You arrive home from work, eat a large meal and fall asleep shortly after, often in the company of a loved one while watching TV. Sometimes, this can lead to more restful sleep than your bed.
If you sleep better on the couch than in bed, you may be exhausted after a long day. Perhaps a carb-rich dinner or food high in tryptophan led to post-meal tiredness.
Sometimes, the room is quieter, the colors relax you, or the temperature is lower than in the bedroom.
A couch will be okay for 1-2 nights’ rest, but it’s not intended to be a permanent sleeping arrangement. The more nights you sleep on a sofa, the likelier you’ll experience back, neck, or shoulder pain.
Of course, you can make a couch more comfortable by removing cushions to increase space, adding a fitted sheet to cover gaps between cushions, and lying on your back.
Why Do I Sleep Better on My Couch Than in My Bed?
The question, “Why do I prefer to sleep on the couch?” has many possible answers.
Understanding why you can’t doze off in bed but find it easy to sleep on the sofa will help you resolve the situation and return to the familiar comforts of bed. Here are some explanations:
Physical And Mental Exhaustion
Dozing off on the couch is common when exhausted after a long day.
You may always fall asleep while watching a movie on the sofa because you’re finally comfortable and have allowed your mind and body to switch off.
If your muscles have loosened and relaxed, getting up and moving to the bedroom can feel like a step too far. If you change location, you’ll restart your sleep hygiene routine.
Stretching the limbs, being brought a blanket and pillows, and closing your eyes may help you drift into an immediate sleep on the couch while you’re tired.
Tired After Eating
Post-meal tiredness (postprandial somnolence) is where you experience heavy eyelids and a sudden energy dip, perhaps due to the consumption of high-carb foods.
Certain foods like turkey, bananas, and chocolate are high in the amino acid tryptophan, which the brain converts to serotonin. This has a calming effect, promoting restfulness and sleep.
Psychological Association
Sleep Medicine Reviews describes insomnia as regular difficulty falling asleep and impaired daytime functioning. Consequently, your bedroom may have created a psychological barrier to sleep.
Getting out of bed is advisable if falling asleep takes longer than 20 minutes. If you retreat to the couch to read a book after leaving the bedroom, your eyes may grow heavier and sleep rapidly approaches.
This is because you’ve broken the mental association with your bedroom, which your mind – consciously or otherwise – has decided is somewhere you can’t sleep.
Spend the night on the couch if it helps, but don’t let it become a habit.
Unsuitable Conditions
Noise is an obstacle to sleeping in a bedroom. Whether this is a snoring partner or thin walls that allow in road noise, you may find sleeping in a different room easier.
Sleeping with earplugs, using a white noise machine, or listening to music in bed are all options with pros and cons. Find a solution that works best for your unique circumstances.
If the bedroom is too hot, you’ll likely struggle to sleep. The laws of physics dictate that heat rises, so sleeping on the couch on a lower floor may keep you cool.
You can reduce the temperature in your bedroom by using a tower fan or opening a window. Issues may arise if you share a bedroom with a partner that prefers a different temperature.
If this applies, consider getting in a smart mattress with temperature regulation. One side of the bed can be cooled, while the other will remain warm.
Unsuitable Mattress
If you wake up with back pain after spending a night in bed but experience no discomfort when sleeping on the sofa, this suggests the mattress is inappropriate.
There are many types of mattresses, and your sleeping position and weight determine which is best.
A traditional coiled spring mattress is only comfortable if you’re a back sleeper. A pocket spring mattress has a higher price tag but offers superior back support.
If you prefer to sleep on your side, consider a gel or latex mattress or a combination.
If your discomfort revolves around the neck and shoulders, pillows are likely to blame.
Pillows should be firm enough to support the weight of your head but soft enough to allow you to achieve restful sleep. Pillows should be replaced every 2 years, ideally sooner.
Can You Sleep on The Couch Every Night?
Spending a night on the couch is something most people experience at some stage. If you find it comfortable, is it good to sleep on a couch every night?
If the sofa is large enough to allow you to spread your weight evenly, and you wake up feeling refreshed, without aches and pains, this suggests the couch is okay to sleep on.
Note how you feel when you rise in the morning and throughout the day. Most couches are designed for sitting, not sleeping, which can lead to eventual spinal misalignment if you sleep on them regularly.
Another consideration is parents co-sleeping on a couch with children.
Archives of Disease in Childhood warns of instances of infant mortality where children have asphyxiated when trapped between a body and sofa cushions. Any attempts to sleep on a sofa should be solitary.
Move the couch cushions to the floor if you need to share the space with someone else.
How To Make A Couch More Comfortable To Sleep On
Make the sofa more comfortable if you sleep on the couch for one night or much longer.
Here are some things you can do:
Remove Back Cushions
Back cushions on a couch are indispensable when sitting, making the furniture more comfortable, but they take up needless space when sleeping on a sofa.
Remove these cushions and place them on the floor while you doze off.
By removing back cushions from a couch, you’ll gain more space to distribute your weight and stretch your limbs if necessary. Removing detachable side cushions will create even more space.
As well as increasing your basic comfort, it’ll minimize the risk of rolling over and falling off the couch.
Fitted Sheets
A fitted sheet over sofa cushions may sound like a waste of time, but you may be surprised at how much more comfortable it can make a couch.
This sheet will cover grooves between cushions, reduce the risk of sliding off, and regulate temperature.
Depending on the size and shape of the sofa, a traditional fitted sheet intended for a bed may not fit. If so, find a cover that offers enough thickness to feel cozy without causing you to overheat.
Sleeping Position
The supine position – lying flat on your back with your head and neck elevated by pillows – is considered the ideal posture for sleeping on a couch.
This will allow an even distribution of weight, minimizing the risk of pain in the morning.
If the couch is small, consider the fetal position. Curling up enables you to make the most of the limited space, and you’ll likely stay warm if you don’t have traditional blankets to cover you.
Whichever sleeping position you take up, don’t tolerate discomfort.
Don’t rest your neck or limbs on hard joins in the furniture, hoping you’ll adjust to it. Even if you eventually fall asleep, these pressure points will make you feel sore in the morning.
If you encounter any rigid areas of the couch, place cushions between them and your joints. A pillow under the knees or hips will keep weight off these body parts.
Sleeping on the couch is a solution to a restless night in a bedroom, but it’s not a long-term solution. If you find it easier to sleep on a couch than in your bed, consider upgrading your mattress.
