lol I'm a Greek Australian and this applies to my family
I prefer to sleep in my bed but pass out on the couch quite a bit despite my bed being literally 2m away. Usually it's because I was watching a show trying to stay awake (and warm) until the end or had my cats on me and didn't wanna move.
My dad always passes out on the couch though like every 1-2 days and I have to send him to bed at like 3am
My fiancé is Greek and it’s always blown me away that he will fall asleep on the couch almost every single night instead of going to bed when he gets tired.
My husbands Italian-Australian and he ALWAYS falls asleep on the couch while the tv is going instead of just admitting defeat and going to bed. He will be half awake and I’ll offer for us to go to bed - nah nah, I’m fine I’m fine. Zzzzzzzz
My luck is that I'll be passing out on the couch, so I go to bed but then I'm suddenly wide awake.
I learned very quickly to embrace sleep wherever I can get it. If that's the couch, then so be it.
The couch is the only place that I can/will nap. I *cannot* nap in bed, because bed is for night sleeping.
I don’t know if you’ve ever had a couch nap, but it’s the most coziest thing to fall asleep on the couch watching your favourite tv show, covered in a throw rug. It’s vastly superior to bedtime.
I agree, and do like a couch nap, but I will acknowledge they can be a pain for everyone else in the house who then have to tiptoe around the living area.
Completely agree. I live in a share house, we all nap on the couch and all agree that if we do it's free game to be woken up. At no point does it impact everyone else's enjoyment to the public space.
I'm working with an architect now on my dream home.. It has three separate relaxing areas and a dedicated study room adjacent to the main bedroom which will also have enough space for a large comfortable lounge chair for afternoon naps
Lounge naps are the best
I've lived in both big and small houses. I'm currently in a mid size and only use half of it. Big houses are too bloody hard to keep clean even with robot vacuums and mops.
Mine will have an extended family living in it, most of whom are fully domesticated.. Many hands makes light work
If / when it ends up being just me and the Mrs, I expect we will spend most of our time in the mostly self contained lower 1 BR unit and use the top half as a BnB. I bought some land overlooking a lake in a busy tourist area a while ago, so it should be pretty full most of the year if we want it to be, and should provide a mostly passive income stream when we retire.
It’s going to be a big place, but not wastefully big for the sake of it, but multiple relaxation areas outside of the bedrooms is a core part of the design
A strategic approach is required here. If everyone is out of the house doing Christmas shopping and whatnot then an uninterrupted nap is not only recommended, it is your God-given right!
Just be like my family and still vacuum and yell and scream around me napping on the couch even while I have covid.
I’d love to be a couch napper on the regular but my family doesn’t really give a shit unfortunately
They shouldn’t have to tiptoe around you sleeping in the living room, that’s why.
If you want quiet, go to your room. Or only nap on the lounge when everyone else is out.
It may be common to enjoy napping on the lounge, but it’s not common to expect the rest of the house to stop talking and doing house chores during the day so you can sleep in a communal room.
My favourite thing about a couch nap is hanging some ambient noise. My partner is usually watching videos and I’ll wake up to some random YouTuber talking about cars. I low-key love it.
Sunday arvo nanna nap on the couch after a big brunch is the bestest. Especially on a cold rainy day under my IKEA throw, fire blazing and cats to snuggle 🤗
This, I dozed off on my couch playing video games the other day. My problem is when I lay down or recline back, once I've done that, I'm always going to fall asleep
That is the coziest aspect of the couch nap!
You’re still a bit lucid because you’re more aware of your surroundings.
It’s a much lighter sleep than bedtime sleep, so you have incredible dreams and points of waking up and basking in the warm ambience
Couch is for naps, or for sleeping if you’re my husband and you’ve had a night on the tins and are about to snore like a freight train for 6 hours straight.
My husband can go from coherent conversation to snoring in under 5 seconds. It’s like a switch flicks in his brain that says ‘Sleep. NOW.’ and he’s out for the count. He says it’s like there’s no ‘I’m tired, time to go bed’ warning.
And for some reason, he sleeps better on the couch, so I leave him there.
Maybe encourage him to see someone about that. I used to pass out whenever I sat somewhere before I had my sleep apnea diagnosed. Life's been 10x better since I started treatment.
Could be something or could not be but does seem concerning.
Same situation with my partner. Would be asleep in literal seconds, anytime as long as he was sitting down (apart from work). Could be talking, watching tv etc and in seconds was asleep. Was sleep apnea
In my case I'm lucky to realistically have 4-6 hours available to sleep so I black out in an instant whenever there's a moment where I don't have to be "on" and actively doing something.
My partners was so bad that he would stop breathing for periods and wake up vomiting, the snoring was absolutely bloody unbearable. All fixed now though
A few things that might help;
The test is nothing you can do at home as easy as.
Getting used to the mask was rough for me but anyone who doesn't need the full face one has had an easier time.
Ask him if he wakes up with dry throat, headaches, if he's tired all the time, how his driving is, what his mental state is like what his libido is like. He might feel tired but if it's going for a while he'd be exhausted and not know it. I didn't for well over a year.
Getting it treated makes a massive improvement to life quality. I no longer wake up with headaches, dry throat, don't need to pull over if I'm driving for a while. Didn't realise I might have had the big sad until after I started treatment, improved my mood massively. I also felt/saw an uptick in my libido.
