We Tried the World’s First Dog Bed for Humans (and Unfortunately Loved It)

When I was a freshly minted college graduate, I lived with five of my close friends. In the living room, we had a long cushion that existed primarily on the floor. It was dubbed "the social napper" and it allowed one of us to take a nap without having to miss out on whatever everyone else was doing. It was a satisfying way to lie on the floor, but, like drinking Four Loko and eagerly applying to unpaid internships, until recently I thought I’d left my days of socially napping in my early 20s. And then I learned of the Plufl: The World’s First Dog Bed for Humans.

What on earth and why?

The Plufl falls easily under the category of "social napper," and while not exactly a design-forward item, the concept was so intriguing I felt it was my duty to try it out. The human-sized dog bed first rose to fame on TikTok, where it was picked up for a spot on Shark Tank. There, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner invested $200,000 for a 20 percent stake; an easy choice for what will no doubt change the world of living room decor—forever. (Or until you stop wanting to have a humongous dog bed in your living room.)

I received my own Plufl, which retails for $499, a few weeks ago. The bed is 68 inches long by 38 inches wide and, according to its website, weighs "approximately 25 pounds." While I’m inclined to trust Plufl about the specifications of the Plufl, I should note that I can’t lift it on my own, which leads me to believe it weighs a bit more than 25 pounds. (Its general unwieldiness doesn’t help.) The mattress is a four-inch thick orthopedic memory foam and it’s enclosed by head-supporting pillow bolsters, all of which is encased in an extremely soft Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified fabric. It is enormous, and takes up a majority of the available floor space in my living room. Its general aesthetic can be described as, "if a dog bed were much larger."

Dog owners might notice the bed is reminiscent of the beloved "Best Friends By Sheri" donut-shaped dog bed, which features a plush ridge around its circumference, for snout resting. (Enlarged to human size, the effect gives the look of a life raft covered in faux fur.) Noah Silverman, one of the co-creators of the Plufl, said he was inspired to make the product after watching a Great Dane sleep in her own Great Dane-sized dog bed. "Eventually I realized, dog beds are so comfortable," he told a mattress review site. "Why shouldn’t people have one, too?"

Some might say people do. But I have to admit there have been many times when I, too, have looked at my dog resting peacefully in his Sheri bed—eyes closed, head elevated, warm body rising and falling gently with the calm breath of an individual who knows nothing about the impending climate apocalypse or the limitations of private health insurance—and thought, damn … I want one of those for me. 

Getting settled

While Sheri beds come ready to use, the first thing I noticed upon receiving my Plufl is that I had to put it together myself. Because its contents came vacuum-sealed, I was instructed to wait 24 hours for the base and bolsters to puff up and breathe before assembling, which I "did." (I was warned that the memory foam might have a smell to it that would fade over these 24 hours, but I didn’t notice one.)

The assembly process was not easy. The large mattress has to be shoved into the limp case, and the two bolsters have to be shimmied in along either side of it, like pulling giant-sized hot dogs through a thin fabric tunnel (not a sex joke). The bolsters are each folded at the top and zipped in, so they seem like one continuous ridge. (You can adjust the stuffing in the bolsters to your comfort level, but the way it arrived felt good to me.) It required quite a bit of effort, but, like making an annoyingly complicated tiki drink at home, the result was also the remedy. In this case: a gigantic human dog bed to collapse into.

Living in (a dog) bed

"Is it comfortable?" is the question I’m asked the most when I post a picture on Instagram of either myself or my fiancé looking peanut-sized in the enormous human dog bed. (Actually, the question I’m asked the most is, "WHAT IS THAT????" After that, though, is the question of comfort.) I had this question, too, upon viewing Plufl models lounge in their Plufls on the Plufl website; it seems like it would either be incredibly comfortable or like it would feel like lying on the floor in a more humiliating way than usual. But the answer is yes. It is incredibly comfortable.

In fact, the Plufl is, one might say, dangerously comfortable. On my first day with it, I spent almost the entirety of the daylight hours in the dog bed, mostly asleep, and sometimes watching You on Netflix. The day was gone before it even had a chance to begin. It was as if the bed had cast a Sleeping Beauty curse on me. I’m not sure if I’ve fully recovered yet, but I’ve at least learned to limit my usage. (While I sometimes work during the day from my human bed, working from the human dog bed is not allowed. It’s far too sleepy in there.)

My favorite thing about the Plufl is not that it’s a dog bed a human can fit into, but that it’s a dog bed a human can fit into with her dog. Even though it’s not meant for him, my dog loves the Plufl. He hangs out in it during the day, and will snuggle with me in there while we watch TV at night. This, I think, is actually the longing that arose within me while watching my dog sleep in his dog-sized dog bet. I didn’t just want that napping experience for myself—I wanted that napping experience for us.

Other options that aren’t… like this

If you’re interested in the idea and don’t think a gigantic dog bed will fit in with your decor, you’re in luck. There are other, chicer pieces of furniture out there that will allow you to nap socially, possibly even with your dog, in ways that don’t make your apartment look like Honey, I Blew Up the Dog Bed. Instead, you can look to Floyd’s Squishy Chair, or Moon Pods, or Palermo House’s Dune Chair, or West Elm’s Modern Lounger, or this cozy bean bag from Pottery Barn. There’s a style out there for just about everyone who wants to sleep in their living room during the day, but not on the couch.

Are you ready to embrace the social nap lifestyle? It’s a big question, and one can only answer for themselves. Maybe sleep on it first.

Photo courtesy of Plufl

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