When you travel, you often experience a sense of excitement. It doesn’t matter if you are traveling for business or pleasure. There is just something about being away from home that stimulates the mind. That would especially be true if you are going on a fun-filled vacation with lots of attractions you want to visit.
The one thing that can interfere with your ability to focus on and enjoy your travels would be issued with sleeping. Just the fact that you will be trying to sleep away from the comforts of your bed is enough to throw off your body’s sleep barometer. Factor in a bit of planned excitement, and getting a good night’s sleep could become a challenge. Since you don’t want to feel tired while enjoying your travel plans, you need to make sure you can still get the sleep you need. With that in mind, here are some travel hacks that could help you sleep better while traveling.
1 Take Your Own Bedding
It can be a challenge to sleep in a new bed the first couple of nights traveling. Since familiarity breeds comfort, you might consider taking some of your bedding with you on a long trip. That could include your own pillow, a blanket, and maybe even your sheets if you know what size bed in which you would be sleeping. Your pillow could also be helpful if you would need to sleep on a long flight.
2 Avoid Jet Lag
If your travel plans cover a week or two, it would be a shame if you had to spend the first couple of days being dragged down by jet lag. Here are a few things you can do to help diminish the chances of you getting hit with jet lag:
- Use sunlight and food to keep your body clock regulated to sleep time at home
- Take melatonin supplements to promote sleep
- Start adjusting your body clock to the destination time zone three days before you travel
- Stay active if you land at your destination in the morning
- Avoid long naps and save the resting you need for bedtime
3 Strategize Your Naps
The more rest you get, the more likely you will have the energy to do everything you want or need to do at your travel destination. An excellent way to get a little extra rest is to come up with an effective strategy that will let you grab a nap or two so you can stay fresh during the day. The one thing you want to avoid is taking long naps that might distract from your ability to sleep at night.
4 Sleeping on the Plane
During long international or cross-country flights, you might want or need to sleep on the plane. If you anticipate that being the case, here are a few tips for plane sleeping:
- No caffeine or alcohol on travel day and maybe the day before
- Wear loose-fitting and comfortable clothes that are suitable for lounging
- Take your shoes off to sleep and elevate your feet as much as possible
- Take an eye mask to block out any light
- Get a sleeping aid if you think you might need one
5 Check Your Hotel Room for Comfort
Your hotel will be your home while at your travel destination. Before you sign in to your hotel room, ask the clerk to let you see the room first if possible. During your inspection, you should be looking for anything about the room that might interfere with your ability to get a good night’s sleep. That would include laying on the bed and making sure it’s suitable for your needs. If you see any potential sleep issues, it’s okay to ask for a room switch if the hotel allows for such.
6 Traveling With Kids
If you take a long vacation with the kids, you might think that saving money by sharing a room/bed would be a good idea. It’s a bad idea for everyone involved. While it will cost extra money, the whole family will get better sleep if the travel arrangements are the same as home.
7 Winding Down Time
After an exciting and stressful day at your travel destination, you might find it difficult to calm down at bedtime. You can help address that problem by shutting off electronic devices one hour before you want to sleep. You might also want to do a couple of stretches followed by a warm bath just before crawling underneath the covers to go to sleep.
Traveling should always be a fun experience, no matter where the location is or the reason why you’re traveling. And while it should be a fun experience, having issues with sleeping can hinder your ability to have fun and enjoy your travels. Applying these different travel hacks during your next trip will hopefully enable you to sleep better while traveling.