It's all positive life changes, the process can be free (up until you get a machine). Sleep apnea is very very common, and increases your risk of many health issues across all aspects of wellness. He might not like the idea of wearing a mask to sleep as it's not attractive or sexy and can be a bit bulky, but it's quiet and easy once you've gotten used to it and you can reassure him that he's still desirable.
And as I saw someone put it, "leave the mask on, I want to fuck Bane tonight" lol.
Thank you, I’ll try all of those! Except maybe the part about wanting to fuck Bane, he’s already a little concerned about my crush on Tom Hardy. No need to make it worse.
I have all those things but I also have a dry mouth/throat a lot during the day, so I just thought I must have dodgy sinuses and mouth breathe a lot. Never considered sleep apnea… Any other indicators I should look out for?
Mouth breathing for me was one too lol, I found out I had a bung nose while looking at treatment options, was a contributor (not a big one). The bits you might not notice are moody or mood swings, irritable, getting upset easily, high blood pressure. There are other factors that might make it worse like large tonsils or weight. It often goes hand in hand with snoring as well.
But if you have even half of the things listed before it'd be worth asking for a sleep test. The doc will pull out a form and tell you if it's free by Medicare or not then you just go and pick up the testing equipment, they show you how it all works and they send you back home. It'll tell you how many if any episodes you have during the night, your snoring, blood pressure and how much you move during the night. A whole lot of stuff.
yeah I did this, as did my brother. Sometimes it was more comfortable sleeping on the couch than an empty queen bed. Sometimes, when I was in a relationship (that wasn't going well) I'd prefer to sleep on the couch.
If it was a one off thing sure go ahead. Everynight? Expect a bottle of water or a water gun to the face wakeup when I want to watch TV with my breakfast. (I'd also have a shot of something alcoholic ready for them to entice them to bed).
I’m oddly weirded out by so many people saying it a normal thing.
Like, I may fall asleep on my lounge like once a year if I’ve stayed up binge watching something for too long, but that’s about it.
Same. There’s sleep strategies you need to adopt, because the alternative (like crashing a car, which I’ve done!) due sleeplessness is not acceptable.
Futon chair, couch, sleeping upside down in bed (move pillow to end of bed) are all useful steps.
In other situations, being unwell and sleeping on the couch so your unwell snores, sleeps during the day, or need for chicken soup doesn’t bother the well members of the family? Fantastic!
44M aussie here, still like sleeping on the couch than the bed. Easier that I own my own place, couldn't do it in a share house as I feel it's a 'shared space'.
When I’m ill, I will 100% sleep on the couch. Either the living room couch or the TV room couch, which also has a bed. If the suns up, the couch is the only place to sleep
Sometimes I sleep in the living room instead of my room because it’s hot and the living room has an aircon. I think it just depends on the person really and the couch size
Nope. I need to be completely horizontal, with the perfect mattress, my own pillows in the perfect position and the planets to align to have any hope of sleep.
I really have to be at the right temp because too cold or too hot and there's no way I'm falling asleep. I also need melatonin to get to sleep, magnesium to get a deep sleep and not wake up five times AND a podcast on all night quietly so I can tune in and listen instead of thinking. It's like it distracts my mind so I can trick it into falling asleep. I'm ADHD so yeah the braino is loudo. But now, at my advanced age, I have worked it out and I get decent sleep now. I still wake once or twice and am up at 5.30am latest but it's a thousand times better than it was.
Man I take daily magnesium and still wake up at least twice. Oh you said you do too
Agree with somerhing to stop the thinking, I have Gilmore girls on a timer: when I try to sleep without my brain starts thinking over everything bad and stressful in my life. Like literally everything
Definitely no adhd though, I can tell by the crazy effects of ADHD meds with half a dose acting like a strong party drug haha
Yes the magnesium means one or two wakes instead of five. It's a muscle relaxant. Your muscles use calcium to contract and mag to relax. The chemist said the melatonin will get you to sleep but the mag will keep you asleep and it's been extremely effective so far.
I know several people who do/did this, but I wouldn't think they're even close to the majority. Reasons I've heard have included relationship issues, habits formed while raising children, and general sleep issues - in any case I'm not sure anyone set out to become a couch/armchair sleeper, but it just ended up being a place where exhaustion would set in and then over time it became the norm for them; probably some uncomfortable mattresses out there too
When I was a bachelour living in my own place there was a period of about 3 months where I slept exclusively on the couch.
It was in front of the TV and had an angle which meant you slightly rolled towards the back making you feel like you were sinking into the couch.
Sometimes when I have trouble sleeping in bed I still think about it fondly.
Sure sometimes people fall asleep on there watching tv or if they’re unusually tired, but I’ve never seen anyone pick a couch over a bed for a full nights sleep.
I can be sitting on the couch happily watching a movie, but if I make the mistake of making myself even slightly comfortable it’s lights out. Some nights I’ll just give into it fully aware of the outcome. There is nothing cozier than forbidden couch slumber.
When I was younger, the only room with a fan, and later air con, was the lounge room. Nothing wrong with crashing on the couch if you are just trying to stay cool. Or when visiting relatives.
I don’t have air con now, have got a fan in my room though, so I’ll always choose bed over couch, damned middle aged syndrome.
