You know how it is, you’ve had a long day and all you want to do is to sit on the couch, vege and watch television. Next thing you know it’s morning and you wake up in the same place. Is it bad to fall asleep on the couch?
It doesn’t matter how great or comfortable your couch is, over time sleeping on a couch can strain your neck and back muscles and you could end up with a serious medical condition. A couch isn’t designed for supporting your body the way a mattress supports your body, and because a couch is often softer than your mattress, chances are you will end up sleeping in a weird position – that probably throws your spine out of alignment – while you try to get comfortable.
You may not have back pain now but sleeping on a couch may increase the strain gradually until you have severe pain. As a sleep expert explains: “For instance, when you sleep on that cramped couch, you are courting trouble as you are subjecting your spine to some great deal of abnormal stress. Over time, such stress can bring about structural changes in your spine, which may include joint degeneration, disk degeneration, and lengthening/shortening of the muscles/ligaments that support your body structure. Other adverse effects are cartilage wear and tear eventually leading to chronic back pain.”
Your couch is also made of a totally different material than your bed, so you may find you’re either too warm or too cold while you sleep. Another distraction is light, considering that one’s living room is one of the most illuminated rooms in a house, chances are those lights may disturb you and cause you to have a restless night sleep.
In general, taking that short nap on the couch in the afternoon or a post binge-watching snooze now and then isn’t a problem, but make sure your nightly sleep takes place in a bed.
Looking for more ways to get better sleep? Try our app, Rain Rain Sleep Sounds, to help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer.