Jamie & I had (actually, are still having) a rather animated debate on whether it is physically possible to sleep upside down for a prolonged period of time. By “upside down”, we do not mean on your stomach but rather hanging like a bat. And by “prolonged”, we mean a full nights sleep; at least 6 hours. We’ve tried searching the web but are yet unable to find what we are looking for. He states that sans any pre-existing medical conditions, it’s fine. I feel it’s physiologically dangerous. In short, he’s says “when you wake up, you’re happy”. I say “if you wake up, you’re happy”. We’d love any thoughts on this, especially if we could be directed to a link with an answer.
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Comments (17)
It’s crazy. I’ve been thinking about the same thing.
It shouldn’t be harming. Depending on your health?
arent u sleeping upside down when ur laying on your back
Sims do it: http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?t=72048
I want to sleep upside down - do you think I’m gonna need special equipment/Training ? Does anyone know of anyone whose tried it other than Batman and Charles Manson, whose not real and lying respectively ? Do they sleep upside down in space ? If so do you think astronauts will be able to help ? Ok, no offence but I think I’m gonna ask them! If you like I can get back to you.
In my oppinion you would black out…the heart pumb that bring de-oxygenated blood back to the heart is not strong enough to get it back….I would be scared of preassure building up in the brain and causing a hemorrhage or something…not a good idea, just try hang upside down for even five minutes….it HURTS.
Your heart is not designed to pull blood through the body…it pushes.
I sleep upside down regularly.I believe that seeing as our brain’s are busiest while asleep then it make’s sense to keep the blood flow mostly to the head.On awaking i feel far better than after a usual horizontal sleep.I also believe that our bodies adjust to this habit so their are no danger’s.Not yet anyway!
This is unreal, I’ve been thinking about doing this for ages. I’ve got a bad back and bought one of these inverter tables and find I’m almost falling asleep when I’m in it, it’s so relaxing and I just feel my whole spine from neck to lower back being slowly stretched.
I’ll give it a go, let you know how I get on. If I don’t get back to you then you know something went seriously wrong!
I’d say it wouldn’t be too dangerous so long as you didn’t jump right into it.
When I first started hanging upside down blood would rush to my head and I would feel tuns of pressure. Over time my body seemed to adjust accordingly and I seemed fine upside down. However, I was only doing 20 minute “sessions.”
Like any other physical training, it requires work, but maybe it’s possible. Train in 5 minute increments over time or something!
Sleeping upside down could be revolutionary. Since we’re right side up most of our awake life (16+ hours a day for most people), I’m sure sleeping upside down could pose many benefits.
Over time, like mentioned, it could be good for your back. It could be good for your height. Aging people have “saggy” cheeks; this could help prevent the look of aging. I’m sure there could be many other benefits too.
Gravity has great impact on us over time for things we don’t usually think about…
Currently I’m unable to get a proper setup for experimenting with this, but if I do end up getting there somehow (I find a money tree or something), then I’ll definitely post my progress here and what my doctor says over time…
I’m not a doctor or anything, so don’t listen to me… I just decided I’d throw my own thoughts into this.
I am really going to do this. I am crazy. If sleeping upside down works, I’ll let this blog know. I am dead if I don’t respond in 6 months.
I’m in extreme back pain almost 24/7. I’m a machinist, and I’m considering building one of these inverted beds. Does anybody have any info if its working for them?
email me at: jdozer@fpcas.com
Has anyone ever seen WAYNE’S WORLD 2? When Wayne and Garth go to England to meet this manager dude for their concert, they enter his house and find him sleeping upside down. They don’t show the apparatus he’s using, but he says that he picked it up from Keith Richards, and its the reason why Keith is invincible.
The 1989 Batman movie shows the device much better than Wayne’s World 2. However, Wayne’s World 2 does explain the reason for sleeping upside down. Wayne’s World 2, Del Preston: “Sleeping like this will add ten years to your life.” Probably not far from the truth. My physical anthropology professor explained it well; when we are young, there is cartilage in between our spinal bones. (as well as others) As we age and put wear on these bones, more and more of this cartilage is worn away and eventually our bones are worn away. Sleeping upside down takes the weight off of those joints and actually allows some of the cartilage to regrow. My professor has a friend who trained to be a police officer and was not accepted because he was not tall enough. He began sleeping upside down and gained just enough height to qualify.
Alright, I’ve been considering this for a long while also, and yes, I am one of those nut jobs who first got the idea from Wayne’s World. I found an ebay site, and if you go halfway down the apparatus used in Wayne’s World can be found. I only skimmed over the info, but I don’t see anything about prolonged use or sleeping this way. Here’s the link: http://stores.ebay.com/Better-Health-Innovations/Benefits-of-Inversion-Therapy.html
I have an inversion bar and I feel it is really comfortable to hang upside down. I started in small increments of time, when I first got it i could hardly stay upside down for more than a minture. Now I can hang there for over a half an hour. I am very interested in actually sleeping inverted but unaware of any risks I would like to know if this is harmful. I think it would be fine as Chris said just as long as you work your body up to it.
This site explains everything and it concludes that this should not be done.
http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/archive/index.php/t-121257.html
Well here are a few links I went and found on the subject after reading the last post, and I will state my opinion on the subject:
The links I’m providing all seem to be from sites selling inversion therapy equipment, whereas Mathaies’ link clearly is not affiliated with any company benefiting from the information stated. The links I am posting seem to have some “research” behind them, whereas Mathaies’ link seems to be from someone knowledgeable with our best interests at heart but probably not a researcher of any kind. So I conclude that the best way to go about inversion for any length, especially for a duration as long as a night’s sleep should be discussed with a physician before attempting.
Here are a few links I found, take them as you will considering they are meant to sell these items:
http://www.net2fitness.com/benefits_of_inversion.htm
http://www.teeterhangups.com/about/faq.html
http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/back/lowback/inversion_therapy.htm
I picked this one up from Kieth Ricchards. This is probably why I am invunerable to conevtional weapons.
btw your heart IS a pump you idiots. More than 50% of your body is below your heart 65% of your life (think about it genius)This is perfectly safe for anyone without a heart condition. This idea could also increase your mental capacity because your brain will be subjected to a much greater blood flow, which almost certainly increases brain activity and development. SERIOUSLY