I find that when I travel and stay in a hotel or even at a friend's place or something, I don't sleep as soundly as I would in my own bed. If it's an extended stay, it takes me a couple of days or sometimes longer to adjust. The only exception is when I stay at my parents' place, where I sleep in my old room that's pretty much stayed the same since I graduated from high school and moved out.
And it's not like I'm staying in sketchy hotels or anything, so peace of mind isn't an issue, at least not in that regard.
I don't do anything differently that I know of as far as my nightly routine goes, but I just have a really hard time getting to sleep. Or when I do sleep, I have a hard time staying asleep. I've tried bringing a pillow from home if I can manage. I've also tried calming teas and body washes/lotions and things like that (the same things I do when I have a hard time sleeping when I AM at home), but I just have a really hard time sleeping away from home.
I'm sure there are others who have this problem. Any tips/advice?
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Me, too, Dani. Used to travel lots on business and if it was just an overnight, I wouldn't get much sleep. Longer trips are usually okay after two or three nights. I must concede that my recent trip to Atlanta went better than usual though I could not tell you why.
I wish I had a tip for you but I've been trying to figure this one out for years. Tired myself out by staying up later; tried going to bed earlier; going for a walk or other light exercise before bed; putting on soft music; masturbating; you name it, I have tried it. Some of them work some of the time but none seem to work all of the time.
In the end, I've just kind of come to accept that sleeping in a strange bed is a problem. I'll see if anyone gives you any useful tips. Might help me, too.
When I traveled for business I always came home exhausted. I sleep in a King size, full motion, water bed and sleeping in hotel rooms is like sleeping on a pile of rocks. My only answer was exhaustion. Eventually I'd sleep but I seemed to get more falling asleep in a chair.
The only time I'd come back rested was when I'd go to our factory just outside Ft. Worth. There was a hotel that had water beds and I paid $20 extra a night just so I could sleep. My company did pay for it though. I'd be there 2 to 3 weeks at a time reviewing design work on some military computer.
There was also a restaurant there, Cade's, that served the best Chicken Fried Steak on the planet. Damn, I miss going there but it's one hell of a trip from California for just dinner.
Chicken fried steak can't be good for your sleeping, though. I hate sleeping when my stomach is too full and the last one I had (in Wyoming last summer) really filled me up.
I used to travel quite a lot in my previous job, and I found that a little workout was the thing that worked best. If I'm on familiar territory I go for a jog, or I use the hotel's pool or treadmill to work up some sweat, then I shower and afterwards go for a walk (even if is was just a few rounds around the block) for fifteen minutes to cool down. Getting ready for bed after that, then reading a few pages - I have to force myself not to go past twenty pages, or I'll become too engrossed to fall asleep - in a good book and listening to some of my favorite songs on the ipod has become something of a ritual that also helps. The important thing was to do this every evening. The mind's a creature of habit, so if you have often enough fallen asleep dead tired after working out while away from home, the brain will connect those things and say "hey, I've been running, now I'm reading and listening to music, I know this situation, it means I'm going to get sleepy, yay!"
In bad cases, when the day has been too exciting to settle down easily or when something important is scheduled for the next day, I also use autogenous training. It's basically nothing more than getting comfortable on the bed on my back and letting my focus slowly shift from my toes up to my head and down my arms while I imagine the part I'm focusing on becoming warm and relaxed. It's good to push away all the stray thoughts that tend to keep me awake.
When I was actively driving 18-wheeler, I actually slept better in the truck than I did the 2 nights/week at home. There are some over the counter sleeping aids you might try. I had to use those when I first retired until I got accustomed to my bed here at home.
I usually have to leave at the spur of the moment on business and sometimes spend as much as 8 hours driving to where I'm going. The last two times however I've stopped and spent 4 hours sleeping at a hotel. The best thing for me is turning down the bed and cooling the rooms aircondition unit into the 60's and while that is happening I will take a nice long hot shower to relax. Even with the short amount of time sleeping it never seems to keep me from being able to sleep good. On nights when it is possible to get back to the room have a good meal before retiring for the night.
I always have been a sound sleeper and I can sleep everywhere. However the first night in a strange place seems to be difficult for most people. I think it's mostly subconscious. You just don't feel safe in a new place. Working out and opening a window for a few minutes before going to sleep can help.
I don't stay away often, but when I do taking my own pillow is the key for me. That's not so easy when you've flown somewhere though!!
I travel a lot and my sleep definitely suffers...
my Tips:
- try taking your own pillow (I usually fly so not always practical and I've heard this is a good way to bring bugs home????)
