Travel Tips for Light Sleepers

One of my first apartments in New York City was located next to an elevated section of the subway in Queens. Several times an hour, twenty-four hours a day, I would hear the train rattling by on the tracks and my room would shake a little as a result. And somehow I wasn't bothered by this even a tiny bit. I was younger and I slept so soundly that even my roommate slamming the heavy metal gate, just outside my window, would not wake me up.

Sigh… how I miss that time. My sleep patterns would never be as good ever since.

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How I Became a Light Sleeper

My next apartment happened to be under flight paths to LaGuardia airport. The real estate broker who showed it to me did so twice in the same mid-morning hour – when the sky was clear from planes. After I moved in, I also discovered traffic jams on a nearby street were a source of a lot of early morning honking. Eleven months (too late) later I gave up trying to live with the noise and moved to Brooklyn but I by that point I already became a light sleeper.

The Challenge of Budget Travel Sleeping

Vacations can have a great effect on light-sleeping problems. Taking a break from the stress of a daily routine and spending relaxing days in some exotic location could temporarily undo bad sleeping habits.

But when it comes to extended (budget) travel it is not always the case. If you find it hard to sleep in your home environment it will probably be even harder to sleep in a foreign one that keeps changing every few days and is full of new disturbances.

Being a light sleeper has made traveling extra challenging for me and at times forced me to be picky about accommodation. I prefer not to sleep in dorms for this reason, if I can help it.

But I can't always help it and over the years I had to learn ways to help me sleep better when I travel... or even when I am just back home. I hope the following tips will help you get some better ZZZ on the road and enjoy a more energetic and invigorating travel experience.

If you want the TDLR version you can skip to the summary at the end.

Fan Out the Noise

I am no big fan (pun intended) of air conditioners. They can make a room too cold and dry for my sinuses. Whenever I can, I try to sleep just with a fan.

Even if there isn’t one in offered by my accommodation I always ask if a small electric fan can be provided. This also sometimes get a discount on the room, since I am using less electricity. I just give the AC’s remote to the owner/manager to show I have no intensions of using it.

Aside from ventilation, I like fans because they produce a natural white noise that is great at masking out disturbances. Sure, you can get a white sound machine or a mobile app for that (see below), but for me nothing really compares to the real thing.

Put a fan between you and a source of noise and it gives you a mini sound barrier, muffling it to tolerable levels. I have used this trick countless times. One of the more memorable times was in El-Nido. Cockfighting is kind of a national sport in the Philippines. The neighbor living next to my guesthouse had over a dozen roosters that started going every morning at around 3 AM. Combining earplugs with a strong fan that I placed near my bed allowed me to survive my few days there.

Curtain out the Light

Hostel dorms can present opportunities to get to know other travelers, but for light sleepers they are not the most fun places to get a good shut eye. It’s not only the snoring or that guy waking up at 5 am to pack his stuff in plastic bags, but those people coming back late at night and turning on the lights (or even those more considerate ones who still accidentally flash their smartphone light in your eyes).

You can use a sleeping mask to help with this and more hostels have curtains installed in their bunk bed, which also increases your sense of privacy.

If your hostel bed doesn’t have a curtain, simply improvise one. You do need to get the bottom bunk for that. Ask the hostel for an extra blanket or two and hang them from the top bunk by tucking them under the top mattress.

Make sure to run the blanket behind the ladder to the top bunk to avoid blocking access to it. You may also want to ask permission from the person in the top bunk, although most people don’t mind.

This may not work in a hot dorm room, since it creates a tent-like space and cuts air circulation. You may want to just curtain a section of your bunk in this case. On the other hand, a full curtain is great for dealing with a freezing air condition.

Hostels won’t always have extra blankets, so ask for extra bed sheets instead. They won’t block out the light as well, but it’s still better than nothing.

Earplugs – get the Right Fit

Earplugs are one of those don't-leave-home-without travel items. The thing is that ear canals come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Hence, the disposable earplugs available in your local pharmacy may not have the best fit which reduces their effectiveness... or they may just fall out.

