6 ms·

I sleep outside on my property all the time, it's the bestest.

henvic 7y ago
but do you shower and make sure you enjoy life, right? I ask this out of curiosity and to try to understand your motives. If you just happen to like to be in the open for a while, I totally understand.
- newnewpdro 7y ago
  Sleeping outdoors someplace where the climate makes it perfectly comfortable and the environment perfectly safe is a luxury, it's the ideal IMHO. Sleeping indoors is a compromise made because it's too unsafe and/or uncomfortable (or socially unacceptable) to do it without shelter. Think about it. People generally love the seasons when they can sleep comfortably indoors with the windows open all night; fresh air, no blankets or at most a clean linen sheet. Well, given the right environment and season, doing it outside is a notch better than indoors with the windows open. My property is in the rural Mojave desert. There are no Mosquitoes and rarely > 30% humidity, and much of the year the night climate is so perfect you can sleep outside with no blankets or anything, even clothing optional. I prefer a mesh tent to keep scorpions and snakes out when on the ground, optional on the deck. All this with a sky so clear and free of light pollution I can watch the Milky Way until passing out. With regards to showering and enjoying life... I don't think those are really relevant to my comment and don't know how to answer them other than the obvious "yes, I bathe when necessary. Yes, I enjoy life."
  - mindentropy 7y ago
    Many people in India in the rural side sleep on the terraces. It becomes too hot and stuffy to sleep indoors and also if there are power cuts. Generally they sleep on a "Charpai". When I was young we had a lot of power cuts in India and we used to head over to the terrace to sleep in the summers. For mosquitoes we used to coat our skin with an insect repellent cream called "Odomos".
    - DoreenMichele 7y ago
      Sleeping on the porch was actually quite common in the US not that many decades ago. http://gothamist.com/2016/07/22/nyc_fire_escape_summer_flashback.php http://gothamist.com/2016/07/22/nyc_fire_escape_summer_flash... https://thecraftsmanblog.com/the-amazing-sleeping-porch/ https://thecraftsmanblog.com/the-amazing-sleeping-porch/
  - henvic 7y ago
    You definitely enjoy life. I have been a few times to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree. One of the few times I ever saw a perfectly clear sky (others were during a trip to Big Sur and in Iceland). Mojave is still on my TODO list. I hope I can go there next year. And I would sleep outside too if I had property there (but in a hammock :)).
- Creationer 7y ago
  Outside you get to enjoy low-CO2 air of 415ppm. Inside, in an 'insulated' and sealed apartment, CO2 levels will exceed 1000ppm in a few hours, which has negative consequences for human cognition and sleep quality. I'd recommend buying a CO2 monitor for your home and keep a window slightly ajar permanently, and at least airing out your house/apartment for a few hours each day. This is another major problem with fossil fuels - with higher atmospheric CO2 levels, it becomes harder to ventilate buildings. We need to bring more external air in to achieve the same effect, which also means higher heating/cooling costs.
DoreenMichele 7y ago
I have a condition that makes me prone to getting really badly shocked from static electricity. This stopped while I was homeless for several years. Then I tripped across research about how direct contact with the ground may be beneficial to your health due to grounding you and discharging excess electricity. Suddenly, it made sense that I was no longer getting horribly shocked on a regular basis. I hate camping. I've only ever done it while homeless. But if my tendency to get shocked ever returns, I may need to make an effort to camp occasionally so I can sleep outside with little between me and the ground.
- newnewpdro 7y ago
  What do you hate about camping? It's kind of surprising considering you seem to prefer sleeping on the floor.
- SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
  Did you try different footwear? I went through a period of this as a child but it completely went away when I got my next pair of shoes.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    I do generally live in cheap rubbery sandals these days. It has crossed my mind that might be a factor. IIRC, leather shoes are recommended for grounding purposes. So if I ever do get a real job, I should be able to meet dress code without sabotaging my health by getting leather shoes appropriate for the office. I currently work from home and don't need to meet any kind of dress code, which has been a godsend for dealing with my health issues. But it's actually a known and documented side effect of my condition. In fact, when I brought it up on a support list, I was told that one obscure test for my condition involves measuring electrical potential in the body or something arcane sounding like that. Dietary changes are likely a factor as well. But I haven't specifically seen research saying "Thus and such dietary changes are known to improve grounding." whereas I have seen research concerning walking barefoot on the ground (or otherwise having contact with the ground) and wearing the right shoes.

