Like a warm chocolate chip cookie or an ice cream cone, a Sunday afternoon nap on the couch occasionally can feel like a wonderful pleasure. However, do you sleep on the couch every night? It’s more like consuming the entire pint or box: An excess of a good thing can lead to issues in the future.
Even though it might seem like a good place to pass out on the couch, experts warn against doing so because it’s bad for your spine and your quality of sleep. Here is a look at the potential consequences of doing it frequently and what you can do to break the habit.
Is It Really Easier to Fall Asleep on the Couch?
Actually, your bed is a better place to sleep than your couch. (We’ll go over every justification in a moment.) But on occasion, it may seem like that.
According to Kunal Kumar, MD, medical director of the Sleep Center at Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, “it’s the end of the day, you’re home from work, you’ve had dinner, and you have the TV on and you just fall asleep because you’re laying down and you’re exhausted.”
If you regularly fall asleep on the couch, your brain may start to link the couch with sleep. When that occurs, you might be more likely to pass out more quickly when you sit down.
Problems With Sleeping on the Couch
Despite the fact that the couch sometimes seems like the place that will lull you to sleep like nowhere else, there are several reasons not to use it as a makeshift bedroom. Some things to think about
You May Nod Off Earlier Than Your Planned Bedtime
Dr. Kumar notes that the best time for couch sleeping might be between eight and nine o’clock at night, after supper and before you lay down to watch your favorite program. Problem is, you’re really just taking a nap right before you’re meant to go to bed for the night at eight or nine o’clock, which isn’t actually bedtime.
So you end up not being tred since you were just sleeping, he explains, when you wake up an hour or two later and walk to your bedroom.
Your Sleep Will Probably Get Disrupted
Although bedrooms are meant to be quiet and dark, the area where your couch is located is usually anything but. Dr. Kumar claims that interruptions from the TV, lighting and other people can all cause you to become awake. Furthermore, those little awakenings can make your sleep lighter, more disorganized, and less restorative, which is not the recipe for deep sleep.
Your Back and Neck Might Hurt
According to Ronald Barton Tolchin, DO, director of the Spine Center at Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute, if you do the latter for seven or eight hours, there is a good possibility you may wake up with stiffness or pain in your neck, back, shoulders, or hips.
Another issue is that couches typically have shorter lengths than beds. Dr. Tolchin continues, “You might have to bend your knees, which might tighten your hamstrings and produce further back pain.”
You won’t only feel uncomfortable when you stand up as a result of those impacts. According to Dr. Kumar, if the pains continue throughout the evening, it will be even more difficult for you to sleep the next night.
Your Relationship Might Take a Hit
There is no right or wrong way to be in a relationship, and some couples even succeed when they share a bed. However, there are times when couch-snoozing may be a sign of a deeper problem between you and your partner.
Sleeping on the sofa could make a relationship’s lack of emotional or sexual closeness worse, according to Bakersfield, California-based relationship therapist Alison Gomez, LMFT. (On the other hand, she adds, “choose whatever sleeping arrangement works best for you and your family if you feel connected to your relationship and your partner feels supported.”)
How to Break the Habit
If you frequently find yourself unwittingly dozing off on the couch, try putting barriers in place to prevent this from happening. Make it a rule that you must remain seated, keep the lights bright around the couch, or even ask someone to wake you up if you begin to nod off.
Then, when you start to feel sleepy, go to your bedroom to start sleeping. (If you feel more alert, engage in a quiet activity like this to help you calm down.) Your brain will eventually begin to associate sleeping in your bed rather than on the couch, according to Dr. Kumar.
So, How Bad Is It To Sleep On The Couch Every Night?
A poor habit that can disrupt your sleep and cause physical discomfort is dozing off on the couch. Dr. Kumar thinks it’s acceptable to do so occasionally when you have no other option, such as when you’re traveling, allowing house guests to use your bed, or when your sleeping partner is ill.
If that’s the case, bring your pillow down to the couch rather than utilizing a couch pillow to protect your neck and shoulders. When you wake up, attempt these stretches. And as soon as everything returns to normal, start sleeping in your bed again. Don’t develop a couch-sleeping habit.
