There are many more sleeping bags available on the market today than there are purposes for which they are used. The qualities and properties of a sleeping bag that is used for a children's sleepover are vastly different from those required of a bag that is to be used for sleeping during a trek in a freezing mountainous region, and there are many options available for the multitude of purposes which lie somewhere between these two extremes.

Sleeping bags which are for indoor use are obviously not required to be weatherproof, and are often referred to as slumber bags. They are more likely to be manufactured from natural fabrics than from synthetic from which the majority of outdoor bags are made. These are mainly designed to make sleeping on the floor more comfortable, and to provide extra warmth, as would a blanket.