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Sleeping when traveling can be a blissful release or a Pandora’s Box of adjustments, disappointments and punched pillows.
Recognize any of these scenarios?
- You sleep better when away from the daily grind OR have a hard time nodding off in new places.
- Hostel or hotel neighbors are too often inconsiderately loud or snore.
- You carry a favorite travel pillow OR can nod off anywhere.
- Your furnace or air conditioning may be noisy, blasting or the wrong temp.
- You run out of whatever sleep aid you use and have a rough night.
- Your ear plugs or eye mask are forgotten, misplaced or irreplaceable.
- Jet lag keeps you staring at the ceiling for hours.
- You over-eat or drink and new foods rankle your tender tummy.
- Enter your own ordeal_______________________
If only it were this easy! Harbor Sea lions via Trover, Martina Tamaro
Make the most of it
As a light sleeper, I’ve been through it all and often can’t sleep well. It doesn’t matter where. As soon as I find a way to sleep through the night, it seems that biology or circumstance change things. Getting upset about it doesn’t help. I’ve learned to be easy with it – most of the time.
If I’m too buzzed and find myself wide awake at 2 am, I get up and work. With an early start on tasks, eventually fatigue finds me and the following day goes more smoothly with a head start. Accumulating enough sleep hours usually evens out but it’s taken years of traversing the globe to get an idea of what my options are situation by situation.
Comfort where you find it. Photo via Trover, Jason Kenagy
Natural options when you can’t sleep:
Ayurveda: It’s an age old system for health and longevity that recommends following the sun for rest and activity. There are several principles for sleep and while they don’t always jive with our digital lives, working them into your lifestyle may help you sleep better.
- Go to bed by 10:00 p.m. and wake up by 6:00 a.m.
- Get between six and eight hours of sleep a night
- Avoid daytime napping, but if you do nap, sleep no more than 20 minutes.
Yoga: Use breathing techniques from Yoga to help your body to settle, your mind to slow and surrender. Three to five minutes of alternate nostril breathing is very clearing and calming. It can be done in whatever relaxing posture feels best. (See video below.)
Meditation:
I practice a mantra-based meditation daily (Transcendental Meditation.) When I can’t sleep and it’s past 3 am (an important time for Circadian Rhythms,) propping myself up in bed to meditate usually leads to sleeping soundly. Find a meditation that works for you and reduces overall stress.
A recent discovery when I’m lying awake and begin to notice my thoughts starting to race. Stop and silently repeat, “Sleep now. Think later.” It’s a surprisingly simple mantra that helps redirect the mind and eases the body.
Sound:
There are sound machines that help you sleep to the sound of waves, wind chimes, birdsong, etc. Travel with phone apps and listen when you can’t sleep.
Natural supplements and teas:
Chamomille tea is very restful and soothes the stomach. It’s easy to carry a few teabags.
Melatonin and Verbena are popular sleep aid supplements that enhance the body’s natural hormonal balance. Bring them along in labelled bottles in your carry on.
Magnesium supplements and powders help to reduce stress and increase calm. I also use Brewers Yeast Flakes (Vitamin B12 supplements work too.) Then sip a little Calm Magnesium before bed.
Other tips when you can’t sleep:
- Set up patterns for bedtime and, without getting too attached to them, work those patterns into your travel.
- Keep your bed for rest or play, not reading, work, TV or scrolling through the phone. Since I’ve kept to that, as soon as my head hits the pillow my energy begins unwinding.
- Cell phone strategy – Plug it in a few steps away from the bed. Should you wake up in the middle of the night, it’s easier to resist the temptation of checking your app status or emails when it’s on the other side of the room.
- Don’t work on your computer or tablet just before bedtime. Give your eyes time to relax. Softer light signals the body to rest / bright light is invigorating.
- Carry a travel pillow to support your neck and sleep more soundly on airplanes and drives.
- Exercise is the greatest sleep enhancer but not right before bedtime. Physical exhaustion, not mental fatigue, can help you sleep deeply and long.
- Don’t eat chocolate, which contains caffeine, before bedtime.
- Moderate your alcohol. Drink with food, or early in the evening, to help your body metabolize the alcohol before bedtime and avoid waking up in the wee hours.