To find the best fitting earplugs I ordered a trial package from The Earplug Superstore. There are several of those packages with up to 45 different types of earplugs. Once you find a few specific models you like you can order a bunch.

Even the Earplugs that I felt fit my ears the best would fall out in the middle of the night sometimes. But one type of Earplugs I like is the 3M Classic SuperFit. They are made of PVC – a textured spongy material. They are much less likely to slip out compared to smoother Urethane foam earplugs. I think they also allow better ventilation of your inner ear. The trial packs have similar models from other brands. Their drawback is that they are slightly less comfortable. I like to alternate between them and regular Urethane earplugs.

Silicon (or wax) earplugs are a superior alternative, in my opinion. The silicon really molds to the shape of your ear canal to offer better sealing and you can flatten them so they don't stick out . They provide better sound blocking, are more comfortable, and they just don't fall out. The one drawback is that they are sticky and pick up dirt quickly, making them less ideal for traveling. A pair would probably only last a few nights, and unlike disposable earplugs you can't wash the dirt out. I still carry one pack just in case I need extra sound blocking. A few packs can last a few weeks.

Two more expensive options are getting custom molded earplugs. You can either send your ear impressions to a lab or try the cheaper do-it-yourself option. I haven't tried those myself, but I think it would be a good investment.

White Out the Noise

If earplugs don’t do the trick for you and you don’t want to bother with getting a fan (which is certainly less practical in dorms), then you may want to consider white noise generator to mask out disturbances.

No need to carry a dedicated machine as you can easily download white noise apps for iOS or Android. I use Relaxio and BetterSleep. The problem is smartphones' internal speakers, loud as they may be, just don’t surround you with white noise. I always feel it comes from one direction, and subconsciously it feels artificial.

Earbuds are one solution for that. There are high-end ones dedicated just for sleep and white noise, like these Bose model, but you can also use just any Bluetooth earbuds if they are small and flat enough. Comfort may still be an issue, I just don’t like plastic objects inside my ear while I lay my head down.

I use a cheaper more practical solution – flat speakers that come inside a soft headband that can even double as an eye mask. There are wireless or cheaper wired choices. The wireless lasts about 6 hours per charge. If you want to sleep longer get the wired ones.

Flat headband speakers are a comfortable alternative for earbuds

It goes without saying that if you are playing white noise from your phone, you should turn off all audio notifications and alerts to avoid disturbances. The easiest way to do this is to turn on airplane mode, which will also save you some battery.

Turn off Your Phone and Get a Vibrating Wristwatch

If you are not using your phone to play white noise, consider turning it off completely during the night. It will help put your mind more at ease instead of subconsciously thinking of any incoming communication.

After all, it may not be night in your original country and your friends and family may call you or send you messages. Sure, you can use airplane mode, but if you turn off your phone you allow yourself to completely disconnect from your digital life.

Of course, if you are in a dorm there will be other people with phones around you. I am not suggesting you ask them to turn them off, but it is OK to ask that they mute them overnight. You may be thinking you don’t want to appear as that uncool nagging person but heavy sleepers are not even aware that their phones may be disturbing you or other people. If you don’t ask them politely you are the one who will lose sleep over it.

If you use your phone as an alarm clock, go back to an old-fashioned digital wrist watch to wake you up. To be considerate to the other people in a dorm you can buy a vibrating alarm watch. I have been using Timex Expedition Vibration Alarm for years. It has large comfortable digits, three different alarms, and other cool features. The wristband only lasted a year before drying and breaking. I replaced it with a silicon one that is more flexible and rugged.

There is also this newer shockproof version (a bit too big for my taste). I also tried Casio Super Illuminator Vibration Alarm but found the illumination feature overwhelming at night. It's really like staring at a flashlight. Women may prefer the Vibralite brand which has several models.

Why not just use a smartwatch? Because their displays emit blue light that will have negative effect on your sleep quality any time you check the time (see more about blue light next). Admittedly the exposure here is much lower than when using a smartphone, but it still not good for your sleep. There are some smartwatches nowadays, like Mobovoi Tic Watch, that have dual display – AMOLED display like your smartphone and an LCD display like old digital watches. You switch to the LCD at night to avoid blue light. Other interesting alternatives to avoid blue light are eInk/ePaper watches that have the same eye and sleep friendly display like an eReader.

