A couple of years ago, an old way to lounge started to become a new trend: hammocking. To this day you can still walk around parks and see hammocks hung between two trees. Not only is hammocking one of the most fun and relaxing pastimes, but also has many health benefits.

“As you lie down in a hammock, all your vertebrae align properly with the head and tail bones,” Jason Ladock, one of the administrators and publishers of Health Guidance, said in an article for Health Guidance. “This will automatically transform you into a state of meditation.”

I was introduced to hammocking by my friend, freshman Chaylen Simar. He bought me a hammock for my birthday last year. Ever since then, I’ve been hammocking whenever the weather allows.

When we go to sleep we normally sleep on beds with a pillow or two. Lying face up with a pillow under your head puts you into the optimal sleeping position. Often we lay on the ground, or in beds that aren’t very comfortable. Because of this we will roll over on to our stomach. According to Livestrong.com, laying on your stomach misaligns your spine, can cause neck pain and headaches, and places your spine in an unnatural position. Sleeping in hammocks pulls you in the perfect position to sleep and avoids any pain.

The movement of a hammock is also helpful.

“[Swaying] induces a sustained boosting of slow oscillations and spindle activity,” Michel Muhlethaler, professor of neuroscience at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, said in an article for Healthguidance.com. “It is proposed that sensory stimulation associated with a swinging motion exerts a synchronizing action in the brain that reinforces endogenous sleep rhythms.”

This means that sleeping in a hammock can improve your concentration and memory because it can increase those brainwaves.

“According to the researchers, we need a deep sleep because this can affect a better recovery,” Muhlethaler said. “When a person sleeps deeply, that time our body improves itself by restoring energy, repairing tissues and muscles, and improving the immune system. So, sleeping in a hammock makes us sleep deeply or soundly, which automatically affects the health of our bodies.”

Many people have installed hammocks into their home so that they could sleep in them, because humans get better sleep in a hammock than when they sleep in a bed.

“Some people choose hammocks as a favorite place to read,” Muhlethaler said. “If you are one of them, the benefit you will get is an increase in brain function to move, so that the learning process becomes more efficient.”

I love reading, studying and writing in a hammock. It is clear that hammocks do wonders for your health, so if you have never been in a hammock I urge you to try it.