Nodding off in a new place can be troublesome in any event, even for the individuals who rarely struggle to sleep well.
Pair an unusual bed with an unknown spot with various sounds and scents and you may wind up with an eager night.
Sadly, this circumstance regularly harmonizes with an inconvenient time to pass up sleep, like while in the midst of a holiday or work trip.
Great quality sleep is crucial to awakening feeling invigorated and stimulated, ready to take on the world in a new environment away from home.
Beneath we’ll disclose why we will in general sleep inadequately on the first night in another spot, and talk about some accommodating tips to get a decent night’s sleep in spite of being in a new area.
The first night effect not able to sleep.
While you are resting comfortably on your hotel bed and wondering why you can’t drift off into sleep, consider the fact that the inability to sleep in a new place is so common that therapeutic experts have a term for it.
This phenomenon is commonly referred to as the first night effect which is essentially someone’s inability to fall asleep in an environment that is unknown to them.
If you suffer from this, you are not alone and there are millions of people just like you who go through this exact same thing every day.
When researching this phenomenon, researchers discovered something very intriguing.
They found that the subjects were so anxious the first night that they completely discarded all information they obtained in the first night and only started following instructions from the second night onward.
Subjects in the research took an average of 17 minutes to drift off to sleep on the first night compared to 10 minutes on the second night.
REM sleep too way delayed in the first night as it took about 20 minutes longer to get to the first REM cycle on the first night compared to the second.
Wakefulness was also measured and found to be over 30 minutes for the first night while it was only around 10 minutes for the second night.
The scientific explanation for this can be found in our evolutionary process. It stems from the built in instinct to protect ourselves when we are in a new environment.
The study also found that while we are sleeping in a new environment, it is not uncommon for one hemisphere of our brain to be extra vigilant just to make sure that our surroundings are safe for us to be in.
Due to this extra vigilance, we tend to wake up more often in the first night someplace new than we normally would and are usually more sensitive to noises, lighting and minor movements.
Why it is so hard to sleep in a new place.
This interrupted sleep cycle can be the beginning of an unwanted cycle of bad sleep and daytime tiredness.
Also known as fragmented sleep, it often leads to feeling lethargic during the day which is not the feeling you would want if you’re out vacationing or on a business trip.
People will often compensate for this tiredness by drinking copious amounts of caffeine, taking naps during the day or drinking alcohol in hopes of improving sleep.
But these will often worsen the problem and will also destroy your second night sleep.
Sleeping poorly for several nights in a row can lead to sleep deprivation.
It has the potential to decrease our efficiency, hamper our workplace performance, compromise the brain’s ability to function properly and adversely impact the immune system.
Tips for overcoming the first night effect.
Below we’ve complied a helpful list of tips and tricks that can help you overcome the first night effect and get the much deserved full night’s rest in an unfamiliar place.
Breathing exercises:
The number one reason for you not being able to sleep in a new place is because you are anxious and slow deep breathing can calm your mind down. Lay on your back with your arms to the side, relax, and focus on your breathing.
Let go of your surroundings and the ambient noise that’s around you and just concentrate on your breathing pattern. This alone will ease you into a feeling of sleepiness.
This will also calm your mind down thus increasing muscle relaxation and oxygen flow which are essential to a good night’s sleep.
Stick to your regular routine:
Following the same routine that you do when you’re at home can go a long way in signaling to your brain that it is time to sleep regardless of your surroundings.
A routine like that would include heading to bed around the time you regularly do and also following through with your regular habits before bed such as brushing your teeth or light reading.
Get some exercise:
Staying active and exercising during the day can actually help you sleep sooner and more effectively.
Try and exercise in the sun which will effectively tire out your body while also keeping your circadian rhythm in check so that come bedtime, you will automatically feel sleepy and not have much trouble drifting off to sleep.
Pack some accessories:
Some sleep accessories can go a long way in improving your sleep quality and you should take care to always carry them with you when going someplace new.
Earphones, for example, are wonderful to cancel out noise that can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night. Find out what we think are the best headphones for sleeping here.
Similarly, night masks are essential in blocking out unwanted light that may be coming through your hotel windows or from below the door.
Try white noise machines:
White noise has been reported to be a great sleeping aid and can be very useful when you are in new surroundings.
White noise is calm, ambient background noise that calms your mind and blocks unwanted external noise from disturbing your sleep.
Carrying a portable white noise machine is ideal when you are travelling to counter those external disturbances but if you are unsure about its effectiveness, you can also try out several free applications that you can download on your phone and play back through your earphones.
No worries we did a article on them. Here are five of the best White noise machines you can get.
Limit blue light:
Blue is the brightest wavelength of our visible light spectrum and electronics such as TV and cell phones emit blue light through their screens.
Exposure to blue light just before going to bed has adverse effects on our body since the body is unable to produce melatonin, which is a natural hormone that induces sleep, and thus hinders our ability to drift off to sleep easily.
Over exposure to blue light before going to bed regularly can also cause sleep deprivation which is detrimental to your general health and needs corrective measures to be implemented immediately without which it can turn into a medical condition.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed:
Caffeine is known to be effective in helping us stay wakeful so drinking coffee before bed is a terrible idea if you want a good night’s sleep. Caffeine should be limited to at least 8 hours before bed.
The same goes with alcohol. A lot of people wrongfully believe that alcohol can help in aiding them to sleep better whereas the truth of the matter is that although alcohol can induce a feeling of being sleepy, you won’t have quality, continuous sleep under the influence of alcohol.
This leads to you waking up the next morning fatigued and often with a headache which is not the best feeling in the morning.
Relax your body and mind:
It is essential that when you go to bed, your body and mind is as relaxed as they can be.
People achieve this relaxation through various ways: some shower before bed, some sip warm tea while others prefer to read something light before retiring into bed for the night.
Find what works best for you and develop it into a ritual so that your body knowns that it’s time to unwind and get prepared to sleep.
Conclusion.
Sleeping poorly and waking up in the middle of the night is very common when you are in a new place and your mind is hyper alert.
This usually subsides by the second or third day but the first couple of days are challenging to say the least while you adjust to your surroundings.
The best way to combat the first night effect is to reassure your body and mind that everything is alright and you are in no imminent danger, You can do that by repeating your same routines that you do at home, blocking out unwanted sounds by using a noise cancelling earphone and using a face mask to block out light that may have seeped through and can potentially disturb your sleep.
You can also help yourself get better sleep by getting some exercise during the day, avoiding alcohol and caffeine consumption and practicing some deep breathing exercises that will calm your body and mind down thus allowing you to drift into sleep more effectively.
Related questions.
Can I exercise before bedtime?
Exercising before bedtime is not a good idea since exercising makes you hyper alert and you will be in no condition to sleep with your heart racing and oxygenated blood pumping through your veins.
Exercising it’s a good idea but should be done at least 4 hours before bedtime so that when it’s time to go to bed, your body is calm and you are tired enough to fall asleep from the exercises that you’ve done before.