Avoid Blue Light

Speaking of turning off your phone... this will also help you avoid blue light at night. In a nutshell, studies have shown that blue light coming from computer screens and smartphones (or your smartwatch) mess up your natural sleep cycle.

This happens because the spectrum of the sun’s light during daytime is also blue. Our brains are wired in such a way that blue light makes us more awake and alert. A blue light from an artificial source confuses your brain and makes it harder for you to fall asleep. On the other hand, the red light of a sunset makes us more sleepy and relaxed.

You can combat blue light by installing filtering apps on your smartphone or computer. I use Twilight for my Android devices and F.Lux for my PC. They automatically adjust the color temperature of the screen to reddish hue at night. It takes a bit of time getting used to but soon enough you will find nonfiltered screens harsh and unpleasant to look at.

Improvement in my sleep with these apps was not as noticeable as I hoped for since light in general, even reddish one, can still wake you up. But regardless this is so much better for your eyes, that installing these is a no-brainer.

If you want to avoid blue light completely but need to do digital stuff at night then consider investing in an eReader. With many models now based on Android OS and faster screen refresh technology, these are practically black-and-white tablets. You can even watch Youtube videos on them at a nearly full frame rate. Some brands, like Kobo and Pocketbook, use Linux. It is not as easy installing apps on them but they still come with basic web browsing and online capabilities and offer better battery performance.

I own the Onyx Boox Nova Pro, which I think is the closest thing to a real tablet. See my my travel experience and review of it here.

By their nature, electronic ink screens don’t project any light and are equivalent to reading a printed paper. To read at night you need an external light source, just like you would with a book.

Newer models now come with built-in optional lights, but it is your choice if you want to use it and most models offer temperature adjustment for a reddish sleep-supportive light (my Onyx has more of a yellowish light). Strangely the biggest player, Amazon’s Kindle, was very late to offer light color adjustment and had only built-in blue light. But their models have finally caught on.

For as much as you control your own digital devices color temperature, blue light is still very hard to avoid. You can keep a distance from that giant flat-screen TV in your hostel or hotel room. But there are blue light digital signs everywhere and fellow travelers may have their phones on full blast blue-light brightness.

You just can’t control the world, but you can put on blue light filtering glasses. I use the Blueblocker Viper and another pair from Spectra479 and I love them. They paint the world with a soft amber color which is very pleasant and relaxing. The Viper are darker and blocks the light better, but when I work with fine details I prefer the Specrta479. Try them both, or other brands, to see what works best for you.

It's not a problem walking with either outside at night and seeing well enough with just street lights. They are not expensive and they are stylish in a hipsterish kind of way. I did try another brand that was just lightly yellow-tinted. Despite being much more expensive (they were custom made) I felt they were making very little, if no, difference.

Boost your B12

Studies have tied the B12 vitamin to the sleep cycle in humans. It transforms Serotonin (a neurotransmitter responsible for waking up and alertness) into melatonin (Known as the “sleep” hormone and responsible for regulating the sleep cycle).

Of course, with science there are always contradicting studies. But taking vitamin B12 supplements, I can certainly tell you I have experienced deeper and more restful sleep.

Vitamin B12 natural sources include fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, and dairy products.

Breakfast cereals may be fortified with it. It is on an extended budget journey (featuring too much rice and pasta) that one can start developing B12 deficiency, which also causes fatigue and lightheadedness.

Even budget-friendly destinations or travelers with a more diverse travel nutrition may find themselves in places where B12-rich nutrition is just not available. My 3 weeks long (each) Anaprurna and Everest region treks are such examples. There were a few opportunities to have Yak meat and cheese along the way, but it was mostly carbohydrates and garlic (believed to help with altitude sickness). The celebratory steaks in Phokara and Kathmandu I had after finishing the treks were also a much-welcome B12 and protein recharge.

