Train your self to sleep on your back?

I'm trying to see if any one has managed to train them selfs to only sleep on their back. Im one of those that rolls in my bed at home but backpacking it can get quite painful. I've tried putting pillows on either side of my head.. It failed.

The main reason I'm doing this is so i can do away for the need of a pillow when I'm out. It's always a pain! And I can shave the weight.

I use my rolled up fleece for a pillow, so there is no extra weight, and I can sleep the way I like to sleep.

Like balzaccom, I use clothing I would have brought anyway as a pillow. Typically I use a stuff sack to give it shape.

My wife hates it when I sleep on my back...I tend to snore when flat on my back. As an aside, if you typically sleep where there are trees, you may be a good candidate for a hammock set up.

Never going to do it. But, I have trained myself to confine my rolling to a 20" wide sleeping pad without tumbling off the side!

I use a stuff sack and my jacket for a pillow.

I too throw my cloths in a stuff sack along with a small camping pillow. However thanks to combat my arms go numb when I sleep on my side in the woods. And the hamics are so uncomfatble that I can't sleep at all. Basically when I backpack I only sleep when on my back and for about 20 mins on my side. I want to find a way to train my self to stay on my back and not even want to roll on my side

When I'm in the hammock I can sleep all night on my back - it's more comfortable than the ground by far so I apparently don't feel the need to roll around in my sleep.

On the ground, all bets are off. I don't think it's possible to sleep on my back all night that way.

You are, I think, trying the wrong hammock. A camping hammock made to allow you to sleep flat is required for me.

Unfortunately Im one of the few that hammocks will just never work for. Thanks to a combat injury I can ONLY sleep if Im flat or nearly flat. I tried a few different ones that my friends have in the backyard for a night and lasted about an hour in each one... just to painful for me. Not to mention the numb leg I get for the next day

So you haven't tried a bridge hammock, which sounds like it would be made for you. If you need to sleep in a narrow bathtub to keep yourself from rolling, the bridge hammock (Jacks R Better sells one) might be just the ticket. It's what stomach sleepers would use.

I had never even see those! From a quick google search it looks like they are all custom made? Your right, thats just might work! Although some of my trips have me sleeping well above tree line.... hard to hang a hammock lol

Is this an injury similar or related to carpel tunnel? I only ask because side sleeping on the ground (or in bed) sometimes causes my arms/hands to become numb. I have an arm / hand brace I sometimes wear that takes care of it (I haven't weighed it to be honest )

No its a combo of caring a 100 lb combat load and being to close to an IED that cause nerve damage in my spine. Funny thing it only bugs be when I sleep and sleep on my side.

When camping, I sleep in my normal sleep position (kind of a hybrid side/stomach position, and I switch sides throughout the night) with spare clothes as a "pillow."
But I did manage to find a way to sleep flat on my back without rolling around when I was on a school trip and had to share a bed with a girl who didn't appreciate my restlessness. For me, the trick ended up being to cross my arms across my chest. I don't know why it helped, but any time I need to sleep without moving, I do that.

I don't sleep as well that way, but... at least I do sleep. And it kept the peace on that trip!

Ditto.

I don't toss and turn much anyway at home, but when I'm in the hammock I really don't move at all. My theory is that with the even weight distribution and no real hard points of contact, my body is completely relaxed. I literally don't wake up during the night at all unless I hear a loud enough noise or I have to pee.

I have the same problem. Doesn't matter what sorts of walls I build either side of me, I always end up waking in the night with hip and shoulder digging into the bedroll. Would love to know if back sleeping is trainable, but in my case at least I doubt it!

THIS WORKED! I slept in my bed last night like this and woke up the same way I went to sleep... with my arms crossed!