Should You Consider Sleeping On The Floor? Benefits & Risks Of Ditching Your Mattress

Our cavemen ancestors slept on hard surfaces, and certain cultures today still embrace the practice. Are these folks getting gains that the rest of us mattress-lovers are missing? 

Well, there doesn’t seem to be any hard science that supports floor sleeping, but proponents of the habit have theories. In a 2000 article published in The BMJ, physiotherapist Michael Tetley concluded that based on largely anecdotal evidence from non-Western societies (he cites various tribes in Africa and Asia as examples), “natural sleeping and resting postures”—which include various on-the-floor poses—markedly reduce low back pain and joint stiffness1. 

Sleeping on a hard floor can also allow the body to move more during the night, as opposed to a softer surface, says Katy Bowman, M.S., biomechanist, and author of Movement Matters and Move Your DNA. And for Bowman, who has been a floor sleeper for several years, she says this nocturnal turning and pressure makes her feel “massaged out” come morning. 

While Bowman sees the additional movement you get from floor sleeping as a benefit; others see it as a concern. 

It’s “disruptive to sleep,” says Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., clinical psychologist, diplomate of the American Board of Sleep Medicine, and a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. He also says that sleeping on the floor could, over time, lead to back pain and strain as the unforgiving surface might not allow our spines to curve as they naturally want to. You could also potentially throw out your back as you sleep from turning haphazardly in the night, he adds. 

On top of that, floor sleeping could aggravate allergies. “There are more particulates closer to the ground than there are up in the air,” says Breus. And if you live with an animal, “you might breathe in every bit of pet dander and hair.” 

If you're hoping floor sleeping could be a way to improve any sleep issues, you're probably better off seeking other solutions. Luckily, there are a number of natural sleep aids that can help you rest more soundly.

For example, taking a magnesium supplement may help promote better sleep.* Heather Moday, M.D. recommends trying mbg's sleep support+, especially because it can help you fall asleep, without feeling groggy in the morning.* This particular supplement also features PharmaGABA, which may support increased relaxation and deeper sleep.*

This process could take a while, Bowman warns—perhaps even years. If, during one of the steps, you find yourself very sore or your sleep quality is diminished, you might want to scale back and try again in a few months. 

Though Breus does not recommend floor sleeping, if you are going to do it, he suggests placing something underneath your knees to elevate them as you sleep; this will alleviate pressure on your low back. 

Also, don’t use a big, thick pillow, which would “jack your neck up” and make it difficult to breathe, he adds. Instead, use a cervical pillow (e.g. airplane neck pillow) to ensure your neck is supported. Bowman, on the other hand, doesn’t use a pillow at all—something she gradually weaned herself of—as she says it’s helped her reduce chronic headaches.