The cheapest and easiest solution is to carry B12 supplement pills. With most, you don’t even need water. Just hold a pill under your tongue until it dissolves. This is the best way for the vitamin to get absorbed.

Also even if you are on a tight travel budget, do try occasionally to add sardines or tuna to that rice and pasta.

Travel with a Sleeping Pad

Sleep quality of course depends on the quality of the mattress and many times, while traveling, that quality may be questionable.

I carry an inflatable sleeping pad because I like to hike and trek, but honestly I have used it much more in hostels and hotels than out in nature. When a mattress is too hard I the pad helps make it softer. When a mattress is too soft and sinks in the middle, my fully inflated pad “fills” it and makes it firmer.

So even if you are not a hiker, a sleeping pad can make a huge difference in the comfort of your travel experience.

The most comfortable pads, in my opinion, are the self-inflating ones. I have been using the Therm-a-Rest Prolite Plus (and its previous versions) for well over ten years. Such pads contain a foam that expands by itself, saving you the hassle of having to blow (a lot of) air inside. The foam itself makes them softer and more balanced. The drawback is they are heavier and bigger when packed. Not exactly a light packer’s first choice.

Regular inflating pads are lighter and much smaller. Obviously, they take more effort to inflate, but you can get a tiny pump or even a storage sack that doubles as a pump. I personally don’t like them as much because I feel the air shifts around inside and makes them less balanced. To combat this, manufacturers construct them with more air compartments, which I find less comfortable.

One model that combines the two approaches is Therm-a-Rest Evolite. It is very thick, but still relatively light. The concept is great in theory, but I just felt it suffers from the same air-balancing issues of regular inflating pads. Perhaps more so because it doesn’t have air compartments. Some users have reported construction issues with glue coming off the internal foam. As much as I am loyal to Therm-a-Rest I can’t recommend this one.

If you want to save weight/space I would suggest getting a thinner self-inflating pad over a thicker inflating one. My lighter self-inflating choice is Sea to Summit Ultralight SI Mat, which I tested for a couple of weeks. But ultimately I felt the comfort of the Therm-a-Rest (or other thicker self-inflating models) justifies its extra weight and bulk.

Meditate to Calm Your Restless Monkey Mind

Sometime, being a light sleeper, is about the noise in your head or about getting angry with noise around you rather than how much any noise bothers you.

It's those thoughts about past regret or future consequences that just won’t leave you alone. Or being angry and frustrated with feeling helpless about a barking dog, construction noise, or someone snoring in your dorm room. It’s even worse if you conceive someone as being inconsiderate like a neighbor dragging furniture around late at night. No matter what the cause the result is a restless mind that can’t fall asleep.

Meditation and mindfulness is not a magic solution, but it can help to a degree that depends on your level of commitment. Meditation will help you become less emotionally involved with all of those troubling thoughts, allowing you to detach yourself from them, calm your mind, and have a better chance of falling asleep.

Sound awesome, right? Well, all you got to do is stop thinking! At least that is the wrong approach me and many other beginners take when we start meditating.

A catch-22 is that when you don’t get enough sleep your mind tends to be more scattered, making the focus needed for meditation harder to achieve.

I got introduced to the concept of Zen, mindfulness, and being present, after reading Dan Millman’s Way of the Peaceful Warrior. The cover claimed it is a book that changes life. As skeptical as I was it did open my eyes to how little I see of the world because of the constant noise in my mind – a mind that is often compared to a monkey jumping all over the place. The book indeed changed my life, only to make me very frustrated about my inability to take charge of my mind.

To deal with my “monkey mind” I realized I will have to take meditation classes. I found a meditation center in Manhattan and started participating 45 minute long sessions where we focused on our breathing. While I liked the teacher, I wrongly perceived his instructions and tried to stop thinking (probably because of my mistaken notions about meditation). After a few futile classes I just gave up. I felt meditation is just not for me and I wished I had never discovered the book "that changes life". Ignorance is bliss, right?

The only time I was able to calm my mind was during physical activity like yoga and (especially) rock climbing, where a scattered mind means you fall down. But active meditation kept failing me.

