Trouble Sleeping Aboard

[maxingout]

By the time I hit my bunk at night, I am so tired that I quickly fall asleep.

On the rare occasions I am wakeful, I read something that puts me to sleep.

The best thing I ever did to make it possible to sleep without worry was to get a seventy pound beugel anchor on 200 feet of chain. Once that anchor has dug in, I am guaranteed a good nights sleep regardless of the wind/waves in the anchorage. Not having to worry about dragging anchor makes it much easier for me to sleep at night.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by Swwly

Has anyone else out there had trouble sleeping aboard? My boyfriend and I bought the boat this winter and put it on Lake Champlain in June on a mooring. It feels incredible to finally have made the move towards living aboard, but now I'm finding it incredibly difficult to fall asleep. We have a cozy V-berth, and the mooring field is in a pretty well protected bay- still gets a bit choppy when the wind picks up.

I lie awake for hours- usually from about 11 pm when we climb into the berth until probably sometime after 2 or 3 am I'm wide awake. Then I catch a couple hours from then until about 6 or 7 am when it gets light out.

I think it's a mix of newbie anxiety (are we going to sink? Is that a bad noise? Do I need to check that splashing sound?) and the surprisingly loud sounds that are going on all around me throughout the night that are making it hard for me to fall asleep. Last night I experienced my first Thunderstorm aboard, which didn't help things...

Any advice? Have other people experienced this and got over it?

You'll get there. your body will get "atuned" to what's "normal" and whats not a "normal" sound/motion. My wife can sleep through anything while aboard, but I'm a light sleeper anyway and any unusual noise wakes me. having said that in between we both sleep better aboard than at the house!

[lovesYoghurt]

it could be just a matter of getting used to it.

I have been liveaboard approximately 6 months now and learned that smaller boats allow for movemements caused by swell, or wind felt more as compared to bigger size boats.

I learned to sleep with O/our boat despite movements over time and also realize how important to be conscious of boat movements as it could mean something is not right atm and may need to do something about it.

I'd keep the sensitivity to boat movements. =)

[AnglaisInHull]

Try a couple of nights at a well selected anchorage and see if it's different. The mooring fields I know on Lake Champlain all seem carefully positioned to maximize chop.

[MarkSF]

What about the mattress?

Most boats that age have very tired foam in the cushions, and it was seldom great to start with. Instead of the original 4", I now have about 7" of top quality foam, 4" of firm, 2" softer, 1" of the softest, bought from Foam Factory online. I sleep better on that than I do at home.

[rwidman]

I sleep as well or better on my boat than I do at home. We did buy a nice professional mattress to replace the hard foam that was on the boat when we bought it.

Sometimes I have a hard time falling asleep but I sometimes have that problem at home as well.

If the boat is really rocking, that will make it hard for me to fall or stay asleep.

I think you'll be fine once you get used to sleeping on the boat.

[yassine]

I had trouble sleeping aboard ,try Meditating before sleep Drinking tea Putting on gentle music Stretching to relax your body and mind

[Hudson Force]

'no lap of wavelets against the hull; no rise and fall with a bit of swell making it's way to the anchorage; no chimes in the rigging; no clues as to the weather....... Nancie and I are finally adapting to sleep on a rectangular bed in a still and muffled bedroom ashore after forty-five years living on our boat. It seems like the reverse would be normal. I'm sure you'll adapt.

[boatman61]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...9046&FORM=VIRE



Non Smoker.??? No Worries mate..

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[Jdege]

It's all about what you're used to.

Decades ago I spent a good number of years in the peacetime military, which included multiple multi-week field exercises, every year, during which we'd have limited time to sleep.

Sometimes we'd go days where the only sleep we'd get was while riding from place to place in the back of 5-ton trucks or while waiting for our turn on the shooting ranges.

To this day, off-roading in the back of a truck or the sound of rifle fire puts me to sleep.

[RobD527]

I sleep with a fan next to me

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by RobD527

I sleep with a fan next to me

.... and I'm a fan of those who would sleep next to me.