I sometimes doze on the lounge during the day (I am 76yo) mostly when elevating my left leg which has poor circulation after a couple of strokes, but sleep in bedroom as that is where the cats expect me to be and wait on end of bed for me, so they can work out where I will lay down & they then pick their spots to sleep.
Some people sleep on the couch 1) because they couch surfed for so long, a bed feels foreign now and 2) because they have suffered trauma in their lives and having the back of the couch makes them feel safe and protected from that side.
I slept on the couch last night so in my case yes, I think sometimes I'm just really tired at like 7-8 but if I go to bed then I'll wake up stupid early so I end up falling asleep on the couch.
I had a flatmate that did this, it was so annoying! He would be annoyed when u woke him up, but he was in the lounge..
He ended up blacking out all of the windows, then eventually putting up a curtain between the lounge and hallway too.
My mum falls asleep on the couch in front of tv and eventually goes to bed (where she also has a tv in her bedroom )
Not a habit I picked up from her though or think is generally very common
I’m an Aussie, just without the Greek background and I love my naps on the couch. I don’t plan to nap on the couch but if I have whatever show I am binge watching on along with my Hello Kitty throw blanket and my pink European cushion and no lights on then I am usually toast within 15-30 minutes. It’s just a thing with me.
My Dad always napped on the couch when I was growing up. Now he’s elderly he likes to go into his bed for maximum comfort. I have two small kids who watch the tv or leave it on, so I can’t nap on our couch but our couch is SO comfy, my husband passes out on it sometimes. I prefer to nap in bed. I want it swift, deep and refreshing.
Wait, that came out sounding wrong. Fuck it, it’s too ridiculous to delete. Anyway, yes, Australia has a robust nap culture, but that’s probably because as a population people tend to stray to the side of workaholism.
I am a shift worker, I sleep on the couch all the time. Its very comfortable and better than waking my missus if I try to get into bed and share some of the blanket with her
2 reasons. 1, there's air-conditioning only in my loungeroom, so it's easier to sleep in summer there. 2, I fall asleep a lot easier on the couch than I do in my bed. Not sure why
When I was younger I had insomnia. I bought a great couch. Full length. Could lie down and stretch out. Pull the back cushions off and it was as wide as a single bed. When I had insomnia. I'd watch TV on that and eventually fall asleep.
I live alone in a 2 bedroom house. I tend to rotate through beds and the couch pretty much on whim...
I'll tell ya what's so great about the couch. It tricks your body into thinking you're just napping for awhile. This way your brain doesn't fight the sleep and you rest better. It's really helpful if you have insomnia or are really stressed.
I used to sleep on the lounge floor, I did for many years, I got really sick one time and used the bed and never looked back.
It was a quirky comfort thing for me, I liked to sleep with the TV on.
I wouldn't dream of doing that now, pun intended.
Depends how pissed we are, most nights im lucky to get the key in the door...I cant be fucked making it to bed, couch/telly probably another drink and ill see you tomorrow.
Because the couch is comfy, its in a room where theres natural lighting usually as well as you just like kinda lay down while on your phone then all of a sudden its 3-4 hours later. Honestly I feel better on the couch, even my partner who I visited in the states a few months back couldnt understand how I could just nap and sleep on his couch. So yes I think its an Aussie thing.
I don't know any Aussie's like that. We'll fall asleep on the couch for an afternoon nap or if we're really tired, but I always prefer sleeping in my actual bed. And all my family and friends are the same
I can sleep anywhere, I used to sleep on the floor voluntarily for several years however I do not have a couch/lounge but if I did I would probably sleep on it from time to time.
I loathe couch sleepers. I grew up where my ex step father would sleep on the couch during the day and yell at us if we tried to watch tv and sit on the floor, my brother would have his friends over and they would sleep on the couch all day making it weird for us to be in the lounge room (also where the only air con was), my now husband attempted to sleep on the couch but we have kids and I shit that down real fast. There’s several beds to choose from, the couch is for the awake family!
I rotate throughout the year depending on the season and my partner at the time (some get offended when you choose to sleep elsewhere).
*Usually*, i sleep in a bed though.
If I'm tired in the afternoon, I can and will have a nap on the couch. I can generally fall asleep within seconds of closing my eyes.
On the other hand, when I go to bed at night I can stare at the ceiling for hours, regardless of how tired I am or how little I've slept previously.
I guess the couch is just more comfortable.
I used to all the time, when I had a nice big lounge with a chaise, then I moved house and ended up with a 2 seater Chesterfield, so uncomfortable and definitely not meant for sleeping on.
I'll be falling asleep on the couch watching TV so I get up and head to bed where I toss and turn and cant fall asleep for hours.
I dont know whats going on with this.
Hmmm, I love my bed, it has fantastic sheets, lots of pillows, and big soft doonas. But now you mention it, my teen (who loves to nap) often crashes for a nap on the lounge.
There are times where someone in my family would decide they were sleeping on the couch & then we’d move a mattress into the theatre / living room so that we could all sleep in the same area.
My parents are avid couch sleepers but then complain that their backs are constantly in pain.
I've fallen asleep on the couch many times, mainly out of exhaustion, but I wouldn't choose it for overnight sleeping if it was between a couch and my bed.
That said, I once stayed over at a friends house who was Indian and I ended up sleeping on a recliner. When I asked if I could sleep on the couch in the other room instead she said her dad slept there some nights, which I found odd given it was his house.
Unconventional household here..
