Awhile ago, I built a horizontal desk–by mounting a computer monitor to the bottom of a desk and lying on ground underneath it to work.
My neck and back would generally start aching by the end of the day, so–I thought I might be able to remedy the issue by spending more time lying down.
My back and neck felt better almost immediately, so I started looking for ways to formalize this set-up.
Originally, I started putting a sleeping bag down on the ground and laying on the that, but the lack of cushioning made it uncomfortable after an hour or so. After that, I tried a laying on a six inch thick foam pad–which was originally intended to be cut up to make couch cushions. And, while this provided more padding it proved too soft–leading me to sink down into it and contort my body into an unusual position.
Since the idea of a horizontal desk has yet to gain the traction that the standing desk, I couldn’t find anything designed specifically for this purpose. So, I set out to find the next best thing.
Thankfully, the folks who make the and the folks at Lightspeed Outdoors were kind enough to send me their XL Super Plush Sleep Pad to test in this environment.
Much to my delight, the appeal was immediate.
Because it’s thicker than the sleeping bag with which I’d started–but more dense than the traditional foam I tried next–it strikes a great balance between the softness and firmness.
With regard to size, it’s a little larger than a sleeping bag, but smaller than a twin mattress–which was the next thing I was going to test. In this regard, it doesn’t monopolize a ton of space on your floor.
The pad self-inflates when you open its valves, which means you can roll it up compactly and take it on the go–which makes it a great alternative to a mattress again.
It has a built in pillow, but I already had a pillow in mind. So, I flipped it around so that the pad’s pillow would be at my feet. The unintended benefit is that the curve of the pillow roughly matches the curve between my heel and calf. In this regard, my legs rest more comfortably on this than they might on flat surface.
As a side note, the thickness is billed at 3″–but this refers to the pillow portion–as the main pad is closer to 2.” This doesn’t diminish its comfort. But, if you’re already using a 2″ mat and looking for something thicker, this is roughly comparable to what you already have.
Lastly, while I’d originally considered this to help folks remain productive when back or neck pain makes work otherwise impossible, the use case I didn’t expect is that the children in my life think it’s great fun to watch cartoons on the computer monitor while laying on this.
So, in this regard, it’s perhaps too good at its job–because everyone wants to lay on it all the time.
Anyway, if you want to check it out for yourself, you can find it here.
Thanks!