but do you shower and make sure you enjoy life, right? I ask this out of curiosity and to try to understand your motives. If you just happen to like to be in the open for a while, I totally understand.

newnewpdro 7y ago
Sleeping outdoors someplace where the climate makes it perfectly comfortable and the environment perfectly safe is a luxury, it's the ideal IMHO. Sleeping indoors is a compromise made because it's too unsafe and/or uncomfortable (or socially unacceptable) to do it without shelter. Think about it. People generally love the seasons when they can sleep comfortably indoors with the windows open all night; fresh air, no blankets or at most a clean linen sheet. Well, given the right environment and season, doing it outside is a notch better than indoors with the windows open. My property is in the rural Mojave desert. There are no Mosquitoes and rarely > 30% humidity, and much of the year the night climate is so perfect you can sleep outside with no blankets or anything, even clothing optional. I prefer a mesh tent to keep scorpions and snakes out when on the ground, optional on the deck. All this with a sky so clear and free of light pollution I can watch the Milky Way until passing out. With regards to showering and enjoying life... I don't think those are really relevant to my comment and don't know how to answer them other than the obvious "yes, I bathe when necessary. Yes, I enjoy life."
- mindentropy 7y ago
  Many people in India in the rural side sleep on the terraces. It becomes too hot and stuffy to sleep indoors and also if there are power cuts. Generally they sleep on a "Charpai". When I was young we had a lot of power cuts in India and we used to head over to the terrace to sleep in the summers. For mosquitoes we used to coat our skin with an insect repellent cream called "Odomos".
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    Sleeping on the porch was actually quite common in the US not that many decades ago. http://gothamist.com/2016/07/22/nyc_fire_escape_summer_flashback.php http://gothamist.com/2016/07/22/nyc_fire_escape_summer_flash... https://thecraftsmanblog.com/the-amazing-sleeping-porch/ https://thecraftsmanblog.com/the-amazing-sleeping-porch/
- henvic 7y ago
  You definitely enjoy life. I have been a few times to Palm Springs and Joshua Tree. One of the few times I ever saw a perfectly clear sky (others were during a trip to Big Sur and in Iceland). Mojave is still on my TODO list. I hope I can go there next year. And I would sleep outside too if I had property there (but in a hammock :)).
Creationer 7y ago
Outside you get to enjoy low-CO2 air of 415ppm. Inside, in an 'insulated' and sealed apartment, CO2 levels will exceed 1000ppm in a few hours, which has negative consequences for human cognition and sleep quality. I'd recommend buying a CO2 monitor for your home and keep a window slightly ajar permanently, and at least airing out your house/apartment for a few hours each day. This is another major problem with fossil fuels - with higher atmospheric CO2 levels, it becomes harder to ventilate buildings. We need to bring more external air in to achieve the same effect, which also means higher heating/cooling costs.

DoreenMichele 7y ago

I have a condition that makes me prone to getting really badly shocked from static electricity. This stopped while I was homeless for several years. Then I tripped across research about how direct contact with the ground may be beneficial to your health due to grounding you and discharging excess electricity. Suddenly, it made sense that I was no longer getting horribly shocked on a regular basis. I hate camping. I've only ever done it while homeless. But if my tendency to get shocked ever returns, I may need to make an effort to camp occasionally so I can sleep outside with little between me and the ground.

newnewpdro 7y ago
What do you hate about camping? It's kind of surprising considering you seem to prefer sleeping on the floor.
SmellyGeekBoy 7y ago
Did you try different footwear? I went through a period of this as a child but it completely went away when I got my next pair of shoes.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  I do generally live in cheap rubbery sandals these days. It has crossed my mind that might be a factor. IIRC, leather shoes are recommended for grounding purposes. So if I ever do get a real job, I should be able to meet dress code without sabotaging my health by getting leather shoes appropriate for the office. I currently work from home and don't need to meet any kind of dress code, which has been a godsend for dealing with my health issues. But it's actually a known and documented side effect of my condition. In fact, when I brought it up on a support list, I was told that one obscure test for my condition involves measuring electrical potential in the body or something arcane sounding like that. Dietary changes are likely a factor as well. But I haven't specifically seen research saying "Thus and such dietary changes are known to improve grounding." whereas I have seen research concerning walking barefoot on the ground (or otherwise having contact with the ground) and wearing the right shoes.