We purchased this for our childs room to replace a rocking chair - it is a cute small scaled couch. As with most new furniture, it required about a week to off gas. It is smelly enough I would take the time to allow it to air out. As for the bed portion, indeed, you would need to sleep with your head away from the couch, as the inside third of the bed, while moderately padded over wood, would not be soft enough to have your shoulders on it. As others have mentioned, the arms are not soft in the least. They too are pretty much wood with a bit of padding.