Sleep is one of our body’s most important functions. According to experts, our bodies can repair cells most rapidly during sleep, in addition to a myriad of other health benefits. In Arianna Huffington’s most recent book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder, she devotes a large chunk of space to encouraging her readers to get more sleep. In her opinion, “The most basic shift we can make in redefining success in our lives has to do with our strained relationship to sleep.”
Some of the benefits of getting enough sleep are obvious. When we are well-rested, we are more alert, have more energy, and are less irritable. Travelers in particular stand to gain from getting enough sleep: sightseeing is obviously more enjoyable when you’re well-rested. Who wants to visit a museum or hike through mountains when you’re cranky or sleepy?
Ironically, getting enough sleep can be the most difficult when you’re on the road. Travel insomnia can arise from many sources, including jet lag, uncomfortable hotel beds (or pillows – you know the ones that are so big you can’t possibly rest your head on them without developing a neck cramp), and sheer excitement.
A good start to beating travel insomnia is using the same tried-and-true methods you would use at home to ensure a good night’s sleep, like limiting your caffeine and alcohol intake, keeping electronics out of your bed, and getting some exercise during the day.
But sometimes you need a little extra help. While you can try counting sheep (or, if it’s more your style, counting your blessings), here are a few tips for beating travel insomnia without resorting to medical sleep aids:
Pack an eye mask and ear plugs.
Sensory deprivation works wonders for me. More often than not, my source of travel insomnia is overstimulation. I get so excited about traveling that I have trouble sleeping once I’m in a new place! Using an eye mask and ear plugs to block out the new sights and sounds helps me calm down and get in the right frame of mind for sleeping.
Count backwards from 300 by 3s.
I have no idea why this works, but it does. In all the times that I have deployed this trick, I have only been awake when I’ve reached the end once.
Listen to an auditory sleep aid.
I’ve used auditory sleep aids to help me sleep since I was a teenager. One of my favorites was a CD (like this one) designed to induce delta waves, which are brainwaves associated with sleep. CDs might be less practical now, as people rarely travel with personal CD players, although some hotels have CD players in the rooms and you can often load the tracks onto your personal music device of choice. Now I use Digipill, an application for my iPhone that runs an almost half-hour self-hypnosis to lull you into sleep.
Do you have any favorite tips or tricks for beating travel insomnia? Let me know in the comments!
Image credit: Timothy Krause