Traveling is fun and exciting, but it throws our bodies for a loop. One area where we are strongly affected is in our ability to sleep well. Over 60% of Americans do not sleep well when they are traveling. This can have a significant impact on your health, so you must do all that you can to get your best sleep while traveling.

Thankfully, there are things that you can do to help improve your sleep when you travel. Here are some helpful ideas if you can't sleep while traveling.

Book Your Room In A Quiet Location 

When you are looking at hotels to stay in while you travel, take the time to check out the area and find one that is located somewhere as quiet and peaceful as possible.

Avoid hotels where the streets are busy, and the volume is loud outside. This will make it even more difficult for you to sleep, especially if you are in an area with a new time zone.

A great way to learn more about what hotels are best in the area is to read the online reviews to see what other people thought, pull up a map to see where the hotel is located in the area, or even call the hotel directly and ask them questions. 

Begin Adjusting Your Sleep Pattern Before You Go 

If you are traveling to a location where the time is changing, it can be helpful to begin shifting your sleep schedule before you ever leave. This can involve going to bed an hour earlier one night, and then two hours earlier the next night. This slowly shifts your internal time clock in a way that is much more productive than merely traveling and completely changing your sleep schedule all at one time.

Before you leave, take the time to figure out exactly how many hours difference your sleep schedule will be and then take the time the week before to introduce this change with one hour each night.

While this may be difficult for you initially, you will feel so much better when you are traveling, and you will not feel sleep-deprived and exhausted. 

Take Melatonin

Your body produces melatonin naturally when it is time for you to go to sleep. However, when you are thrown off your schedule a bit, your body may need some extra help to relax and calm before sleeping. Taking melatonin as a sleep aid about two hours before you go to bed can help your body to wind down. Your mind will slow, and your body will begin to relax. 

Melatonin can be found at most drug stores and is sold over-the-counter, so you don't have to worry about getting a prescription for it. Depending on where you are traveling, you may want to purchase the melatonin before you go just to make sure you have it. 

Bring A White Noise Machine 

No matter what time of day or night you are trying to sleep, noises are going to affect how well you can relax. Thankfully, there are things you can do to help make sure that you don't hear these noises, and they aren't waking you up. A great tool to travel with you is a white noise machine. 

These white noise machines work so well because they not only block the noises that you don't want to hear, but they also create a calming sound for you to listen to instead. This noise will then play throughout the entire course of your sleep, keeping a consistent volume. This allows you to sleep peacefully all through the night and helps you to wake to feel rested and ready to take on the day.

Also, because the white noise machine is small and portable, it is perfect for traveling. 

Exercise In The Morning

Just as you need your body to calm down and relax before bed, it is essential to let it know when it is time to get up and get moving in the morning. A great way to set your internal time clock is to exercise as soon as you get up in the morning.

This may involve running and lifting weights in the hotel gym, walking the streets of the city that you are visiting, or doing a quick HIIT workout right in your hotel room. The key is simply to get moving and get your heart rate up. 

Whatever your exercise of choice is, you must do it because not only will it get you up and going for the day, but it will also make you feel more tired when the day is done, thus allowing you to sleep better at night.

Participate In Relaxing Activities Before Sleeping 

You must have a nighttime routine when you are traveling, just like you do at home. While it may not look the same, try your best to keep it as similar as possible. Your body is used to this routine, and it helps you to calm down, especially when you can't sleep. This may include relaxing things, such as taking a hot bath, reading a book, listening to music, applying essential oils, laying down and relaxing each muscle in your body, or whatever you feel works the best for you. 

The great thing about doing relaxing activities before bed is that most of them can be done from just about anywhere in the world. This is so helpful when you can't sleep. This also means that your bedtime routine shouldn't be thrown off too much, and you can still get to sleep in a reasonable amount of time. 

Traveling is a fantastic thing, but so is good sleep, so combining the two makes for a winning combination. By booking a hotel in a quiet location, adjusting your sleep pattern before your trip, taking melatonin two hours before you go to sleep, bringing a white noise machine with you, exercising each morning right after you wake up, and participating in relaxing activities before you sleep, you are setting yourself up for success. 

To learn more about how to get a great night's sleep, visit us at Nest Bedding.