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Proven Sleep Tips, Tools and Tactics To Rest Well In Any Strange Or Noisy Hotel
As an airline pilot, I've developed a list of sleep tips.
That's because I must spend many nights in hotel rooms and I must always be well rested when flying.
Many of these travel rest tips can also improve your sleep at home.
In addition to these great travel rest tips, there are some key travel accessories that I use to assure a great night sleep. They help while recovering from jet lag or sleeping at unusual hours, even in the noisiest locations.
You can benefit from these sleep tips, tools and tactics while traveling. They will help you be:
- Refreshed for your big business meeting
- Recovered from jet lag
- Rested on vacation
You spend considerable time, money and effort on your travel. You want to be well rested to get the most out of your trip.
I am sharing these sleep tips with you so you can have make the most of your time traveling.
There are several hindrances to good travel rest. If applicable, I will give you recommendations for products that can address these and my proven sleep tips for combating each.
Many of these sleep hindrances can be addressed when you first arrive at your hotel. It's like doing a "pre-flight inspection" of your hotel room.
The main reasons people have trouble sleeping well in hotel rooms are:
- Noise
- Light
- Temperature and humidity
- Uncomfortable pillows
- Uncomfortable bed
- Recovering from jet lag
- Being in a strange place
- Hunger
- Not employing sleep strategies
Sleep Tip #1- Dealing with Noise.
Noise can be the greatest hindrance to travel rest. The good news is there is quite a bit you can do about noise to get some good hotel rest.
Getting a good night's sleep in your hotel room begins as you drive up to your hotel.
Pay attention to potential noise sources near the hotel. Big trouble-makers are:
- Highways
- Airports
- Train tracks
"Airport hotels" are by definition, near airports. That may add convenience, but they are often in noisy areas.
Most hotels and motels are built so they have visiblilty from the highway. Along with this convenience comes the associated noise.
Make a mental note of these potential noise sources.
When you check in, before they give you your room assignment, specifically ask for a "quite room". If the highway or airport is on one side of the hotel, mention that and ask for a room on the other side of the building. I also clarify by adding " preferably a room away from ice machines, elevators, of housekeeping staging areas".
That way you have stated your expectations initially and it's up to the front desk staff to select a room per your request. Since you stated your request before you went to your room, if there is a problem , you'll seem less like someone who whines or complains. That will make them more inclined to help you.
This basic sleep tip has served me well many times.
Sometimes the occupancy level is such that they can't give you a quiet room like you requested. With a
white noise machine
, that's not much of a problem anyways. (More on white noise machines in a moment.)
When I arrive outside my room, I pause and survey the area for potential noise sources. Besides the obvious proximity to the elevators, ice machines, or housekeeping staging areas, are there any loud guests in the area? I know from experience that rock bands often have large, loud parties in their rooms after concerts. Some conference groups have people who like to socialize in the guest rooms until late at night.
If my room is in a bad location, I don't even enter the room. I just head back down to the desk and politely ask for a room in a more quiet location.
There is one case where I don't immediately ask for a quieter room if mine is near the elevators - that's if my room is oddly placed due to the proximity of the elevator. You can get an indication of this by observing the pattern and spacing of the doors in the hallway. Since they had to fit the elevators into the overall layout of the hotel, the rooms near them are sometimes unusually large, almost mini-suites.
It's at least worth going in to check it out. If it's a regular or smaller-sized room, back I go to the front desk to ask for a quieter location.
I'd only recommend keeping a room like this if you have a
white noise machine.
It will mask the elevator sound for you.
If you're cheerful, polite and pleasant about this, you might even find yourself in an upgraded room. If the front desk staff is motivated to help you, they often have a lot of latitude in their capabilities to help you.
"It Seems Incredible That With A White Noise Machine You Can Sleep Soundly In A Noisy Hotel"
The only way to guarantee good travel rest in a noisy place is with a
white noise machine.I first discovered these over 12 years ago and it has made a huge difference in how well I sleep in noisy places.
If I were to give you only one sleep tip, it would be to get a white noise machine. It is a must-have travel accessory.
A white noise machine allows you to sleep in noisy places by producing background noise. This background noise doesn't register to your mind, and masks the noises that disturb sleep.
To read more about these incredible devices,
click here on white noise machine.
To learn about the white noise machine that is better than all the others,
Click here on sleep machine.
To shop for the one that I think is the best available,
Click here on Marsona Sleep Machine.
I always turn on my white noise machine before I go to sleep, even if it's quiet at that time. There are no guarantees that there won't be midnight trains, flights or noisy guests.
