My goodness I do love my sleep but sleep and travel do not always go hand in hand, do they?

How do you sleep when you travel  – whether that be by bus, train, plane or car?

I am equally rubbish at sleeping on all of them at the moment but I plan to address it.

It is always an issue for  me  as I struggle to sleep in transit and often end up at my destination absolutely exhausted. It’s the same for my kids – we get way too excited about our vacation, read all the magazines and eat all the sweets. We always arrive feeling absolutely wiped out because, of course, what we really should have been doing was getting some zzzz’s in on the way.

And then there is jet lag! Jet lag is feeling exhausted but struggling to sleep when you do actually arrive because your normal/sleep wake patterns your circadian rhythm has been so disturbed. That can impact days of your holiday.

I love to travel but oh how I hate my lack of sleep and dealing with sleep deprived kids!

Time to sort this out once and for all.

 

 

How to Sleep when Travelling

I have been having a read of sleep advisor’s Sleep & Travel guide which has given me a lot of food for thought. Here are some of the main points that resonated with me and may help me conquer this frustrating issue that can really impact the start of my vacation.

 

Try to arrive at night

Sleep advisor suggest you plan to arrive at your destination at night so that rather than trying to sleep on a plane you just  go straight to sleep on arrival instead of trying to stay awake all day. I like this idea. As a mum I am constantly ‘on duty’ on planes/trains or automobiles! This could be a much better solution than trying to get some sleep en route only to be constantly disturbed. 

 Planning your flights well could make a huge difference. 

 

 

Bring your own pillow

Everyone struggles to sleep on the first night away and so missed sleep (actually in transit) is hard to catch up on even when you do finally reach your destination. Apparently it can hugely help to bring our own pillow and have something familiar to our bedroom at home to help us relax.

 

Sleep aids

Melatonin supplements

Melatonin sleeping gummies can be also huge asset when you have jetlag. Not something I have ever  tried but a possibility I would explore if all else fails. Melatonin is the hormone that triggers our need for rest and makes us tired.

 

Ditch the coffee

 I am a coffee fiend but oh how it keeps me alert and awake. The very last thing I need to be doing whilst travelling and on arrival at my destination is downing the coffee.  Coffee is a stimulants, which effectively convinces your body to stay awake. Water would serve me much better or perhaps a relaxing sleep inducing herbal tea! 

 

 

 

 

I will try all the above and hopefully have much better sleep on my next trip. 

Check out the sleep advisor article for 11 more awesome tips on how to sleep when travelling.

 

How to Sleep when Travelling is a collaborative post