Usually enjoying nap or sleep at night, people will choose a pillowy bed and pillow in a comfortable room, but no guarantee that they will have deep sleep. And actually sleep quality not always have anything to do with the location and the visual quality of sleeping area. Look at the homeless, they enjoy their sleep well in front of shops or under bridge. Sleeping is manifestation on human need to rest after activities.

For people in Legung Village, and Dapenda Village, in Batang District of Sumenep Regency in Madura Island, sleeping comfort can be felt when they lay on sands. This habit has lived from generation to generation and they do enjoy that. And why this habit used sand as bed? Probably this is logical as they have this media abundantly.

As littoral comminity, especially on the coastal of Sumenep Regency, coast has been pivotal for local people lives and they have hopes that coast will  suffice they living needs. For that, ocean is the main element to guarantee that at least they can suffice their daily necessities, as in Legung and Dapenda village.

As littoral community, everytime they are departingto or returning from ocean, they always encounter sands at the beach, that their daily lives are surrounded by sands. The sand in those villages are not only on the beach but also deeper to the village complex, even their yards are span of sands, if not built in cement or other materials. They enjoy the sand overlay morning, afternoon and even in the evening. At noon they find that the sand gives them cool feel to their body. And at night, the sand gives them warmth. The sand in this area is very adaptive  and as if it is automatically adjust its temperature to the air temperature. When the air is hot, sleeping on sand chilling them, and when the air is cold, sleeping on it warming them. Sands are utilized to relax, spend time with family or neighbors, and even to sleep.

Local people are dependent to the sand strongly, no wonder they have a room of sand in every house in those villages. The room usually 3 to 4 meters square and used to rest and sleep. Even if they have nicer house and nicer furniture, they still have sand room to rest, while they have soft spring bed. And not only to sleep, women prefer to give birth on sand than on bed. Is it healthy for delivering baby on sand? In 1970 tp 1980, there was a debate about this habit as giving birth to baby on sand can harm baby or mother for sand is not clean and can spread disease. But local people maintain this habit until now.

After tired of fishing on ocean, usually they roll their body on sand as they bathe with sands, after that they feel fresh and their tiredness is just disappear. Thats what they tell about the virtue of the sand. Are there any mineral in the sand there? Only experts can answer. But the sand in Sumenep are usually soft and clean. Most of coast in Sumenep are covered by sand such as Slopeng Beach that has deserts or Lombang  Beach  with span of sand among Casuarina Equisetifolia. The sand here is different than in other region for it has soft texture, shiny, pastel color and clean.

Actually not all sand can be used to sleep. There are certain locations, notably close to the beach, where they choose sand when they should change the sand in their room. They tend to save the sand from dirt and disease as they took care and do sanitation   for their sand in their rooms.

This tradition is threatened to disappear bit  by bit gradually from generation to generation. As local people tend to follow the city life style, that sand in their house is used as symbol, and for few families, this due to their ability to buy other than sand as furniture, that custom to sleep on sand is decreasing.