If there’s a time that your sleep schedule is messed up with, it is when you travel. No matter how fun the trip is, it will mess up your plan when you get on that plane or bus. On a typical day, you are to sleep up to 7 hours.
When you travel, those hours can be cut short due to several factors you may not have planned. But there are ways that you can use to ensure you get enough sleep even when you travel. Here are a few tips that you can use to ensure enough sleep when you travel.
1. Change Tact
You’ll probably need to sleep according to a different schedule where you’re traveling to. So, it would help if you started early preparations. You can begin altering your sleep schedule at least a week before you travel. Find out about the time zone you’ll be traveling to first.
Now, start adjusting your schedule to fit it. For example, if the time zone is three hours ahead, start simple. First, move your plan by an hour for the first few days. Then two days before you travel, move them an hour ahead each.
For example, if you sleep by 9 PM, move your sleep hour to 10 PM. You can then move them ahead to 11 and then 12 the very day before you travel. This will ensure your body adapts to the new sleep schedule.
2. Move Your Body
When you arrive, you want to get to the rhythm as soon as possible. The fastest way you can get to rhythm is to get your body moving. Once you land, for example, you land during the day. Increase your body temperature by performing your daily exercise.
When you work out, you’ll have signaled to your body that it’s time to get going. This will ensure that you get back to the routine quickly. Your sleep time won’t be altered due to lagging from the previous location. And since it can be hard to track how much you sleep, a sleep calculator can help you be sure you’ve got enough sleep in the previous day. Moreover, it will offer recommendations so you can see how much sleep you’re getting vs how much you should be getting.
3. Carry Sunglasses
When you land when the sun is up, it can be challenging to get going. This is because the light exposure will get to your eyes. That can drastically alter your sleep shift rhythms, as you may want to get some shut-eye before you get on with the day.
With the right sunglasses, you can change the brightness of the light. This will bring you closer to the sleeping mode than with bright lights. The idea of using sunglasses is to recreate a closer-to-bedtime feel.
There are times when you travel, and you need to create a different rhythm. When you travel, for example, you can wear sunglasses during the day and land at noon. Here, you’ll be signaling to your eyes it is close to bedtime.
You won’t, however, have to alter the local rhythm. You’ll still manage to go to sleep when everyone else is going to sleep. You can also have the required REM sleep of 7 – 8 hours at night and be on schedule for the next day while fresh for the day.
4. Sync the Schedule
It can be impossible to sleep when everyone is awake, and all activities are in progress unless you’re unwell. Already, you have seen how you can do it when you land in the middle of the day, but how about in the morning? This can be particularly challenging.
When you land in the morning, you, in most cases, want to do what everyone is doing. For example, if people are going out swimming, you’d wish to join them. Here, the best thing you can do to sync up with the local schedule is sleep on the plane.
It can be uncomfortable trying to sleep while on the plane; you need to get as enough sleep as possible. If you adhere to a strict sleep schedule, maybe you want to be on the plane before bedtime. This will ensure that you’re asleep when the plane takes off and not in traffic or check-in – book your flights to fit this schedule.
If you get to your destination when people are asleep, you need to stay awake on the plane. This means that you travel when you’re usually awake or alter your sleep schedule to fit the trip. You can stay awake on the plane watching what’s on offer or get a friend you can talk to.
5. Stick with the Two-day Rule
When you travel, the best thing you can do is ensure you stay at your destination for at least two days. If you’re going to wait for shorter than two days, you won’t have to alter your schedule as much.
When you travel for a shorter period, the other points won’t count as much since your body won’t have to adjust to the new schedule. You’ll be home before your body gets to adapt to the new night or new day as opposed to the norm.
Such short travels are usually for business. You can request for your meetings to be held during your peak hours. You won’t have to struggle much in getting used to the new norm as your body would have been used to the hours you’re using here.
When you’re traveling for a vacation where you’ll be visiting a lot of places, you can also use this. You’ll need to find out what time visiting the sites you’d like to go to would be convenient. When you know, you’ll learn how to plan your trip adequately.
Conclusion
Getting enough sleep while traveling can be one of the most challenging things you can encounter, especially when traveling across different time zones. With adequate preparations, however, you can make your trips worthwhile and still get enough quality sleep. Here are some of the few tips you can use to plan your trip and ensure you get REM sleep. Try this today and you will not regret it!
