I don’t know about you, but when I’m away from home I don’t sleep well. Over the years, I’ve added things into my sleep routine at home to help me sleep better. I’ve started doing these things while traveling to keep my sleep routine as similar as possible to my home routine.
1. Sound machine: I always travel with a sound machine. The noises of a new place seem to disturb my sleep very easily and this helps cut down on the amount of new noises I hear while sleeping.
2. Sleep glasses: These glasses help the body’s natural melatonin to kick in. I was skeptical they would work but about two minutes into wearing them, I start yawning so it seems that they do help. I typically put these on at home after the sun goes down or at least an hour before bed. I don’t actually wear them while sleeping, just the hours leading up to sleep. It’s a lot easier than using colored lightbulbs, which wouldn’t be ideal to travel with and I really don’t want those screwed into lamps all over my house.
3. GABA: Gaba is known for it’s calming effect. It slows down your brain by blocking specific signals in your central nervous system. Our bodies naturallily produce GABA but depending on the person, some of us produce less than we need. I believe that I am one of these people. My mind struggles to shut off at night, especially while traveling, even when I take a sleep aid like unison or melatonin. GABA helps me to stop over thinking so that I can relax and go to sleep faster. I also take a half dose of this when I struggle with travel anxiety, but I’ll tell you more about that some other time.*
* I am not a medical professional so if this is something that you are curious about for yourself, do your research AND talk to a medical professional.
4. Black out curtain: I use a blackout curtain at home but wasn’t using one on trips until I found out they make temporary use black out curtains. From the research I have done, a sleep mask isn’t enough to help our bodies stay asleep because our skin can detect light. If you hold up your hand out in front of you in the dark of your room and you can see it, there is too much light in your room for sleep. If you are traveling to a place that you know won’t have a blackout curtain (more likely a home stay as most hotels have blackout curtains), you might consider adding a similar product to your suitcase on your next trip.
As an added bonus, I also used these when we moved last summer. It was a lot easier to throw these up in our bedrooms than to hang curtains up immediately!
5. Magnesium: I take magnesium glycinate when I take GABA every night. Magnesium glycinate helps relieve anxiety and reduces insomnia, both of which are struggles for my body. There are several types of magnesium, so make sure you check which type you are purchasing if this is something you decide to start taking.*
*Again, as previously stated, I am not a medical professional so if this is something that you are curious about for yourself, do your research AND talk to a medical professional.
Well, file this post under things that make you feel your age because I definitely fell all of my (almost) 42 years of life writing it. LOL. Long gone are the days of staying up until the wee hours and not feeling it the next day. Sleeping away from home is never going to be the same as sleeping in my own bed, but I hope this list of my sleep necessities inspires you to figure out a better sleep plan for yourself while traveling.