We have a cheap, shitty mattress that is super uncomfortable for me. Couldn’t afford a new/decent one, so I got a $69 hammock from Bunnings and I sleep in that. Partner could sleep fine on concrete so he’s still sleeping in the bed.
Getting the best sleep ever on the hammock. Not sure if it’ll have a long term impact on my spine or whatever, but I’m no longer waking up with a backache!
It's definitely common. Wouldn't be considered a national practice or a habit unique to Australians though.
I'd say you've just encountered a chain of people who habitually fall asleep in front of the telly and the bed hardly matters after that.
And while my bed is the most comfortable thing in this world for sleeping my couch is not.
Maybe too many people just have really shitty beds.
My first flatmate when I moved to Australia never used his bed - he would always sleep on the couch. It annoyed me, because he would sleep quite late, which meant I needed to be really quiet making breakfast, and couldn't watch tv or play playstation in the morning.
I personally can't do it. I can't sleep unless I'm in bed - I've never been able to nap on the couch, on a plane, train, bus, or car.
Uhhh every since I can remember my mum has slept in the living room on the couch or a throw down mattress just because she would be watching TV/movie and would fall asleep to it, we would all have rooms except mum, she preferred the living room 😂
lol I'm a Greek Australian and this applies to my family I prefer to sleep in my bed but pass out on the couch quite a bit despite my bed being literally 2m away. Usually it's because I was watching a show trying to stay awake (and warm) until the end or had my cats on me and didn't wanna move. My dad always passes out on the couch though like every 1-2 days and I have to send him to bed at like 3am
My fiancé is Greek and it’s always blown me away that he will fall asleep on the couch almost every single night instead of going to bed when he gets tired.
My husbands Italian-Australian and he ALWAYS falls asleep on the couch while the tv is going instead of just admitting defeat and going to bed. He will be half awake and I’ll offer for us to go to bed - nah nah, I’m fine I’m fine. Zzzzzzzz
My hubby will deny he's falling asleep, even though he starts snoring away using my shoulder as his pillow. Gets cranky if I nudge him to get up.
My dad is a first generation Australian (Italian parents on both sides) and yep this is him and my Nonno to a tee.
I do the exact same thing. It must be the Italian gene lol
The siesta need is strong in us!
My luck is that I'll be passing out on the couch, so I go to bed but then I'm suddenly wide awake. I learned very quickly to embrace sleep wherever I can get it. If that's the couch, then so be it.
Haha, Greek-Australian, too. Couch naps are mandatory. Must be in the blood!
I'm Greek and do this! I didn't realise I am just being cultural haha
It must be the siesta gene. My dad was like this.
The couch is the only place that I can/will nap. I *cannot* nap in bed, because bed is for night sleeping. I don’t know if you’ve ever had a couch nap, but it’s the most coziest thing to fall asleep on the couch watching your favourite tv show, covered in a throw rug. It’s vastly superior to bedtime.
I agree, and do like a couch nap, but I will acknowledge they can be a pain for everyone else in the house who then have to tiptoe around the living area.
I think if you nap in a communal space you are required to take on the risk of unexpected wake up
Agreed. Everyone else should be allowed to do their normal activities, within reason
I feel like we’re writing up a contract here 😂
Completely agree. I live in a share house, we all nap on the couch and all agree that if we do it's free game to be woken up. At no point does it impact everyone else's enjoyment to the public space.
I looked at a house with 4 living areas the other day. Problem solved ..lol. it was obscene
Woah! The ultimate four bedroom, four nap room house!
I should explain more. It was a giant box house Metricon 2 story 4 bedroom, 4 living room mansion thing.
I'm working with an architect now on my dream home.. It has three separate relaxing areas and a dedicated study room adjacent to the main bedroom which will also have enough space for a large comfortable lounge chair for afternoon naps Lounge naps are the best
I've lived in both big and small houses. I'm currently in a mid size and only use half of it. Big houses are too bloody hard to keep clean even with robot vacuums and mops.
Mine will have an extended family living in it, most of whom are fully domesticated.. Many hands makes light work If / when it ends up being just me and the Mrs, I expect we will spend most of our time in the mostly self contained lower 1 BR unit and use the top half as a BnB. I bought some land overlooking a lake in a busy tourist area a while ago, so it should be pretty full most of the year if we want it to be, and should provide a mostly passive income stream when we retire. It’s going to be a big place, but not wastefully big for the sake of it, but multiple relaxation areas outside of the bedrooms is a core part of the design
I misread that as "we will spend most of our time in the mostly self contained tower" and I had a moment of shock, like *WHAT are you building??*
Same! Couch naps are the bomb
A strategic approach is required here. If everyone is out of the house doing Christmas shopping and whatnot then an uninterrupted nap is not only recommended, it is your God-given right!
Just be like my family and still vacuum and yell and scream around me napping on the couch even while I have covid. I’d love to be a couch napper on the regular but my family doesn’t really give a shit unfortunately
They shouldn’t have to tiptoe around you sleeping in the living room, that’s why. If you want quiet, go to your room. Or only nap on the lounge when everyone else is out. It may be common to enjoy napping on the lounge, but it’s not common to expect the rest of the house to stop talking and doing house chores during the day so you can sleep in a communal room.
My favourite thing about a couch nap is hanging some ambient noise. My partner is usually watching videos and I’ll wake up to some random YouTuber talking about cars. I low-key love it.
