The Secrets to Maximising Your Sleep While Travelling

Are you planning a gap year? Are your dreams of travelling and exploring what the world has to offer getting closer to becoming a reality? As a traveller, you want to discover new destinations and fresh experiences in the best way possible, but to make sure that you do this, you have to wake up each day feeling recharged and rejuvenated each morning and the only way to make this happen is by getting sound sleep. 

Achieving a good night’s sleep is the key to operating on fully-charged batteries, mentally and physically. This is going to prepare you for all the exciting overseas adventures that lie in wait, because, let’s face it, travelling uses up a fair amount of energy, so you’ll be needing all you can get! 

Want to know the secret to maximizing your sleep while travelling? We’ll be honest, there are no real big secrets here, but sometimes the pointers we’re about to cover off can help you if you need a little bit of extra help and guidance. Check them out and see which ones you think you can use to benefit your sleep while travelling. 

Don’t Let Worrying Creep in Too Much

Nobody ever got a great night’s sleep by worrying about things. Obviously, this can be easier said than done if you are a natural worrier or you haven’t been travelling much. Maybe you’re leaving the country to volunteer by yourself and this is your first time leaving your hometown on a solo adventure. Either way, being aware of how fretting about things can affect your quality of sleep is very useful because you can monitor it and figure out ways to combat it while you’re away. 

Worrying can hinder the fun you have, so, to counteract this, you have to look at being proactive for you to be able to manage the stress. Consider using some or all of the techniques listed below to overcome this. Use them before bed to relax your mind: 

• Deep breathing – Doing this increases oxygen to your brain while also stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system; this boosts your state of calmness and puts you in a more relaxed state.
• Visualisation – This technique can help to take your mind away from negative thoughts and move you on to a more positive state of mind by improving your ability to focus on being composed and feeling ready to rest.
• Journal Writing – Getting your thoughts and experiences written down on paper is a great way to move things from your mind and out in the open. By writing things down, you are taking control of your emotions and helping to boost your mental well-being.
• Priority Setting – Simply by putting your priorities in order, you are establishing which things you can discard and/or move to the top of the pile, and indeed, the bottom. 

Get Plenty of Natural Sunlight

When you are travelling, you find yourself aboard various modes of transport for long periods. This means you will be exposed to plenty of artificial light, especially when you are on flights or night buses for example. 

When this happens, exposing yourself to natural sunlight can become tricky. It’s important to get as much natural sunlight as you can wherever possible because our skin can absorb essential vitamin D. This vitamin is vital for healthy bodily function and mental health. Studies show that just by being in a natural environment it can help to improve your mood and help you to feel calmer. 

You only need to be in contact with natural sunlight for 10 minutes per day to benefit from a fully-functioning circadian rhythm (your internal body clock). Ideally, aim to get 20 minutes each day, although if you’re travelling in countries such as Africa then you will find it tricky to avoid the sun’s healthy rays anyway (remember to wear sunscreen). You’ll soon notice how this bolsters not only your mood but also your quality of sleep. 

Remove the Smart Devices from Your Bedtime Environment

In today’s tech-centric world, it can be seriously tough for many people to detach themselves and ‘log off’ from their smart devices. While it’s nice to stay connected with home and comforts that are associated with keeping in touch with people back home through social media, being able to remove this from your bedtime routine is essential to gaining good sleep. 

The light from the screens on smart devices emits a blue light that suppresses your body’s natural melatonin production when you need it most to sleep. Additionally, screen time before bed will actively stimulate your mind because you’re taking on new information constantly; this can be a good thing, but not when you’re supposed to be winding down to go to sleep. 

You should upload the pictures you took of your day and message your friends and family at least two hours before you are heading off to bed so that you can switch off effectively. 

Stay Active!

When you’re travelling, this probably won’t be a hard thing to do, but, just in case, we are reminding you that staying physically active will do wonders for your sleep. 

Go for walks, explore, choose to go on foot instead of calling a taxi where possible, and you’ll be helping yourself out in terms of supporting positive sleep patterns. Keep in mind that if you don’t stay active then your sleep will inevitably suffer to some degree. This can lead to you not being able to enjoy your experiences and adventures as much as you could do, and you don’t want that, do you? 

So, as we said at the top of the article, there’s no magic formula here, just good old-fashioned common sense. If you can optimise your sleep when you are travelling, you will have a better time and look back on your time with even more enjoyment compared to if you were sleep-deprived. We hope this helps, and happy travels!