TRAVEL can seriously mess with our sleep. Jane Chung from sleep and meditation app Calm shares her advice for successfully snoozing on the move.
:: Bring your own 'sleep travel kit': This contains everything from my sleep mask and earplugs to a room thermometer, melatonin pills (for jet lag), blue-light-blocking glasses (for regulating light exposure) and electrical tape to cover any blinking lights in the hotel room.
:: Make the room familiar: Bring your own pillow or, if that's not practical, your own pillowcase and favourite pyjamas. Bringing a familiar scent can help, too. I also use my Calm app to play white or pink noise, which blocks out annoying sounds and has been shown to aid sleep, but also helps recreate what I have at home. If that's not enough, I use ear plugs.
:: Get enough light during the day: Exposing ourselves to daylight helps regulate our circadian rhythms, which in turn, helps us sleep better.
:: Avoid light at night: Equally important is avoiding light, especially blue light, at night. Darkness helps us produce melatonin, 'the sleep hormone' that tells our body it's time to sleep. Starting from roughly three hours before bedtime, I wear sunglasses when outside, blue-light glasses inside. If the room still isn't dark enough, wear an eye-mask.
:: Keep it cool: A low core body temperature helps with falling and staying asleep. To achieve this, the room temperature should be around 18C.
:: Meditate: Meditation can help you sleep by lowering levels of cortisol, the body's main stress hormone. I usually do a 10-minute unguided meditation before bed, but others may prefer a guided meditation on an app like Calm.
:: Limit liquids before bed: Stop drinking liquids an hour before bed to lessen the need to visit the toilet at night.
:: Jane Chung is a senior software engineer at Calm, the sleep and meditation app (calm.com).
