People like to travel for a variety of reasons – relaxation, adventure, or escape. We all love to explore new places and visit new people, but long-distance traveling can be exhausting and it can often break havoc on sleep quality. Strange surroundings, time zone changes, uncomfortable seats in your car can all disturb your sleeping pattern while you’re on the road.
There a few adjustments you can make while on the run to prepare yourself for a decent night of sleep. The point is to make yourself as comfortable and relaxed as possible. Here are some tips to ensure that you sleep like a baby on your next voyage.
Avoid Alcohol and Caffeine
Many people mistakenly assume that a few glasses of wine can help them fall asleep, but alcohol can actually disrupt your sleep, leaving you exhausted in the morning. Alcohol is eliminated from the body rapidly, causing withdrawal symptoms 2-3 hours after consumption, which can consequently affect your sleeping pattern.
Using caffeine after 3 p.m may prevent you from entering deep sleep stages, and make it much harder to sleep at night. Likewise, eating acidic and spicy food less than 2 hours before bedtime can cause digestion problems while you try to sleep.
Sometimes it can be tempting just to take a sleeping pill and wait for it to kick in and knock you out. However, you should consider an herbal alternative instead – a nice warm cup of Chamomile tea can help you fall asleep. While you’re at it, add a few drops of lavender since it is natural sleep enhancer. We suggest that you pack a scented facemask, a lavender candle, or some essential oil for your trip.
Stock Up with B Vitamins
To avoid jetlag and maintain alertness when traveling, you should consider taking a well-balanced B vitamin supplement. Proper levels of vitamins B3, B5, B6, and B12 may help achieve good sleep. Namely, these vitamins help regulate the body’s level of amino acid tryptophan, which induces melatonin and helps the body prepare for sleep.
Look for a supplement with riboflavin, vitamins B6 and B12, along with calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and vitamin C to help fight off the effects of fatigue and stress while boosting the body’s immune system.
Always Pack Earplugs
You never know what sort of noise you are in for, from the hotel, to the plane, to even chilling in a pool. Earplugs won’t take up much space in your luggage, and they can be a very useful tool to help you get proper sleep. Earplugs can help you disconnect from the world and reach a mental state of nirvana just about anywhere you go. If by any chance, you forget to bring earplugs with you, a good alternative is a pair of noise-canceling headphones which will allow you to tune out to some soothing music.
Wear a Sleep Mask
Whether you need to cancel out an overhead plane light or you’re traveling in bright conditions, buying an eye mask is a must. A sleep mask is a comfortable tool to protect your eyes from unwanted light. Find one that suits your comfort level and personal style. You can use it pretty much anywhere – hotel rooms, planes, trains, and so on.
Sleeping masks are made of fabric that is intended to keep all incoming light away from your eyes, and to help induce a state of pure darkness. When the brain senses absolute darkness, it causes the production of melatonin, a chemical that induces sleep.
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