Sleep Tip #2- Dealing with Light. If it is too light in your room, you will have trouble sleeping. This can be a factor while adjusting to time zone changes. Your sleep requirements might not line up with the sun's schedule.
Hotel room curtains rarely close completely. If they're closed tightly in the middle, they often let in lots of light on the sides. If it's dark outside when you close them, you often don't know if you did an adequate job of closing them until the morning. If there were gaps, the light can awaken you.
Two simple items can help you with this problem:
- Clothespins. Throw a few in your suitcase and leave them there permanently. That way you'll always have them at hotels. They're lightweight and take little space. Clothespins do a fine job of securing the gap that is usually present when hotel curtains are closed. If you leave them behind by mistake, so what? They are easily replaced.
- Metal Clips. the large metal clips that are found at office supply stores also hold curtains closed well.
The other thing that will help you sleep in a room that has light is a good
sleep mask.
If you have to sleep when it's light outside or if sleep best in complete in total darkness, a good sleep mask is a perfect solution.
For a complete review and suggestions of good eye masks, click
here on sleep mask.
Sleep Tip #3- Dealing with Temperature Changes. It's wise to get the temperature adjusted as soon as you get to your room. That's because if you wait until you go to bed, it's likely that you'll awaken because you're either too hot or too cold. .
One of the things that I hate is arriving late at night somewhere where it was hot in the day. Often the housekeeper sets the air conditioner to the full cold setting when she's there working,. The problem is that often they leave and don't reset the temperature. You then show up much later and it's freezing in there. If this happens, you'll never get it adjusted properly before you go to sleep. when I encounter this, I either open the window to warm the room, or just turn the air conditioning off for the night. The rooms never seem to warm up adequately if I leave it set on air-conditioning at a higher setting.
Since hotel thermostats are notoriously inaccurate, forget about what temperature it says. You're mush better off using what I call the "click method".
The click method sleep tip is simply this: most thermostats will make a soft "click" when the temperature selector is adjusted past the setting that it is trying to reach right then. Now that you know where it is presently adjusting to, make all your further adjustments relative to the "click" point.
Don't make this mistake: If the room is either to hot or too cold when you arrive, do not just set the thermostat at the full cold or full hot position. The temperature won't change any faster this way. What likely will happen is that you will forget about it, and then you will end up at the other extreme. I learned that sleep tip the hard way.
If you use the click method, you can bracket or refine the setting that you like.
Studies have found that people sleep best at slightly cool temperatures, usually around 68 degrees Fahrenheit. (That's 20 C.) It's also important that the temperature remains constant.
It also helps if you sleep in the same clothing while you travel as when you are at home.
The more that you can make the conditions like you are used to at home, the better you will sleep when away.
Sometimes hotel air conditioners make noisy clunking sounds when they cycle on and off. If you have a
white noise machine,
that's usually not a problem. If you don't, you might try to get a quieter room.
If you are sensitive to humidity changes, it can be difficult getting comfortable in cold winter climates. Often the hotel heater doesn't have a humidifier. That makes the rooms very dry. This can disturb your sleep, dry your skin and give you congestion. When I'm in a hotel in the winter months and this is a problem, here's what I do to raise the humidity level:
I close the bathtub drain, put a tissue over the bathroom vent (if there is constant suction, that will hold the tissue in place), and then run the shower full hot until the tub is full.
If you close the bathroom door, you create a great "steam bath" effect.
This gives the room a nice moist heat warming that makes a huge difference in the cold winter climate.
You can also save on ironing this way. You can hang any wrinkled clothes in the bathroom when you so this and the steam will take out all the wrinkles.
Sleep Tip #4- Dealing with Uncomfortable Pillows .One of the hardest parts of adjusting to a different bed is not really the bed itself. It's the pillows. The pillows at the hotel are rarely like what you are used to at home. They're too hard, soft, flat or fluffy. Sometimes they are made of uncomfortable chunks of foam. You can try different combinations, but it still isn't just right.
This was a problem for me for years, until I made a recent discovery.
There is a fantastic solution to this that's made a huge difference to me.
To find out more,
click here on travel pillows.
Sleep Tip #5- Dealing with Uncomfortable Beds. This is also something that you want to figure out as soon as you get to your room. Not when it's late, you're tired, all ready for bed and when there are no more rooms available.
As soon as I get into my room, I sit and lie down on the bed to make sure that it is comfortable. If it's not, I head back sown to the front desk and ask if they have any rooms with newer beds.