One day, many years later, I accidentally heard a simple perspective-changing short lecture on the radio. It explained meditation is not about stopping thoughts but rather about quietly observing them. Even more important was the idea that it is OK to meditate for 30 seconds or even 10 seconds at a time. Just count from 1 to 10. Take baby steps before trying 45 minutes marathon.

Finally, I had some success. I realized I had to find short guided meditation sessions. Talking about coincidence… just at about the same time I noticed an ad for the Headspace meditation app. With Headspace I could meditate for as little as 3 minutes at a time anywhere I wanted.

The philosophy of Headspace and its co-founder, Andy Puddicombe, is not fighting your thoughts but just not getting involved with them. In one of their many excellent short videos, there is the analogy of sitting by a busy road and calmly watching your thoughts (represented by cars) passing by instead of running into the road and becoming anxious about the traffic. You can try Headspace first ten sessions for free to see if it works for you.

I feel I still have a long way to go before I can achieve a truly calm mind. Perhaps it’s just more difficult with our modern hectic life. Andy and Headspace keep saying it takes a lot of practice and persistence.

While I am not a Zen master just yet (or a fan of Phil Jackson, for any of you basketball fans), I did significantly improve my ability to catch myself from obsessing over thoughts. I now have this little voice in my head reminding me to watch the monkey jumping around or the cars passing by instead of trying to chase them. It’s almost becoming an instinct.

When it comes to sleep this instinct has helped me make good progress about achieving some degree of indifference to bothering thoughts, annoying noises, or the inconsiderate people who generate them. I feel much less emotional about those disturbances and sometimes I can just listen to them as if they were not any different than calming ocean waves. After all, noise is a matter of perspective – I can fall a sleep in a noisy airport full of talking people, but I am awakened by one person speaking in the corridor next to my hotel room.

A side benefit to my newfound appreciation of meditation is that I also take a calmer approach to the occasional challenges of traveling. Long-term traveling in itself has a Zen-like quality. When you spend months on the roads you get used to not thinking (or even knowing) where you will find yourself the next day, so you just focus on the present moment and becomes happier.

To ease yourself into meditating, try to do your first sessions during or just after a time when you can find relative relaxation from distractions. For me, it's going to a good movie, a good workout, or after taking a very hot shower.

Stretch to Relax

An alternative to meditation or to complement it, a few minutes of stretching can be a wonderful way to distract a busy mind.

Physical activity in general is great for sleeping as it reduces stress. As a traveler, you should be already getting enough of it. However, it is not recommended to exercise 2-3 hours before bedtime because it releases hormones that make you more awake. There are claims this is just a myth, but personally I think there is some truth to this.

Instead of intense exercising, you can try a few minutes of stretching in bed when you start realizing it may be one of those nights. It will give your mind a chance to focus on something else other than those troubling thoughts. Your stretched muscles will also signal your mind to relax. It is surprisingly simple and switches your mind to a more sleep-ready state.

Hold all stretches for 30-60 seconds or for as long or as little as comfortable, especially if you have some medical limitations. You can count the seconds, which is another good distraction for your mind.

1) The basic stretch is lying on your back, bending your legs, and wrapping your arms around them. You can also do one leg at a time. Make this a bit more challenging by lifting your head toward your knees.

2) Similar to the first, except that you bend your leg with your knee coming across your body pulling it with the opposite hand.

3) Lift one leg at a time toward the ceiling, holding it with your hand as close to your foot as possible. This one requires some flexibility.

4) Lie on your stomach. Stretch your arms forward. Lift your head, one arm, and the opposite leg. Then switch arms and legs. Be careful with this one as it puts pressure on your back and neck.

5) A yoga child’s pose.

Credit goes to Sara Beth Yoga for the stretching idea. Her short video here explains three sleep stretches. She’s got a bunch of longer ones about yoga for sleep.

Pinch your Nose. Touch your Face

There is something relaxing about wearing sunglasses and tuning out the world a little bit. Since daylight makes your brain more awake, dimming it can theoretically make you able to sleep better.

