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Travel Health: Sleep Right
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Do you find it hard to drift off when you’re traveling? Here are a few tips to help you be bright-eyed and ready to face the day
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BY HANNAH WALLACE | ILLUSTRATION BY SHAW NIELSEN
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“A hotel room is your bedroom away from home,” says Rubin Naiman, Ph.D., director of Circadian Health Associates and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the University of Arizona’s Center for Integrative Medicine. And yet, however comfortable and well-decorated it may be, that guest room isn’t always conducive to sleeping well. We asked Dr. Naiman for some advice on how to avoid losing Z’s.
Book smart
Call the hotel before you arrive to request a room that’s not near an elevator or ice machine. And make sure you have access to fresh air. “Find out if the windows open, and if there’s an air-filtration system,” Dr. Naiman suggests. “Clean, fresh air is essential for good sleep.” If you’re a light sleeper, ask for a room away from any large groups staying at the property.
BYOP
Pillow menus became popular a few years ago. It makes sense, because each of us has his or her own preferences: goosedown versus polyfill, buckwheat versus Swedish memory foam, flat versus puffy. If you’re finicky about pillows—and why shouldn’t you be?—consider bringing your favorite with you. “Anything that reminds you of home makes you more comfortable,” Dr. Naiman says.
Lights out
Not just the room lights, but also the TV, your laptop and the alarm clock. One of the first things Dr. Naiman does when entering a hotel room is to turn over the digital clock so no light leaks out. Light inhibits melatonin production, disrupting sleep. “An illuminated clock next to your head is one of the worst things for sleep,” Dr. Naiman says. “Also, when we look at the clock, it tethers us back to consciousness.”
Try aromatherapy
“As we fall asleep, we shut down our senses. But there’s evidence that the sense of smell continues through the night—and that it influences your sleep,” Dr. Naiman says. So bring along a sleep-promoting essential oil, such as lavender, jasmine or lemon balm, and put a few drops on your pillow or in a diffuser near the bed. Dr. Naiman often travels with a small pillow filled with calming herbs.
Pack earplugs
The standard foam earplugs sold at pharmacies work well to reduce sound. But if you’re especially sensitive to noise, try a wax version, such as Flent’s Ear Stopples ($5 at Amazon.com), which have a noise- reduction rating of 25 decibels. White-noise machines and apps can also help, Dr. Naiman says. TMSoft’s free White Noise app has 10 different sounds, including ocean waves, rain and chirping crickets.
Turn down the turndown treat
There’s a small amount of caffeine in chocolate, and many people choose not to eat the wrapped treat left on the pillow at turndown. But when Dr. Naiman was staying at a hotel in Boulder recently (to make a CD called The Yoga of Sleep), he was tempted by the sweet. “I gobbled it down and found I was still up at four in the morning. I later learned that the chocolate I’d eaten was filled with espresso.”
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Published: Fall 2012
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