Comfort from sleeping on couch instead of bed

LegacyUser

Hi all

I just wanted to ask if anybody has something similar.

I've been having sleep issues for a while - nothing like insomnia, but lots of nightmares, and I'm grinding my teeth (which I never did before), which I've pretty much figured out is due to work stress.

The work stress aside - could be a whole other thread - I've found sleeping on the couch in the sitting room is much better. I'm not sure why, but after my last major breakup, I would sleep on the couch sometimes, and it seemed like a comfort. Maybe it was because I wasn't going back into the bed we used to share.

Fast forward a few years - I've slept on the couch where I live now usually where I've been working late and I'll only get a few hours' sleep - so I figure I'm less likely to sleep through my alarm if I'm not in my bed. But I seem to sleep better, I don't remember any nightmares, and I don't have the teeth grinding thing. Plus, I seem to wake up in a more alert mode, whereas, at the moment, I'm just dragging myself out of my bed still exhausted.

I don't know the reasons - and Googling sleeping on the couch throws up a whole pile of different issues(!), so I'm just wondering if anybody has felt the same.

I know this may seem trivial, but I'm under a lot of pressure from a few different sides at the moment, so I'm trying to work this out as best I can, and I want to figure out this sleep thing if possible. I don't want part of the resolution to be sleeping on the couch for the rest of my life!

edeldonlon

I also do this. I move to the couch if I can't sleep over the spare room. I think it's down to the restricted movements that help me sleep. I often slept in a sleeping bag as a child/teenager so there might be links to that for me. I haven't slept on the sofa on the while so I have no advice on how to move away from it but I'm sure somebody will have some tips.

Best of luck

ivytwine

I wonder maybe because there's less pressure on you to sleep when you're just lying on a couch as opposed to a bed?

LegacyUser

Thanks you both. I think its's exactly a mixture of those two. Like edeldonlon says re. the couch - mine is only a two seater, so I just lie into it and there's probably less room for movement. That's gotta be relevant.

The other thing is just as you say ivytwine. It's much easier to go to the couch and read and let sleep come, rather than go to bed and expect sleep. No pressure.

I do want to fix this though - I got over the sleeping on the couch thing after the last time, and I want to get over it again.

CaraMay

It's a comfort thing, like heavy blankets wrapped around you. Kids with sensory issues often crawl into small areas to get some comfort from an enclosed area. It's also comforting for some adults - me included. You could try a weighted blanket on your bed. It could help.

caille

I was very ill and in a lot of physical pain some years back, for about a year, and my couch became the only place I could get any proper sleep. I think my movement was restricted, in a good way, and I had a solid surface underneath the part of my body where the pain was. I just know that my couch became a real source of refuge and comfort.

Thankfully, I recovered and rarely sleep on my couch now. However, if I have to stay up and wait for someone, that same couch draws me back to sleep and I feel that reassurance all over again.

So you definitely ain't alone and I would say to you, have a look and see what is going on with you and making get it looked it.

If you need to sleep on your couch for the time being though, I think it's fine, I know mine was the right place for me when I was sick and I have no regrets whatsoever.

smash

I find myself getting a much Better night sleep on the couch than in a bed. Especially if I have any back or neck pain.

FortySeven

I slept on couches for about 10 years. Could not get to sleep in beds. Even uncomfortable 2 seaters that would have me waking half broken. Not sure why I did it but I was cured after a month in alcohol rehab. There was no option but to go to bed and lie there. The first week I hardly slept and it was torture. By the end I was sleeping brilliantly and bounced out of bed full of beans.

Maybe try forcing it for a month. Dedicated bedtime, no stimulus.

I haven't slept on a couch in 4 years since.

KikiDee

Hey OP,

I'm not sure what advice I can give you in relation to the sleeping on couch but with regards to the nightmares, I've been going through the same thing myself. I've found that writing down the nightmare when I wake helps me. Not in detail, just writing the jist of it. Someone told me that nightmares are our subconscious' way of giving us messages and we need to work out what the message is. I know this train of thought isn't for everyone but it might work for you?

LegacyUser

SleepingWannabe wrote: »

Hi all

I just wanted to ask if anybody has something similar.

I've been having sleep issues for a while - nothing like insomnia, but lots of nightmares, and I'm grinding my teeth (which I never did before), which I've pretty much figured out is due to work stress.

The work stress aside - could be a whole other thread - I've found sleeping on the couch in the sitting room is much better. I'm not sure why, but after my last major breakup, I would sleep on the couch sometimes, and it seemed like a comfort. Maybe it was because I wasn't going back into the bed we used to share.

Fast forward a few years - I've slept on the couch where I live now usually where I've been working late and I'll only get a few hours' sleep - so I figure I'm less likely to sleep through my alarm if I'm not in my bed. But I seem to sleep better, I don't remember any nightmares, and I don't have the teeth grinding thing. Plus, I seem to wake up in a more alert mode, whereas, at the moment, I'm just dragging myself out of my bed still exhausted.

I don't know the reasons - and Googling sleeping on the couch throws up a whole pile of different issues(!), so I'm just wondering if anybody has felt the same.

I know this may seem trivial, but I'm under a lot of pressure from a few different sides at the moment, so I'm trying to work this out as best I can, and I want to figure out this sleep thing if possible. I don't want part of the resolution to be sleeping on the couch for the rest of my life!

if the couch is so much better why not get a better one and sleep on it all the time. Or else get a new bed, new sheets,pillows duvet etc and if possible move it to a different part of the room

SarahMollie

I think it must be a bit of a self soothing thing, which lots of people do and it lots of different ways.

I know that for a few years, starting after a very bad breakup, I couldnt sleep unless I had the radio (talk radio preferably) on low beside me. Had to give this up once my current boyf and I moved in together as it was a bit weird and he wouldn't want to be non stop listening to the radio.

Even now, if I'm struggling to sleep, I'll go down to the sitting room and snooze on the sofa rather than go to either spare room. I'm not sure why I find the sofa more comforting but it always just appeals to me more. That said, its a very rare occourance, and usually not for the whole night, maybe just if I get woken very early at 5/6am, I might just choose to doze on the sofa.

IvoryTower

if i cant sleep ill hit the couch and stick something on the telly, because im not trying to sleep i usually drift off pretty quick