I've made some interesting discoveries-
Most beds wear unevenly in hotels. That's probably because the mattresses are rarely flipped. Most mattress manufacturers recommend monthly flipping. The other reason is that people often sit on beds and talk on the telephone. Often a bed is soft and worn right by the bedside table with the phone. If it is a king-size bed, the other side might be OK for sleeping.
If there are two beds in the room, one is often more worn than the other.
Many hotels do renovations and refurbishing over a period of time. That means that while your originally assigned room might have an older, worn bed, there may be rooms with much newer beds.
If they can't get you a room with a newer bed, sometimes housekeeping can get you a bed board. I extreme cases, I've even pulled the top mattress onto the floor and slept on it.
sleep Tip #6- If You're Recovering From Jet Lag. This is a major factor after long east/west flights. It is an extensive subject that I have written quite a bit about. To learn tips and strategies for dealing with jet lag,
click here for my jet lag article.
Sleep Tip #7- Make sure that you're satisfied with the Room cleanliness. Whether it's perceived of a reality, if you think that the room or bed you are sleeping in isn't clean, it will affect your sleep. This is especially true if you think the bedding isn't clean. There have been studies on germ and bacteria levels in hotel rooms. The worst culprits are the bedspreads and TV remote controls.
If this bothers you, there are a few things that you can do about this.
If you think that the housekeeping staff could have done a better job, then either call them back or change rooms.
If you are concerned about the germs on things that aren't easily cleaned, like doorknobs or remote controls, you can wipe things down with alcohol wipes. You can buy individual alcohol wipe packets from drugstores very inexpensively.
If you are concerned about the pillows,
click here for travel pillows.
If you are concerned about the actual bedding, there is a great travel accessory that can help: The dream sack. Just click on the link below to learn more:
Original DreamSack
I learned that sleep tip from one of our flight attendants.
Sleep Tip #8- Make things just like at home. There are sleep tips and strategies that can help you prepare for sleeping at hotels. They involve creating a routine and environment as close to what you are accustomed to as possible.
Make sure that your room reflects your smoking preferences. It's hard for smokers to be in non-smoking rooms.
Non-smokers are often bothered by the odors present in smoking rooms.
Sometimes these options are limited, so it's a good idea to specify your preferences when making your reservations. Then be sure to confirm it at check-in.
Develop and practice a regular pre-sleep routine. Studies have shown that you can teach your body and mind that it's time to relax and prepare for sleep. If you do this at home as well as while traveling, you'll likely fall asleep more easily.
For example, if before resting, you like to brush your teeth, wash your face, and then read for ten minutes, then do this every night, no matter where you are.
In the
jet lag
article in this site, I recommend going through your routine before trying to sleep on the plane.
Keep your sleep time sacred and minimize other responsibilities before trying to go to bed. You should avoid worrying or working in your bedroom. It can be hard to avoid working in a hotel room unless you have a suite. If you can separate you work from your place of sleep, you'll rest better.
Sleep Tip #9- Manage your Hunger. If you're hungry before bed, eat a light snack. Otherwise, your hunger can delay your falling asleep.
Having some snacks available in your hotel room requires some advanced planning, unless the mini-bar prices don't bother you.
Don't eat a heavy meal before bed. This will disrupt your sleep because your stomach will be busy digesting your food.
If you're thirsty before bedtime, drink a small quantity of water.
Here are some snacks that travel well: dried fruit, nuts, power or granola bars. Since many hotels also have in-room coffeemakers, you can use these to make instant oatmeal, instant soup, tea, coffee or hot chocolate.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine for several hours before bed.
Sleep Tip #10- Don't watch the clock. Turn the clock around so you can't see it. If you're having trouble sleeping, your awareness of the time and your thoughts of how late it is or how soon you have to get up will only make it harder to sleep.
Make sure that you have multiple alarms set, and then don't worry about over-sleeping. I usually get a wake-up call, set the room clock and also my travel clock.
If you can't fall asleep within about 30 minutes, don't keep lying in bed trying to fall asleep. Instead, get up and do an activity that will help you relax.
If you are someone who thinks about things or gets great ideas while in bed, then keep a notebook or recorded by your bedside. That way if you think of something that you don't want to forget, you can make a note of it, and then forget about it until morning.
That sleep tip works well for people who tend to have active minds at night.
Sleep Tip #11- General
Studies have shown that there are two main lifestyle habits that can promote good sleep:
- Exercise Regularly. This will help you sleep better, but it is important not to exercise too close to bedtime. Otherwise you body won't cool down and relax in time for you to fall asleep.
Eat a balanced diet. This will help your overall health as well as improve your sleep.
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