The Long Dark Guide: How to Sleep

Sleeping is an essential aspect of survival in The Long Dark, one that can be used for benefits beyond its basic role of keeping you alive. But if you want ot sleep — and trust us, you do — there are some ways to do it that are better than others.

This guide for The Long Dark will tell you everything you need to know about sleeping, including the benefits of it and where it’s best to lay down your head.

What You Need to Sleep in The Long Dark

In order to sleep in The Long Dark, you will need either a bed or a bedroll to sleep in. Beds can be found in various locations, while a bedroll can be crafted — assuming you have the proper materials — and used in most locations.

A Bearskin Bedroll is the ideal pick if you must use a bedroll, as it is much warmer than a standard Bedroll, and has a chance to keep animals away at night. One can be crafted if you have a Bear Skin.

How and Where to Sleep in The Long Dark

Sleeping is an easy action to perform if you know where it can be done. If you find a bed anywhere, you can just sleep in it — simple as that. If you’re using a Bedroll, however, you have a great deal more options.

With a Bedroll, you can sleep by placing it on the ground, or by using the Bedroll action while inside of a snow shelter or car. If you sleep outside in a bedroll, there is a risk of freezing depending on how warm the bedroll is and how cold the weather is. So be sure to keep that in mind before you lay down to nap.

Why You Should Sleep in The Long Dark

The short answer for why you should sleep is because you have to. If you don’t sleep at fairly regular increments, you will become more and more fatigued — and you want to avoid getting too fatigued as much as possible.

According to the The Long Dark Wiki: 

“If the player’s fatigue level gets too high, the player will become “tired” and the amount of weight they can carry in their backpack slowly declines, to a minimum of half the maximum carry weight (30kg/66lbs). Eventually, the player will become ‘extremely fatigued’, vision will become blurry, and their condition will decline until they either rest, or die of fatigue.”

The major benefits of sleeping (aside from fighting back fatigue) are:

• Afflictions (sprained ankle/wrist, etc) can heal if you sleep for a set number of hours without requiring first aid. 
• Other injuries (food poisoning, etc) require sleep in addition to medicine to be cured.
• Can pass the time if players need to wait for weather changes or daylight
• Can warm the player up and avoid (or treat) hypothermia if sleeping indoors or in a shielded area
• Fastest way to recover Condition that’s been lost

Sleeping is not without its own consequences and setbacks. It obviously takes time, which consumes calories and causes thirst — both of which further necessitates the consumption of food and drink. And as previously mentioned, freezing in the outdoors while you sleep is a very real possibility, so make sure to have a proper source of heat on hand and watch the temperature.

If you keep all of these things in mind then you should do just fine in the bitter cold of the wilderness. Sweet dreams!

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Need more help surviving in this unforgiving game? Check out the rest of our Long Dark guides so you can make it through the cold nights. 

• The Long Dark Beginner’s Guide: Survival Tips and Tricks
• How to Make Rose Hip Tea in The Long Dark
• The Long Dark Story Mode Guide: Supply Cache and Deposit Box Key Locations
• The Long Dark Story Mode Guide: Episode 2 Supply Cache Locations