Four Strategies to Improve Your Sleep Outside the Home
Sleep can be a mysterious process even under ideal conditions, but when you’re in a completely foreign environment, like a hotel room or other temporary housing, it can seem impossible. But if you take a little control over your environment, you’ll be able to sleep more and better, no matter where you are at night.
Make your space feel more like home
Research has shown that aspects of our home environment, such as sounds and smells, can help us feel more relaxed and happier when we’re away from home, so replicating these aspects of your life in an unfamiliar place may help you sleep:
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Sound: If you usually sleep with a white noise machine , take it with you when you travel, or find a travel model or phone app that mimics it.
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Smell. Every home has a unique scent map. Bringing these scents with you can trick your brain into feeling “at home” in an unfamiliar place. Using the same lotions, shampoos, and soaps on the road can recreate this scent matrix. Bringing an item of clothing to bed that smells like the dryer sheets or detergent you use at home can also help make an unfamiliar bed seem inviting.
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Routine. Another way to make an unfamiliar place feel more like home is to stick to a routine . However you approach sleep at home—whether it’s reading a book, meditating for a few minutes, or watching mindless TV—do it as often as possible in your temporary sanctuaries. Try to go to bed at around the same time as usual, if you can, and stick to the same bathroom routine.
Control your environment
If possible, you should control the physical environment in which you sleep. If you are used to sleeping in complete darkness, block out as much light as possible by drawing curtains (paper clips work well for this), taping or putting Post-it notes over sources of incidental light such as alarm clocks and thermostats, and blocking cracks under doors that allow light to enter.
If you prefer a little light while you sleep, bring a nightlight that you can turn on to provide light even in the darkest room. And adjust the temperature if you can — most people sleep better when the room is a little cooler, around 60 to 65 degrees . But if you’re used to sleeping in a warmer or even cooler environment, try to get as close to it as possible.
Choose a strategic location
If you have control over the location of your room (for example, if you’re staying in a hotel), use that control to choose a place that’s conducive to a good night’s sleep. This starts with the location of the building itself—if you have a choice of guest rooms or hotels to spend the night in, choose one that’s away from busy streets or other sources of noise. Then find a place that’s away from common areas like elevators or lobbies—or your friend’s living room, where everyone is up all night chatting.
Get out of bed (for a while)
Finally, if you’re struggling to fall asleep in an unfamiliar place despite your best efforts, give in and get out of bed. Forcing yourself to lie there and count the minutes as they pass you by simply reinforces the connection between stress and anxiety and that bed, making it even less likely that you’ll fall asleep. Instead, after about 20 minutes, it’s best to get up and do something relaxing for a short period of time. This will reset your body and mind and break the connection between frustration and the bed, making it easier to relax the next time you try.