HealthWatch: Study Finds Benefits Of Sleeping On A Hammock

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) -- If you want to sleep like a baby, you may want to invest in a hammock. New research suggests how hanging loose on a rocking hammock can soothe you into a quicker, deeper, even more satisfying sleep.

Swiss researchers studied the brainwaves of twelve healthy adults as they napped on either a stationary bed or on an experimental hammock.

They say the brainwaves revealed that those on the hammocks fell asleep more quickly, slept more soundly and woke up more refreshed.

UCSF Neuroscientist Dr. Louis Ptacek studies sleep. While he finds the research intriguing, at this point, he said the study is too small to draw any conclusions.

"I don't think we should get rid of our beds and buy rocking beds quite yet though," Ptacek said.

Hammocks are already in use medically. The calming swing of hammocks is used to treat premature babies in Columbia.

The hammocks are placed in the incubator to cradle the baby, making it easier for them to breathe.

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