It’s always exciting to travel to a new place and to look forward to the adventures (or the peace and quiet) that you’ll experience once you get there. However, all the preparation you need to do, all the planning, all the hard work that goes into getting ready for a vacation, can mean that sleeping becomes difficult. When you add in the change of time zones and trying to do as much as possible when you’re away, sleep can be even hard to get right.
The problem is, the worse you sleep, the less you’ll enjoy your vacation. No one wants to feel tired and grouchy when they’re meant to be having fun. Therefore, it’s wise to do as much as you can to ensure you have the best time possible away from home. Read on to find out how to sleep better when traveling.
Plan Ahead
One of the biggest reasons for traveling is to relax, get away from it all, and not have to worry about anything at all. It’s the ideal opportunity to stop thinking about work or family dramas or anything else that can cause stress. In fact, a vacation is perfect for de-stressing so much that by the time you get home, you’ll find that anything that was previously troubling you becomes a lot easier to cope with. You might even come up with some solutions.
It makes sense, then, that making your trip as stress-free as possible has to be a priority, otherwise you’re just switching one type of stress for another. One way to make things easier is to plan ahead as much as possible. It begins by booking your flights and accommodation, of course, but beyond that you can do so much more such as organizing your airport parking with Parkon.com and booking tickets for various day trips while you’re away. You can even book into specific restaurants if you know where you want to eat. When you plan ahead, you’ll be less stressed and that means you’ll sleep a lot better.
Try Sleep Supplements
When we talk about sleep supplements, we don’t mean medication such as sleeping pills; these should, ideally, be avoided where possible. What we mean is natural supplements that contain substances that will help you sleep better.
To get a good night’s sleep, you’ll need your body to produce the hormone called melatonin. Usually, melatonin production increases about two hours before you feel tired enough to go to bed. The problem is, when you’re traveling, your body can get confused, and therefore not produce enough to make you feel tired. Taking supplements that contain or promote the production of melatonin can help get your sleep schedule back on track.
Stay Awake
It might sound strange to suggest that, if you want to sleep better you try to stay awake, but it can work wonders. This is because you need to help your body get into its new rhythm as soon as possible, and it’s best to step right into the flow of wherever you’ve landed to do that.
By this we mean that if you land at night, go straight to sleep when you get to your hotel (but set an alarm for the morning, just in case you sleep too long). If you land during the day, it’s far better to stay away and go to bed at night. Although you might be feeling very tired on this first day, you’ll get into a good sleeping schedule more quickly, and you’ll be able to make the most of every day (including the day on which you arrive).