- eat lightly for dinner
- one glass of wine
- herbal tea with Valerian (makes most people sleep a little better)
- exercise even if only a walk
- ask for a room away from elevators and foot traffic
- also try to book your arrival early so you can relax before bed
- try soft ear plugs
I haven't tried melatonin but you could also try warm milk if your hotel room has the right facilities...
This is going to sound strange, but when you can't get to sleep - force yourself to stay awake - force your eyes to stay open.
Work at it, and you'll get tired of holding your eyes open and they will close and you'll go to sleep.
I have a pair of shooter's earplugs that I cannot live without!!! In hotels I also take a noise machine if I can. (they are cheap and small)
I spend about 100 nights a year in hotels - and have been doing that for over 15 years.
I think like almost everything different things work for different people. Just need to keep trying different things to see what works.
What works best for me is a routine - which can be difficult to keep during multiple city trips and busy work days - but I what I try to do is...
1) After work, get in a good workout
2) Eat a healthy, light dinner - usually fish or chicken - try to avoid fried stuff
3) I bring my own pillowcase - pillow is too much for plane - but find the familiar smell of a pillowcase from home helps
4) Have a long masturbation session before going to bed - puts my mind at ease
5) Usually find most hotel rooms have dry air, so I run the shower on super hot for awhile to try and get some humidity in the air
6) In the winter, I shut off the room heater before going to bed - in summer keep AC on - or crack a window if can - just find a cooler room is better
Not sure if any of these might help you... but they seem to do the trick for me.
I have bed bug phobia...don't like to travel as much.
Can't sleep at all if there is a basement without a door on it.
Too creepy.
I sleep with the light on, as I've done all my life as an adult..
As I hate complete darkness and the dark..
I used to work coonstruction & oft times I'd be away from home extended periods. Sometimes I stayed on side through the week & was home on weekends. Water bead at home & rock hard matreses at "man camp" on the job site. took some getting used to -- especially working the afternoon shift. After a while I got used to it, but usually had a few drinks beforetrying to sleep. When away for extended periods,my best solution was a small camping trailer. It usually saved enough in motel rent to over ride the extra fuel costs getting it there & back. Celestial seasonings "Sleepy time" herbal tea helps too. I aslo found leaving the TV on with volume just so I could barely hear it helped. TV was always on at home, so that point of familiarity helped.
If I'm sleeping away from home I take my 2 best pillows and quilt. Then I do sleep better
You might ask your doctor about extended-release zolpidem tartrate (Ambien CR), 12.5 mg tablets. You don't sleep any deeper, you just fall asleep and stay asleep instead of spending a restless night staring at the ceiling.
Want to spend some time wallowing in a Recommended Read? Pick one! Or two! Or seven!
I can totally understand that , Aaah there is no place like home sweet home...
Generally when I'm away from home , at the end of the day I am so tired and sleepy after work or travelling that this feeling doesn't bother me much that I'm somewhere out of my dear comfortable room, I just want to sleep tight and quitely like a new born baby, lol .
And if that doesn't work, I prefer to hear soft and slow music or instrumental, it never fails to help me relax.
As a long-haul truck driver, I spend about 90% of my time away from home and sleeping in my truck. I have a TV, DVD, X-box, fridge, microwave and most of the comforts of home. But that being said, I do miss sleeping in my own bed at home and waking up to the sounds of songbirds and deer braying rather than the stunned fuck in the truck parked next to me that has to idle his truck all night!!!
The only tips that I can offer is to make your short term lodging as comfortable to you as possible. Adjust the heat/AC as best you can. Even with the Temp control devices on, crack open a window if you can to get more fresh air and maybe a natural breeze. Take a hot shower (as hot as you can stand it, after all.... your not paying the water bill) and then just before exiting, turn it to full cold and let the frigid water cascade over you for a few seconds. Not only does this stimulate endorphins, it will calm your heart rate down thus allowing for a more restful sleep cycle.
Oh yeah.. Try some white noise in the background. Maybe it's too quiet in a modern highrise hotel or too loud with noises that you are unaccustomed to. A TV turned to an off air channel will drown out most odd noises.
For about 20 years, I travelled for work, both internationally and nationally. I relied on melatonin. One word of caution - you have to find the right dose. I am really sensitive to it and only take about half a 3 mg pill. If I take too much, ill drag all the next day. I have friends that will take 3 or 4 pills and still notbe able to sleep.
Red is the color of sex and signs that say Do Not Enter
The best thing to hear in the middle of the night - Lick Me
The earth is my bed, ruling is my pillow
Someone has to be the Villain
These days when I am away from home it is the other person in the bed who tends to keep me awake, or to wake me up -- come to think of it the same thing happens when there is another person in the bed and I am sleeping at home!