Tee Pee sleep at Casa Caracol – photo via Trover
There really is no one way to always sleep well, especially when traveling through new places and time zones. Staying flexible helps – in body and mind. Variety enhances our lives and perhaps that works for sleeping as well. If you find yourself bound by too many sleep time rules, take a moment to breathe and listen deeply. Perhaps sleep isn’t to be hunted but coaxed. I hope the sleep of babes finds you again.
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I totally agree with no TV in the bedroom. I used to read before nodding off, but now I do that before going to bed. I lived with my former partner for about 5 years, and he insisted on having a TV in the bedroom. He could never understand why, even at the lowest level, that it bothered me. Back then I put up with his foolishness, but these days there’s no way anyone would be watching TV in my bedroom! 🙂 I also try and stick to a routine, in bed early and up early. That works for me.
Glad you found a way to sleep better. Hard to break old habits sometimes, isn’t it though?
When I hit menopause I started having a lot of trouble sleeping. Eventually I realized that I just didn’t need as much sleep as I used to; I had a normal amount of energy during the day even after many nights of ‘insomnia’. Where I used to need 8-9 hours night, now I only seem to need 5-6. So it might not actually be insomnia!
Applause! It’s true I’m post menopausal too and so glad to need less sleep. Getting here wasn’t easy though.
Although I can sleep everywhere, this was great to read and absolutely agree with the short naps. I always take them, but they are between 10 to 15 minutes (unless I have had only a few hours of sleep – then they do not help a lot). Portable pillows are life savers in planes, buses, trains, etc.
Alcohol before bed helps a lot (in the appropriate amounts). All of your tips are excellent – congratulations!
Thanks, Svet. Glad you like naps. It’s a lovely thing to rest when you need it.
My main trouble with jet lag is waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning and not being able to fall back asleep. I have learned, as you mentioned, to use that time for writing and actually like it. The quiet undisturbed hours can be quite useful.
Jet lag is a topic in itself. Glad you’ve found a way to make it work for you.
Wonderful compilation of tips, Elaine! I appreciate the need to be flexible, especially when traveling… I’ll definitely try the 3 am mantra of “Sleep now, think later” next time I’m hit with jet lag. For me, the hardest distraction to eliminate is the digital one, since I now read mostly on my iPad.
Thank you, Anita, I hope that mantra works for you. Jet lag can be more difficult as it’s a physiological adjustment. Reading on the iPad is a great joy too.
Great ideas. I find I actually sleep better when I am away. Have to admit the problem is the cat. 🙂 Great suggestions for getting a good night’s sleep. I use magnesium citrate occasionally. It also helps with tired legs (after running 10 km or more)
I can’t address how to deal with a pet keeping you awake but they bring you so much joy it’s worthwhile. Good to know that the Magnesium Citrate helps with wiggling legs.
Thanks for the sleep tips Elaine. There are some new ones here that I haven’t tried. I dread those long haul flights as I don’t sleep a minute but generally plan my travels so I arrive a day early at my destination. Then I get to sleep and get on with the travel program the next day.
Sounds like you found a way to sleep on long trips. I like your strategy of arriving a day early to catch up on sleep.
I am a very bad sleeper, Elaine and none of your remedies would work for me. I tried them all (except meditation) and it’s in vain. Only a Tylenol PM or some Ambien can do the trick. However, when I travel I’m so tired that most of the time I sleep like a log.
Sorry to hear you have trouble sleeping, Anda. I too often get so bone tired that I sleep best when I’m on a trip – after running around to make the most of the day.
I always seem to sleep more soundly when travelling, I think it’s just being away from the day to day, full days and lots of fresh air. Meditation is my key if I do have trouble.
Nice to hear you’ve found meditation helpful, Toni. Fresh air – yes!
I have sleep issues so this is a really helpful post, i found that tiger balm really helps me with sleeping
Tiger balm for sleep! Great idea. Unfortunately my travel buddy is allergic to most fragrances so that wouldn’t work for me on most trips but I’ll have to try it other wise. It’s a powerful ointment.
The one that works for me is sleep sounds that I have on my phone. I just let it play and set a timer for it and voila, I sleep like a baby. I have yet to try Melatonin but I’ve heard great things about it. 🙂
Would love to know what sleep sounds you use for the phone. Sounds great (pun intended.)
