Sleep better in your hotel room this summer vacation

Some simple requests can lead to a sounder sleep on your summer vacation

Posted July 30, 2019By Tania Haas, Staff Writer

Summer vacation – the best time of the year. Often, the best part of taking a summer vacation is booking a nice hotel room complete with room service, fluffy pillows, and a freshly made bed.

But for many of us, sleeping in a new bed can prevent us from getting a good night’s sleep – and seriously dampen our vacation mood.

We put together some helpful tips for a deeper hotel sleep:

Ask about the bed before booking

Stay loyal to hotels with mattresses that have worked for you in the past.
Mattresses made of polyester or foam do not breathe well (you’ll be hot or sweaty regardless of room temperature).
Mattresses made with cotton, wool, horsehair and cashmere help keep you cool.
If you like softer mattresses, you can request an extra comforter to go under the sheets for a softer sleep.

Request a personalized pillow

Some hotels have pillow menus with pillows designed for front, back, and side sleepers, or other features like extra-firm and hypoallergenic.

Request a room on a high floor and away from the elevator

And, away from the housekeeping closet
Also request a room facing away from busy streets and away from the ice machine or housekeeping closet.
You can also place spare pillows at the base of the door to block other noise.

Control sound, temperature and darkness

Use ear plugs or a white noise app (like Sleep Pillow) to block out extraneous noise all night long.
Set the temperature to between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius (any cooler will trigger the AC And make repeated noise throughout the night).
Pack blackout tape to cover blinking lights or alarm clock brightness.

Make your hotel room feel like home

Familiar smells can trigger a relaxation response, so if you use a lavender pillow mist at home, pack a travel size.
Request a kettle in your room so you can make a small cup of herbal tea (pack some tea with chamomile, spearmint, fennel or lemon grass).
- But … be careful with fluid intake, which may lead to nighttime waking to urinate.
- Do not ingest regular tea because it has caffeine; and stop all caffeine intake after 2 p.m.

Pack a picture of your loved ones that you can place by your nightstand for familiar faces in the room.

Journal your day or play podcast

If you’re having trouble sleeping in your quiet, cool and dark room, write your thoughts down in a journal or replay your day in reverse chronological order, scene by scene. Other people enjoy listening to language lessons and podcasts to fall asleep. Turn on the timer so the podcast will turn off after a certain time.
If you can’t fall asleep for 15 minutes, get out of bed and keep lights low. Do some light stretching, walk around, watch television, listen to music or read a book (not on a tablet) with one purpose: boredom. The goal is to become tired enough to fall sleep.

Stick to your at-home sleep routine

Avoid stress, stimulants and screens before bed.
That means turning your cell phone off at night (give your loved ones the hotel phone number and your room number so they can reach you if necessary) and enjoy your alcoholic drinks at happy hour. The best night cap is a pre-bed snack (under 200 calories) or a mug of herbal tea.
Work out at the same time as you do at home.