What’s not to love about traveling? It’s an incredible way to see the world and learn about other cultures that exist out there. Saying that, it can be a bit of a nightmare on our sleep schedule. You might not have realized all the ways we could be ruining our sleep while traveling, but we’re about to change that.
Jet lag can catch people off guard when they don’t prepare for it
The further afield you travel, the greater the likelihood that you’ll have to deal with jet lag. This can put a real damper on the first few days of your vacation and may ruin your sleep schedule until you return home. To stop this from spoiling your much-needed rest, you should prepare your body for jet lag before you travel. It’s worth spending up to seven days in advance adjusting your meal and sleep times to better match those at your destination. This should make the transition easier, so you can hopefully go to bed at your usual time.
Being inactive on vacation could make it tougher to sleep
You may or may not be an active person in your everyday life. Regardless of what you do, though, it’s probably a good idea to keep moving when you’re traveling. That’s because being inactive is one of the ways we could be ruining our sleep while traveling. The more active we are, the easier it apparently is to fall asleep at night. What’s more, being active often means more exposure to natural light, which is good for regulating your circadian rhythm in a new location.
Not packing for potential disturbances from others can be a mistake
It can be incredibly frustrating when other people are responsible for you not getting a decent rest at night. Unfortunately, many people who travel stay in places like hotels and hostels, where there’s a significant risk that other guests might keep you up. The way to stop this from affecting your sleep is to pack the right essentials before you leave home. This can include things like earplugs, an eye mask, a light therapy lamp, or even a white noise machine. It may take some experimenting to find out what works best for you.
Not checking accommodation reviews might come back to bite you
Accommodation is probably one of the most important things to consider when traveling. After all, this is where you’re going to spend your nights, so it needs to be somewhere you know you can sleep well. Plenty of people make the mistake of hoping for the best with their accommodation and take the place at face value. In reality, the smart thing to do is to look at the reviews of previous guests beforehand. In particular, pay attention to those which mention sleep. If the comments aren’t positive, you know where not to stay for your vacation.
Now that we know all the ways we could be ruining our sleep while traveling, there shouldn’t be any trouble getting some shut-eye on the next vacation.
