Catching an early flight soon? If so, you might be wondering how you can best get to sleep to ensure you’re not exhausted by the time you reach your destination.
For some, before travel your mind is racing with last-minute things you need to do or excitement for what lies ahead. Many of us experience travel insomnia and struggle to fall asleep when you know you’ve got to get up early the next day.
Go to bed earlier
The most obvious thing to do is go to bed earlier the night before your flight. In practice however, this may be one of the most difficult things to do as you’ll need to be very well organised to ensure you’re not doing any last-minute packing or chores.
If you’re travelling with family or friends, you’ll also likely need to convince them to go to sleep earlier too - and this can be easier said than done with young children.
Stay closer to the airport
An alternative to having to go to bed earlier may be staying closer to the airport. While you’ll still need to wake up early for your flight, by being close to the airport or even staying at the airport you might be able to cut down on your commute time.
This in turn means you can get more precious sleep time before your travel, and getting to the airport is one less thing to worry about when you’re trying to fall asleep. Remember, the goal here is to reduce the amount of things you’re stressing about before you go to sleep.
Wake up earlier the day before your early flight
This might sound counter-intuitive, but consider waking up much earlier than you usually would the day before your flight. This should encourage sleep by helping to ensure that you’re starting to feel more tired in the evening.
Alternatively, if you want to wake up at your usual time the day before then consider going to bed later the night prior. Remember, the ultimate goal here is to reduce the amount of sleep you’re having the day prior to your travel to increase your sleepiness in the evening.
Note however that if you’re doing lots of driving or a dangerous activity on the day prior to your flight, then this probably isn’t the best option for you. You’ll want to be as refreshed and alert as possible.
Read, but avoid technology
One way to encourage sleep is to avoid looking at technology for an hour or two prior to your bedtime. This means putting your phone aside, and switching off the television.
At the same time, reading before sleep is a great way to calm your mind and distract you from the perceived pressure of needing to fall asleep. Just make sure you read on a passive device such as an e-reader or find a physical book, newspaper or magazine.
Exercise during the day prior
Another great way to fall asleep early is to tire yourself out via exercise the day prior to your departure. Whether you go for a run, swim, yoga or a gym session - the key here is to be active to encourage tiredness later in the day. Even an activity as simple as a walk can help.
Just keep in mind that you don’t want to over exercise - the last thing you want is to injure yourself with travel planned the next day.
Avoid coffee and eat healthy
Caffeine adversely impacts your adenosine and melatonin levels. These are two key chemicals that are important for you to sleep well.
If you often drink coffee before bed, consider not drinking it in the evening prior to your departure. In fact, some studies have shown that you shouldn’t drink it for more than 8 hours prior to your sleep.
Also consider eating lots of vegetables the day before your early flight. If you’re already travelling, we’ve created a guide to ensuring you eat enough vegetables. Other foods such as Kiwi fruit can also help with falling asleep faster.
Be prepared
One of the most common causes of insomnia is stress. To help alleviate this, don’t leave all your packing to the last minute! Instead, be as prepared for your travel as possible so that your mind isn’t racing with last-minute tasks to complete while you’re trying to fall asleep.
As mentioned above, if possible consider staying as close to the airport so that the commute time is shorter. It’s also safer, as it’s not a great idea to be driving long distances while still waking up early in the morning.
One other tip we’ve found particularly useful - keep a pen and paper near your bed, so if you do think of any last-minute items to complete when you wake up you can write it down instantly. That way you won’t forget the next morning, and it’s one less thing to worry about when trying to fall asleep.
Sleep on the plane
If all else fails and you still can’t fall asleep, just remember that you do have a flight planned for the next day.
While it’s not as refreshing or as comfortable as sleeping in a bed, you can always sleep on the plane and still get some shut-eye before arriving at your destination.