights than I used to. I used to think I was so tired/exhausted from backpacking in, that I'd fall right to sleep at night. Instead, I would toss and turn because my legs and back where sore (mostly legs). Now I pop a few vitamin I's right before bed and it helps a lot. Tylenol PM's also works, but I find that I'm so groggy the next day it's not worth it and I don't even carry them with me anymore. The other thing that has helped a lot is getting a quilt!!!! With the quilt and my Neo Air it feels a lot more like my bed at home!

 

[MVS]

I usually don't have problems with sleep, since hiking a lot gets me tired enough that I pass the night well. Drinking a lot while hiking does complicate things, however, such that at times I've awoken with an urgent need to get to the bathroom. At times like that sleeping bag and tent zippers become an obstacle course, real impediments when there isn't time to lose lest the tent gets spoiled. At Bridge Bay, Yellowstone, that happened at the time a large bison was grazing outside the tent, requiring me to hold it (literally!) until it moved on and I could dash for the bathroom (making it only to the nearest tree).

The night can be so interesting, too. The quiet of the campground at Wind Cave brings out the sound of a man snoring in a tent 40 feet away, and the coyotes baying out on the prairie. The Milky Way curves from south to north over the South Dakota prairie. The Big Dipper dominates the sky over Devil's Tower. At Cascade Lake in Yellowstone's backcountry I was alone to the point of loneliness, the isolation broken by the closest company I had, elk in the rut. I listened for a while then drifted off and slept soundly for as long as my body needed it.

I have a great sleeping bag that always keeps me toasty, even on cold Yellowstone nights. In more remote areas I sleep on an inflatable pad but I have a cot to use when car camping. I imagine the comfortable arrangements coupled with the vigorous activity is the guarantor of a good night's rest.

 

[trasmuson3]

First night out is always the worst for me. By night 3 I sleep like a log usually. I sleep a lot better now on the 1st/2nd nights than I used to. I used to think I was so tired/exhausted from backpacking in, that I'd fall right to sleep at night. Instead, I would toss and turn because my legs and back where sore (mostly legs). Now I pop a few vitamin I's right before bed and it helps a lot. Tylenol PM's also works, but I find that I'm so groggy the next day it's not worth it and I don't even carry them with me anymore. The other thing that has helped a lot is getting a quilt!!!! With the quilt and my Neo Air it feels a lot more like my bed at home!

What kind of quilt do you take backpacking with you? I can never get comfortable in my sleeping bag in my tent and usually end up unzipping it and zipping it up constantly throughout the night.

Last year I switched to a hammock instead of a tent and on the 5 or so trips that I used my hammock, I have never slept better. I think that has really helped me sleep better while backpacking. Plus taking Benadryl helps as well.

 

[brianb2]

+1

I think you answered your own question. Hike harder.

or try a hammock.

When I go to ground, I only use a tarp, quilt, pad, and ground cloth. That also means I'm trying to go lite and covering a lot of miles during the day. After those kind of days, sleep isn't a problem.

Good luck


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[Yvonne]

usually I'm so tired at the end of the day that I fall asleep super easy. I wake up frequently at night, but tjis happens to me at home too because I always have a hard time breathing while sleeping and wake up of my own snoring. Ha ha.

I used to have a regular sized sleeping pad and always rolled off it, because the width wasn't wide enough for me. I had a hard time falling back to sleep but since I replaced my Thermarest with a large one this issue is gone and I can sleep pretty good while camping. It's just the snoring thing right now.