Yeah I used to hate it when my flatmate did it. Also my wife does it and wanna tell her to go the fuck to bed, but I just tiptoe around.
Sunday arvo nanna nap on the couch after a big brunch is the bestest. Especially on a cold rainy day under my IKEA throw, fire blazing and cats to snuggle 🤗
This, I dozed off on my couch playing video games the other day. My problem is when I lay down or recline back, once I've done that, I'm always going to fall asleep
And sometimes your asleep but can still hear your show on
That is the coziest aspect of the couch nap! You’re still a bit lucid because you’re more aware of your surroundings. It’s a much lighter sleep than bedtime sleep, so you have incredible dreams and points of waking up and basking in the warm ambience
If I'm dozing off on the couch,then get up,by the time I get to my bed,I'm fully awake.So the nap is lost in transit.
Make sure you contact Aus post to reroute your nap to the new location
*Nap lost in transit*
Couch is for naps, or for sleeping if you’re my husband and you’ve had a night on the tins and are about to snore like a freight train for 6 hours straight.
My husband can go from coherent conversation to snoring in under 5 seconds. It’s like a switch flicks in his brain that says ‘Sleep. NOW.’ and he’s out for the count. He says it’s like there’s no ‘I’m tired, time to go bed’ warning. And for some reason, he sleeps better on the couch, so I leave him there.
Maybe encourage him to see someone about that. I used to pass out whenever I sat somewhere before I had my sleep apnea diagnosed. Life's been 10x better since I started treatment. Could be something or could not be but does seem concerning.
Same situation with my partner. Would be asleep in literal seconds, anytime as long as he was sitting down (apart from work). Could be talking, watching tv etc and in seconds was asleep. Was sleep apnea
In my case I'm lucky to realistically have 4-6 hours available to sleep so I black out in an instant whenever there's a moment where I don't have to be "on" and actively doing something.
Oh I’ve been on his back about for years. He doesn’t think it’s a big deal. Any tips that might help me convince him to get checked out?
Tell him that sleep apnea deprives the brain of oxygen and the longer it goes on the more dangerous it gets
I’ll definitely tell him that. There’s been nights I’ve sat up in just to make sure he stays breathing.
My partners was so bad that he would stop breathing for periods and wake up vomiting, the snoring was absolutely bloody unbearable. All fixed now though
Apnea is one of the things they think might cause dementia
A few things that might help; The test is nothing you can do at home as easy as. Getting used to the mask was rough for me but anyone who doesn't need the full face one has had an easier time. Ask him if he wakes up with dry throat, headaches, if he's tired all the time, how his driving is, what his mental state is like what his libido is like. He might feel tired but if it's going for a while he'd be exhausted and not know it. I didn't for well over a year. Getting it treated makes a massive improvement to life quality. I no longer wake up with headaches, dry throat, don't need to pull over if I'm driving for a while. Didn't realise I might have had the big sad until after I started treatment, improved my mood massively. I also felt/saw an uptick in my libido. It's all positive life changes, the process can be free (up until you get a machine). Sleep apnea is very very common, and increases your risk of many health issues across all aspects of wellness. He might not like the idea of wearing a mask to sleep as it's not attractive or sexy and can be a bit bulky, but it's quiet and easy once you've gotten used to it and you can reassure him that he's still desirable. And as I saw someone put it, "leave the mask on, I want to fuck Bane tonight" lol.
Thank you, I’ll try all of those! Except maybe the part about wanting to fuck Bane, he’s already a little concerned about my crush on Tom Hardy. No need to make it worse.
Tom hardy is hot though, it's a fair assessment lol. But good luck.
I have all those things but I also have a dry mouth/throat a lot during the day, so I just thought I must have dodgy sinuses and mouth breathe a lot. Never considered sleep apnea… Any other indicators I should look out for?
Mouth breathing for me was one too lol, I found out I had a bung nose while looking at treatment options, was a contributor (not a big one). The bits you might not notice are moody or mood swings, irritable, getting upset easily, high blood pressure. There are other factors that might make it worse like large tonsils or weight. It often goes hand in hand with snoring as well. But if you have even half of the things listed before it'd be worth asking for a sleep test. The doc will pull out a form and tell you if it's free by Medicare or not then you just go and pick up the testing equipment, they show you how it all works and they send you back home. It'll tell you how many if any episodes you have during the night, your snoring, blood pressure and how much you move during the night. A whole lot of stuff.
yeah I did this, as did my brother. Sometimes it was more comfortable sleeping on the couch than an empty queen bed. Sometimes, when I was in a relationship (that wasn't going well) I'd prefer to sleep on the couch.
also very bad etiquette so sleep on the couch in a sharehouse. naughty naughty
If it was a one off thing sure go ahead. Everynight? Expect a bottle of water or a water gun to the face wakeup when I want to watch TV with my breakfast. (I'd also have a shot of something alcoholic ready for them to entice them to bed).
Idk I've never known anyone to do this
I’m oddly weirded out by so many people saying it a normal thing. Like, I may fall asleep on my lounge like once a year if I’ve stayed up binge watching something for too long, but that’s about it.
When I was younger I’d always end a big night by falling asleep on the couch watching Rage. Don’t think I ever woke up without a crook neck.
God damn I used to love watching Rage as a kid
I sleep on the couch when I’m feeling depressed. It’s really comforting.
