Can You Sleep In A Sleeping Bag Every Night?

Sleeping bags are a wonderful piece of equipment for camping. It is an essential part of the sleeping system and makes the sleeping system simpler. Many people are in love with their sleeping bags and wonder if they can use their sleeping bags every night for sleeping. Yes, you can use your sleeping bag for sleeping every night because they are warm, comfy, easy to manage, and portable to be carried anywhere. However, it is not an ideal solution for regular sleeping and must be avoided in some situations like if you easily feel claustrophobic. Keep reading for more detail.

Reasons To Use A Sleeping Bag Every Night

It is not a good or a bad idea, but rather, it’s a personal preference. If you are comfortable enough with your sleeping bag, then go ahead. But here are a few reasons to use it every night, for motivation.

Warmth

Sleeping bags are warmer than blankets and quilts. A sleeping bag completely wraps around and hugs you. It traps all your body heat by forming a cocoon and hugging you snugly. You can completely close the sleeping bag to protect yourself from cold drafts. The high insulation properties make of a sleeping bag make it a good option for cold sleepers. Many people also find the hugging nature of a sleeping bag comforting. If you have a premium sleeping bag for low temperatures, you will have an even better experience.

Easy to set up

Sleeping bags are far too easy to set up than any other setup. Easy setup is one of the many reasons that make a sleeping bag so popular. Just take the bag out of its sack, unfold it, put it on the ground, get in, and zip it, that’s it! When you are done using it, fold it and put it back inside its stuff sack. You don’t have to make the bed, tuck the bedsheets, nothing. The simplicity and convenience can be motivating factors to use a sleeping bag every night.

Can be taken anywhere

Sleeping bags are made for backpacking. Some sleeping bags are extremely lightweight and pack down to a very small size making them easier to carry. So you can carry a sleeping bag everywhere with you. The portability aspect is great for people who have a hard time sleeping in a new place. Many people become anxious in an unfamiliar environment causing them problems sleeping. Their sleeping bags can make them feel like they are in a familiar environment which can help them sleep better.

Sleeping bags are also a great option if you are a traveler and stay a lot at hotels. There is no telling what would be biting you during your sleep on a hotel bed. Sleeping bags are an excellent option to use if you stay doubtful of sketchy hotel bedding. It is a good way to avoid taking bed bugs back home. Bed bugs are a serious health hazard and hard to get rid of.

Reasons To Avoid

While there are reasons to use them every night, there is also a flip side to this whole issue. Here are the following reasons why you should avoid using them every night.

They can get dirty

If you use a sleeping bag every day, it can get dirty with body oil and sweat. After a while, the sleeping bag can start to smell and can even become harmful to your health. Now, washing a sleeping bag isn’t as easy as washing a shirt.

Sleeping bags require extra care because the fill inside them is fragile to washing. Furthermore, frequently washing the sleeping bag can weaken its structural integrity making the bag less reliable over time.

Sleeping bags aren’t cheap so you should take good care of them. With proper care, they can last a very long time. Many manufacturers instruct you to wash the sleeping bag only with your hands and use mild detergents. Such careful measures make it tedious to wash sleeping bags.

Can feel claustrophobic

The way a sleeping bag wraps around the body can be uncomfortable or even frightening to some people, especially, in a mummy sleeping bag. Some people complain that sleeping bags are very constricting. Others simply find it claustrophobic (the fear of enclosed spaces) to sleep in a sleeping bag. But that is the way sleeping bags are built. Mummy sleeping bags are designed to leave no space around the body for the air to move. But this constriction bothers some people. You can use a rectangular sleeping bag to have more space. But rectangular sleeping bags aren’t as warm as mummy sleeping bags.

They are not for couples mostly

Unless you have a double sleeping bag, you won’t be able to share your sleeping bag with a partner. It’s fine if you are a chronic loner and plan to die that way. But if you are looking to strengthen your relationship or looking to start one, using a sleeping bag to sleep every night isn’t the best thing to do.

Sleeping bags can be a health hazard

If you read carefully, many manufacturers include health warnings with their sleeping bags of being a potential health hazard. These health warnings include cancer, birth defects, reproductive harm, and many more. The reason for these health warnings is the materials used to manufacture sleeping bags. These materials include chemicals to make the sleeping bag flame retardant, waterproof, the color and dyes, synthetic fills, etc. California requires manufacturers to print these warnings on their products. The list of harmful products used for sleeping bags includes around 800 chemicals. While these chemicals can have a negligible effect on the body, frequent contact with these chemicals can increase the exposure causing potential health risks.

A Useful Tip

There is only one useful tip you would need if you choose to use a sleeping bag more often. Use a sleeping bag liner. A sleeping bag liner is an essential piece of gear if you want to use a sleeping bag frequently. A liner is a cheap and lightweight addon to upgrade your sleeping bag.

The most important function of the liner is to protect the sleeping bag from getting dirty. As mentioned above, sleeping bags are not easy to wash and frequent washing can damage them decreasing their life. A liner can help you get over this issue easily. Liners are far easier to wash than a sleeping bag and most of them are machine washable.

Liners also add a layer of warmth and comfort to the sleeping bag. Premium silk liners can make your sleeping experience extremely comfortable. These sleeping bag liners also add a layer of warmth to the sleeping bag without adding any significant amount of weight. Silk liners can add up to 5°F of insulation while special thermal synthetic liners can add up to 12°F. Sleeping bag liners are great for places where the temperature can suddenly drop 3 – 5°F during the night.

Conclusion

You can use your sleeping bag for sleeping every night if it suits you. They are warm, easy to set up, and portable to be carried anywhere. They also make the sleeping system very simple and it is one of the reasons for their popularity. However, sleeping bags can get dirty with regular use and they are hard to maintain. Frequent washing can cause damage to the fill and decrease the life of the bag. Sleeping bags can also feel constricting to some people. They are also a potential health hazard because of the chemicals used in their manufacturing. Using a sleeping bag liner is a cheap way to use a sleeping bag conveniently.