I love getting out on the mountains and in the tree's as much as anyone else. It's what I look forward to every weekend I am available. The trouble is, I always wake up just about plumb miserable. I never rest well. I am never comfortable. By the next day I am just about ready to go by noon because I just want to go lay on my real bed and get some sleep, even if I planned a multi night camp out.

I want to add that I have done backpacking and love to do overnight trail rides on my quad, where I pack in what I can comfortably fit on my quad and take off on trails with someone else. I am usually so exhausted that I sleep well, even if I have less bedding than while car camping. This practice is just exhausting as well. I don't get to do it as often as I'd like. And I enjoy being around my family, and I have a little boy and a wife who likes to camp, but not rough it.

Getting to the point...! What do you guys do to sleep well while camping? What bedding do you use? How do you calm your nerves about being a wild animals dinner (this one bothers me most on backpacking trips)? (I live in northeast Arizona, the only bear we have is small black bears and its rare if they bother anyone, but they still do.)

OP are you tired all the time, or only when you are camping?

If it's all the time, consider you may have sleep apnea. Being overweight is an important trigger of apnea, but not the only one... there are several apnea patients on Arfcom who are of regular weight.

Ask your wife  if you stop breathing while you sleep.

There is some are of finding what works best for "YOU".  I do find heavy exertion (such as backpacking 12-15 miles a day) really helps to sleep well; however, my wife and I have been using hammocks for the past decade or so and simply love them...in fact we sleep better in a hammock than our own bed!

As to the typical noise of the outdoors, it just takes more frequency being outdoors and getting accustomed to those noises.  I've actually learned to enjoy it and sleep quite well to it (other than when a large cicada brood emerges and the decibel level is ear pounding...but ironically cool).  In fact, I get uncomfortable when I stop hearing the chirps of crickets, tree frogs, night owls, etc.

ROCK6

I was the same way as you. After a bad nights sleep, I was ready to go home. About 2 years ago I discovered hammock camping. Now, I sleep better in the woods than I do at home (not joking). Its takes a few nights to get used to it but after that, you'll look forward to getting out and sleeping in the trees. Now, I'm NOT talking about a cheap $39 hammock from amazon but rather an 11', American made, quality piece of kit. Watch some Youtube videos and learn more about them. No, you don't sleep like a banana. You turn at an angle so you lay mostly flat. If you avg height or taller, get a 11 foot hammock. Nothing shorter.

A few PRO's: buying name brand gear, the resale value is about 80% of retail so if you try it and don't like it, you can get most of your money back. All you need is two trees. Side of a hill? Lots of rocks and roots? Wet soggy ground? No problem.

You would need a good hammock, rain tarp and at a min, an underquilt (keeps your backside warm). Some brands to google: Warbonnet, Dream Hammock, Dutchware and HammockGear.

Some more links: ARFcom hammock thread, Hammockforums.net, General Hammock Talk with lots of "stickys".  

I have the set up pictured below. It's a vented top cover (to hold some heat in winter), hammock and a full length head to toe underquilt (Wooki). Looking at the top cover, there is a top vent on the foot end (right) and a 2nd vent near your face so you can see outside. The hammock comes with a bug net for three seasons. Look closely to the way the hammock is hanging. The head end is to the right and about 10ish inches lower. Thats the way to hang a hammock. Last weekend, I slept in the mountains while it rained all night. It was in the low 40's and couldn't have been more comfortable.



Picture with tarp set-up over the hammock.



@D-Rock66

I like to tell myself that I'm the most dangerous thing in the woods at night. The ONLY thing I worry about at night while sleeping is mountain lion. Those big beautiful beasts are scary. I sleep with a holstered 19X (19+1) in the side pocket of my hammock. I was camping in NW AZ three weeks ago and one was spotted a few days before I got up there. Still slept like a rock!

Good write-up. The only major factor is, if you don't sleep on your back, you will hate a hammock. You can't lay on or side or your stomach with any level of comfort in a hammock.

Hammock

Slept in my ENO all over the place. In the woods, on the ship, off of rocks. Best sleep.

That's not necessarily true with the asymmetrical-designed hammocks.  You lay diagonally, and you can sleep on your side just fine, which is how a typically sleep.

ROCK6

I can't sleep on my back at home but learned to sleep on my back in a hammock just fine. The two people I camp with the most both side sleep only in their hammocks. I used to side sleep the first 8-10 times, now I just sleep on my back but sometimes still wake-up in the morning on my side. Side sleeping takes a couple of minutes to find the "sweet spot". I'm too lazy for that, I just jump in and fall a sleep.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think for the backpacking and trail riding adventures I go on, I will do hammock camping. Ill find a good one to purchase. For when I go with my wife, I think we are getting a couple cots with some small air mattress's.

And for the record. No I don't have sleep apnea (however that is spelt). I sleep fine at home.

And yeah, I am with ya on the Mountain Lion thing. Mountain Lions and Bears pretty equally spook me when I crawl into bed for the night and turn off all the lights. I too keep a gun by my side every time, no matter what.

For car camping we bought coleman padded cots.  They have been fantastic and I sleep on them as good as a bed, but I'm old and sleeping on the ground is getting to painful for me.

For me, having a pillow makes a world of difference.  I've got broad shoulders and I'm a side sleeper so I like some support under my head.  I've tried a ton of so called backpacking and camping pillows and have only found a couple that I like.  I can't recall who my current one is made by but it's a combination of foam and an inflatable bladder inside.  Other than the pillow I'm good to go as long as I've got some sort of pad and an appropriate sleeping bag.  I like sleeping under the stars with no tent or tarp as long as the weather or insects don't necessitate it.  The only thing I've ever really worried about was snakes crawling in my bag or being messed with by some greenteeth (local trash).  Never camped in brown bear territory but I can't imagine I'd worry too much about them either, it's not like a tent is any real protection.  I don't mind hammock camping and have a nice ENO with all the accessories but I'd just as soon sleep on the ground.  

ETA- most of my camping the last couple of years has been in the back of my pickup where I can leave stuff spread out.

Try the following combination: the venerable Roll-A-Cot, ubiquitous standard issue for Colorado River rafting outfitters, because its the best camp cot ever (yet) made. Top its adjustable-firmness support with your preference of a pad ---based on how much  padding and/or insulation your may need ---I favor a Thermarest "Base Camp" 2" thick inflatable pad in cool/cold temps, but often use a simpler-to-use "Z-Rest" folding closed-cell mat in warmer weather...  Also important is a comfortable pillow ---I've tried many, and settled, so far, on the Nemo, infinitely-adjustable-firmness inflatable pillow.

For glamping we have Cabela's Alaskan Guide cots.  We sleep on them better than at home.  For regular trips, Thermarest basecamp pads and sleep on the ground or we use our ENO hammocks.

I've used Thermarest foam and Thermarest self inflating mattresses and slept like shit.  I couldn't sleep on my side without waking up in pain.  Then I found the Big Agnes air mattress.  It packs tighter than either of the others and I can sleep on my side in comfort.  About 22 big breaths(+/- depending on altitude) and I have a comfortable bed each night.  It's the cat's ass.

Thermarest and some other mfgrs make a similar air mattress, but I don't have experience with them.

Melatonin?  I listened to a podcast with Aron Snyder fro. Kifaru he talked about how he has trouble sleeping, he builds a cacoon with all his gear around his upper body and takes melatonin.

I have a hard time getting to sleep normally. I have found it takes me several nights before i find the natural rythm and have a decent nights sleep.