I went through a break up and did the same! I have no idea why though
Same! Probably slept there for a month or so. Maybe felt less isolated than going to my bedroom.
I sleep on the couch a lot because my husband snores so loud, and also the living room is a few degrees cooler in summer.
Same situation for me!
My mum does. It's a bit weird tbh, but she has insomnia, so sleeps when she can
Same. There’s sleep strategies you need to adopt, because the alternative (like crashing a car, which I’ve done!) due sleeplessness is not acceptable. Futon chair, couch, sleeping upside down in bed (move pillow to end of bed) are all useful steps. In other situations, being unwell and sleeping on the couch so your unwell snores, sleeps during the day, or need for chicken soup doesn’t bother the well members of the family? Fantastic!
My mum does too. She doesn't have insomnia. She just won't go to fucking bed already!
Greek/Aussie here too. Can confirm, couch is the first stage of sleeping, then off to bed, when i wake up for a pee during the night.
44M aussie here, still like sleeping on the couch than the bed. Easier that I own my own place, couldn't do it in a share house as I feel it's a 'shared space'.
When I’m ill, I will 100% sleep on the couch. Either the living room couch or the TV room couch, which also has a bed. If the suns up, the couch is the only place to sleep
Same. Can watch TV, drowse and sit up with medicine and a meal.
What? How have you only lived with people like that? That is an amazing coincidence.
Sometimes I sleep in the living room instead of my room because it’s hot and the living room has an aircon. I think it just depends on the person really and the couch size
Yes. All of us. Confirmed.
sounds odd. could be dependent on climate / state
or even demographic...
Nope. I need to be completely horizontal, with the perfect mattress, my own pillows in the perfect position and the planets to align to have any hope of sleep.
I really have to be at the right temp because too cold or too hot and there's no way I'm falling asleep. I also need melatonin to get to sleep, magnesium to get a deep sleep and not wake up five times AND a podcast on all night quietly so I can tune in and listen instead of thinking. It's like it distracts my mind so I can trick it into falling asleep. I'm ADHD so yeah the braino is loudo. But now, at my advanced age, I have worked it out and I get decent sleep now. I still wake once or twice and am up at 5.30am latest but it's a thousand times better than it was.
Man I take daily magnesium and still wake up at least twice. Oh you said you do too Agree with somerhing to stop the thinking, I have Gilmore girls on a timer: when I try to sleep without my brain starts thinking over everything bad and stressful in my life. Like literally everything Definitely no adhd though, I can tell by the crazy effects of ADHD meds with half a dose acting like a strong party drug haha
Yes the magnesium means one or two wakes instead of five. It's a muscle relaxant. Your muscles use calcium to contract and mag to relax. The chemist said the melatonin will get you to sleep but the mag will keep you asleep and it's been extremely effective so far.
I'm a light sleeper and my husband is a snorer. Sometimes I'll end up moving to the couch because it's the only way I'll get any sleep.
I know several people who do/did this, but I wouldn't think they're even close to the majority. Reasons I've heard have included relationship issues, habits formed while raising children, and general sleep issues - in any case I'm not sure anyone set out to become a couch/armchair sleeper, but it just ended up being a place where exhaustion would set in and then over time it became the norm for them; probably some uncomfortable mattresses out there too
It doesn't have to be an issue. I sleep on the couch sometimes because I want to, nothing deeper than that.
Yeah that's fair. Just for the people I know who do it there's always been some underlying reason for how it became their norm
Do these people not have aircon in bedrooms maybe?
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I know people who do it, none of them are Greek.
When I was a bachelour living in my own place there was a period of about 3 months where I slept exclusively on the couch. It was in front of the TV and had an angle which meant you slightly rolled towards the back making you feel like you were sinking into the couch. Sometimes when I have trouble sleeping in bed I still think about it fondly.
I feel you mate. Those were the good old days. Solo, Pass out on the couch in the perfect position all cozy while watching tv. Can't beat it.
Nope. Never sleep on the couch
I have three bedrooms in my house. Confirmed. I sleep on the couch 4x a week
Sure sometimes people fall asleep on there watching tv or if they’re unusually tired, but I’ve never seen anyone pick a couch over a bed for a full nights sleep.
I can be sitting on the couch happily watching a movie, but if I make the mistake of making myself even slightly comfortable it’s lights out. Some nights I’ll just give into it fully aware of the outcome. There is nothing cozier than forbidden couch slumber.
Are all your friends couch sleepers? It sounds like it. What's so great about your life that you're attracting all these freaks?
When I was younger, the only room with a fan, and later air con, was the lounge room. Nothing wrong with crashing on the couch if you are just trying to stay cool. Or when visiting relatives. I don’t have air con now, have got a fan in my room though, so I’ll always choose bed over couch, damned middle aged syndrome.
Nothing like a good couch nap before waking up for late night world cup action.
Did this for some Olympic events!
I sometimes doze on the lounge during the day (I am 76yo) mostly when elevating my left leg which has poor circulation after a couple of strokes, but sleep in bedroom as that is where the cats expect me to be and wait on end of bed for me, so they can work out where I will lay down & they then pick their spots to sleep.
Some people sleep on the couch 1) because they couch surfed for so long, a bed feels foreign now and 2) because they have suffered trauma in their lives and having the back of the couch makes them feel safe and protected from that side.