Fortunately I normally don’t have this problem but I do know many people who do (and will pass along this link). Great tips!
Alyssa, thanks and I hope your friends find some help from the tips. Sweet dreams.
So…at home I work the night shift and sleep during the day and generally have minimal issues. I do keep something for noise on. When crossing 5+ time zones I do fine too…its the travel in my time zones that kill me…. When traveling who wants to sleep all day? So I have to flip NY body clock but as long as its a 5+ day trip I find myself gradually adjusting. Then returning to my regular schedule isn’t fun.
I feel your time zone pain. Still haven’t found a solution for jet lag woes. There’s some good ones that government workers use detailing rigid caffeine and carb regimens over days. I haven’t found a way to work that into my schedule yet.
All great suggestions. However, I sleep like a baby anywhere I am. Go figure.
Blessed. I used to. Now most soundly on cars and airplanes. Go figure.
I do struggle with sleeping even when I’m at home so travel can be a real problem. I like using a sound machine/music; I find it makes a huge difference.
I’ve heard that sound machines do help. Just worried that I’d need it wherever I go and still need ear plugs with my partner’s snoring!
Thanks for these tips 🙂 I’m going to try out the breathing video tonight. Been having trouble getting a good night’s rest since we moved into our new apartment here in Cambodia two weeks ago.
Sorry to hear about the hard shut-eye. Cambodia might be such a shift for your biology to adjust to. Perhaps, hopefully, you’ll sleep better in time.
I always feel blessed that i can sleep any where and everywhere! A nice read!
How lucky you are. I hope it’s always so for you. Thanks.
Amazing advice here! I myself is a light sleeper– that even lights turning on wakes me up. It’s hard adjusting but these tips definitely will be tested this week!
Thanks, Erica, I hope the tips help you rest more soundly.
I sometimes have problems sleeping when I’m stressed, but this factor usually falls away when I’m traveling – but instead I get snoring people in my Hostel 😀 I guess that is kind of part of the travel experience … I try to listen to some calming music then. And yes, Yoga is definitely a good way to get relaxed, I always feel so calm afterwards.
Snoring is the bane of my existence. Hostels are a trial, unless I get my own room. Just trying to find what works one night at a time.
Hostels and snoring neighbors (or boyfriends!!) Power naps are sometimes the answer. Nobody likes being hampered by fatigue.
I definitely try and do the 3 steps of the ayurveda, most of the time. Chamomile tea helps me to relax as well. Other tips very useful too!
Thank you, Samiya, I’ve definitely become more aware of my rhythms in light of Ayurvedic teachings. There’s so much more I could do but I don’t have the discipline!
My best remedies for sleeping while traveling are simple and cheap: earplugs and eye mask! I don’t go ANYWHERE without them! In fact, I travel so much that now I’m so used to them that I have to have them even at home where it’s quiet!
So lucky to find the one go-to sleep aid. I use earplugs too most nights but don’t like to rely on any one tactic.
The photos in the post are so fun! But having difficulty sleeping, not so much. Melatonin works really well for me – nice to not feel tired in sluggy in the morning after taking it.
Yes, Melatonin, seems to work well when it’s taken consistently. As we get older it’s a necessary supplement for sleep. I like using it on flights too, but usually can sleep when traveling, just not too soundly.
I, too, am a light sleeper and often struggle to get to sleep in foreign surroundings. I find deep breathing to be very helpful, as well as a lovely herbal tea I take along. It really helps to get a good night’s sleep if you want to achieve as much as possible the next day. Thanks for your tips 🙂
Thanks for the the thoughtful comments, Lyndall. So true about needing a good night’s sleep to be productive the next day.
Wow, crazy good tips here. We use Melatonin a lot in the elderly population but I actually don’t see it work very well. Have you tried it?
I like the thought of just getting over it, not stressing and making the most of whenever you are awake. I don’t have insomnia very often but I always stress so much about it and how to function the next day. I’ll just get some work done next time! Great way to look at it. Thanks!
Thanks for writing, Mary. Melatonin seems to make a difference over the past couple of years that I’ve been taking it. I find it harder to get deep rest without it. Boomer times!