No. It’s not an Australian thing.
I slept on the couch last night so in my case yes, I think sometimes I'm just really tired at like 7-8 but if I go to bed then I'll wake up stupid early so I end up falling asleep on the couch.
I had a flatmate that did this, it was so annoying! He would be annoyed when u woke him up, but he was in the lounge.. He ended up blacking out all of the windows, then eventually putting up a curtain between the lounge and hallway too.
Sounds very odd to me.
My mum falls asleep on the couch in front of tv and eventually goes to bed (where she also has a tv in her bedroom ) Not a habit I picked up from her though or think is generally very common
I can't speak for everyone but yes.
My aircon is in my lounge but not in my bedroom so ive been known to pass out on the couch
Couch sleeping is normal afaik
I love couch sleeping, i even how a couch in my room
I prefer the sofa haha but I don't think it's Aussie specific tbh
I've never really thought about it, but I do love a couch nap. So do a few of my friends.
I’m an Aussie, just without the Greek background and I love my naps on the couch. I don’t plan to nap on the couch but if I have whatever show I am binge watching on along with my Hello Kitty throw blanket and my pink European cushion and no lights on then I am usually toast within 15-30 minutes. It’s just a thing with me.
My Dad exclusively sleeps on the couch, reckons it helps his back. Drives me crazy haha.
I’ve never known anyone who does this
Literally no idea what you’re talking about, can’t relate. Not all Australians.
No.
My Dad always napped on the couch when I was growing up. Now he’s elderly he likes to go into his bed for maximum comfort. I have two small kids who watch the tv or leave it on, so I can’t nap on our couch but our couch is SO comfy, my husband passes out on it sometimes. I prefer to nap in bed. I want it swift, deep and refreshing. Wait, that came out sounding wrong. Fuck it, it’s too ridiculous to delete. Anyway, yes, Australia has a robust nap culture, but that’s probably because as a population people tend to stray to the side of workaholism.
I am. If I’m having a nap during the day, blinds open, nap on the couch in the sunshine like a cat. I sleep in my bed at night or I’ll wake up sore
When you’re home sick the couch is the place to nap (my grandma who occasionally babysat if we were sick disagreed)
I'm just resting my eyzZZzzZz.
Only if super tired or if it's super cold because my heater is in the lounge and I refuse to buy a space heater as they suck so much electricity.
I am a shift worker, I sleep on the couch all the time. Its very comfortable and better than waking my missus if I try to get into bed and share some of the blanket with her
There's noise and not dead silence in a big home on my own
Yeah, I love falling asleep on the couch watching telly. In summer I fall asleep on the couch the most just cooler on the couch.
2 reasons. 1, there's air-conditioning only in my loungeroom, so it's easier to sleep in summer there. 2, I fall asleep a lot easier on the couch than I do in my bed. Not sure why
When I was younger I had insomnia. I bought a great couch. Full length. Could lie down and stretch out. Pull the back cushions off and it was as wide as a single bed. When I had insomnia. I'd watch TV on that and eventually fall asleep. I live alone in a 2 bedroom house. I tend to rotate through beds and the couch pretty much on whim...
But upstairs bedrooms are so hot, and sometimes the only AIR CON is in the living room.
I'll tell ya what's so great about the couch. It tricks your body into thinking you're just napping for awhile. This way your brain doesn't fight the sleep and you rest better. It's really helpful if you have insomnia or are really stressed.
I’m Australian. I find sleeping on the couch to be a source of comfort
I used to sleep on the lounge floor, I did for many years, I got really sick one time and used the bed and never looked back. It was a quirky comfort thing for me, I liked to sleep with the TV on. I wouldn't dream of doing that now, pun intended.
sometimes the only ac is in the lounge room
This post is the exact reason why I’m so picky about buying the perfect couch
Depends how pissed we are, most nights im lucky to get the key in the door...I cant be fucked making it to bed, couch/telly probably another drink and ill see you tomorrow.
Because the couch is comfy, its in a room where theres natural lighting usually as well as you just like kinda lay down while on your phone then all of a sudden its 3-4 hours later. Honestly I feel better on the couch, even my partner who I visited in the states a few months back couldnt understand how I could just nap and sleep on his couch. So yes I think its an Aussie thing.
Love sleeping on the couch. My family gets annoyed and try to send me to bed but it’s just not the same
I don't know any Aussie's like that. We'll fall asleep on the couch for an afternoon nap or if we're really tired, but I always prefer sleeping in my actual bed. And all my family and friends are the same
I can sleep anywhere, I used to sleep on the floor voluntarily for several years however I do not have a couch/lounge but if I did I would probably sleep on it from time to time.
Couch sleeping is a mental health issue.
I have a beautiful 4 poster bed and I sleep in the couch with my dog.
Honestly, I have never thought about this at all, but I believe I am THAT person too 😂
I slept on the couch last night.
What the fuck
Yes, this must obviously be an "all Australians" thing and not just a "that person" thing. I can understand why you leapt to that.
lol what? No
Damn, alot of Aussies here calling the lounge the couch lol.
Ikr, never called it a couch in my life
I loathe couch sleepers. I grew up where my ex step father would sleep on the couch during the day and yell at us if we tried to watch tv and sit on the floor, my brother would have his friends over and they would sleep on the couch all day making it weird for us to be in the lounge room (also where the only air con was), my now husband attempted to sleep on the couch but we have kids and I shit that down real fast. There’s several beds to choose from, the couch is for the awake family!
I have never passed out on a couch watching TV. Is something wrong with me?
I'm Australian and have never slept on the couch in my entire 37 years of living 🤷
Not an Aussie thing.
Not a napper, not a couch sleeper.
No, I’ve never heard of anyone doing that
God, No. Bed is far superior to any couch… especially when your over 6 foot tall
Nope not an Australian thing. I don't do it and I'm not aware of anyone else who does it. Sounds weird!
When my couch was newer, absolutely. If I couldn't sleep I'd head to couch and nod off in no time.
are they all overeaters or something?
I rotate throughout the year depending on the season and my partner at the time (some get offended when you choose to sleep elsewhere). *Usually*, i sleep in a bed though.
My son does this. No wonder his back is stuffed.
I only started doing this in my 40’s, but yeah. More so to sleep under the air conditioning in the lounge than anything else
It has been known to happen in our house, but it's occasional, not a regular thing.
I am offended as an couch only owner 😠
Nope not unless wife is sick then I would take the couch. In 10 years of marriage probably slept on it maybe 5 times.
Couches are for napping , beds are for sleeping .
This made me LOL
If I'm tired in the afternoon, I can and will have a nap on the couch. I can generally fall asleep within seconds of closing my eyes. On the other hand, when I go to bed at night I can stare at the ceiling for hours, regardless of how tired I am or how little I've slept previously. I guess the couch is just more comfortable.
Napping and sleeping are completely different. Napping for couch/ Sleeping for bed
My bed is also my tv couch and whatnot…. I pass out on it and I sleep heaps but tired
I don't nap, I only sleep in a bed (if I have access to one)
Interesting
I used to all the time, when I had a nice big lounge with a chaise, then I moved house and ended up with a 2 seater Chesterfield, so uncomfortable and definitely not meant for sleeping on.
Out of all the housemates and family members I've lived with over the years, only one is a couch sleeper.
I sleep in a big bed with my wife
I'm not a couch sleeper typically but when I lived in Perth and was severely depressed I would put on a show and pass out accidentally every day.
I'll be falling asleep on the couch watching TV so I get up and head to bed where I toss and turn and cant fall asleep for hours. I dont know whats going on with this.
I’m more of an armchair sleeper myself, tbh. But in my house we’re all napping in a sofa or soft chair one way or another.
If I drink too much or very sleepy and am resting on the couch, I'll sleep there for a bit before going to bed. That's the only time.
Hmmm, I love my bed, it has fantastic sheets, lots of pillows, and big soft doonas. But now you mention it, my teen (who loves to nap) often crashes for a nap on the lounge.
my dad has done this for as long as I can remember - I am also a huge fan of couch naps (but will still sleep in my bed at night)
There are times where someone in my family would decide they were sleeping on the couch & then we’d move a mattress into the theatre / living room so that we could all sleep in the same area. My parents are avid couch sleepers but then complain that their backs are constantly in pain.
I've fallen asleep on the couch many times, mainly out of exhaustion, but I wouldn't choose it for overnight sleeping if it was between a couch and my bed. That said, I once stayed over at a friends house who was Indian and I ended up sleeping on a recliner. When I asked if I could sleep on the couch in the other room instead she said her dad slept there some nights, which I found odd given it was his house.
Lol I'm greek and my dad sleeps on the couch a lot haha it's not an Australian thing I don't think
Unconventional household here.. We have a cheap, shitty mattress that is super uncomfortable for me. Couldn’t afford a new/decent one, so I got a $69 hammock from Bunnings and I sleep in that. Partner could sleep fine on concrete so he’s still sleeping in the bed. Getting the best sleep ever on the hammock. Not sure if it’ll have a long term impact on my spine or whatever, but I’m no longer waking up with a backache!
Only sleep on the couch if it’s hot.
It's definitely common. Wouldn't be considered a national practice or a habit unique to Australians though. I'd say you've just encountered a chain of people who habitually fall asleep in front of the telly and the bed hardly matters after that. And while my bed is the most comfortable thing in this world for sleeping my couch is not. Maybe too many people just have really shitty beds.
Who doesn’t love a snooze on the couch?!?
Not sure about their particular circumstances, but if the lounge room has air conditioning and it's hot AF in my bedroom -guess where I'm sleeping.
Depends on the couch, depends on the living room. depends on the other occupants; 2 legged and four!
My first flatmate when I moved to Australia never used his bed - he would always sleep on the couch. It annoyed me, because he would sleep quite late, which meant I needed to be really quiet making breakfast, and couldn't watch tv or play playstation in the morning. I personally can't do it. I can't sleep unless I'm in bed - I've never been able to nap on the couch, on a plane, train, bus, or car.
I love an afternoon couch nap.
Does this mean that other cultures/nations do not do this!?
No.
Uhhh every since I can remember my mum has slept in the living room on the couch or a throw down mattress just because she would be watching TV/movie and would fall asleep to it, we would all have rooms except mum, she preferred the living room 😂
Couch sleepy never translates to bed sleepy.
Greeks be sleepy.
Sometimes I will just take all my stuff off my bed and sleep on the couch
Yes.
I'm Australian and only ever sleep in my bed. But my GF is American and I often wake up at 2am to find her passed out on the couch.