But what I came to realize is that it’s not just about reduced light exposure, but about the light pressure that sunglasses put on the bridge of your nose. There is some stress-reducing quality to it, and it’s no wonder that people who try to relieve stress or a headache message this area.

Try this... just close your eyes and grasp the bridge of your nose with as little or as much pressure as you feel comfortable. Breathe slowly and focus on the pinching sensation. Do you feel how it grounds you and makes you feel centered?... pointing your attention inward, which is where you want to be when you try to sleep.

If this doesn’t work for you, you can try pressing your forehead, your temples, or maybe just touching your mouth. It’s about connecting with the sensation of touch and finding relaxation in it, which can be hard to do just on a mental level.

Sleep Diet

I do believe in the phrase “you are what you eat” and I will extend on it and say that “you sleep what you eat”. Your diet has a huge impact on the quality and duration of your shut-eye. There are many foods that you should eat or avoid to help you sleep better.

As a traveler, you may not always have a choice about your culinary options, but you can always decide about timing and quantities. And one of the best tips for better sleep is having a lighter dinner that is easy to digest and having it early, at least 2-3 hours before bedtime.

It’s true that a heavy dinner may make you feel sleepy. But stuffing yourself also makes your digestive system work harder, increasing blood flow and stomach acid secretion. Basically, you are putting your body into a high gear just when you want it to slow down.

The same is true for eating too close to bedtime as it signals your digestive system to start working harder. Also since the digestive system works better in an upright position, lying down soon after a meal will make it work harder.

Now this is very individual and a definite exception, from what I read, is for people with low blood sugar who should eat something small closer to bedtime to maintain sugar levels. Anyone who goes to bed hungry may cause their liver to increase glucose production, decreasing sleep quality. Not to mention the hunger sensation makes falling asleep harder.

Speaking of glucose, you should skip that dessert at night. Sugar is an essential energy source but in general, it is one of the worst enemies of a good night's sleep. Even if you manage to dose off, sugar will prevent you from having a deep satisfying sleep and you will feel tired and unenergetic the next day.

It’s hard to avoid sugar at all, as it is found in too many processed food and even your pasta sauce and bread has it. Even (surprise) lemons do! Your body also converts carbohydrates into sugar but thankfully pasta and many other carbohydrates have a low glycemic value.

This means the sugar-conversion process takes longer and won’t affect you like eating foods that contain actual sugar. In other words, try to eat sugar-free foods, but if you can't then at least have foods with low glycemic value.

Carbohydrates are also generally easier to digest compared to proteins. And there are studies about rice, especially Jasmine rice, that show it helps people fall asleep faster. It is suggested that rice helps get amino acids into the brain which are essential to sleep. Personally, I do feel I sleep deeper after eating Jasmine rice, but at the same time I wake up early. I assume that it’s a bit of a double edge sword. Those amino acids help me sleep, but once the rice is converted to sugar it wakes me up sooner than I want to. I think this quality for quantity is a good trade-off. Eating a smaller portion kind of helps balance this.

If this does work for you, great. Rice, in particular, is one food travelers can easily find almost anywhere. I always buy and carry a small bag in my backpack when I reach my destination, alongside a pack of instant ramen noodles for those occasions I end up in a place where there is nothing available to eat.

While there is no clear verdict on rice, I have no problem recommending lettuce, especially romaine lettuce. Lactucarium is a nutrient which is said to induce sleep, and promote relaxation... and is found only in lettuce. Who would imagine that? That’s just another good reason to eat salad. And I think it works, especially if you eat the base of the stem where the nutrient is concentrated.

While we are on the subject of super green foods… you should avoid eating broccoli (or Brussels sprouts or cauliflower) at night because it can cause bloating and its slow-to-digest fiber will keep your body working hard.

Not counting turkey, other foods that contain nutrients that help you sleep include almonds, milk, cherries (I buy dried non-sweetened ones when I can), pistachios and walnuts, chickpeas (or hummus), and oatmeal. The latter is rich in melatonin and very travel friendly. I do carry a bag sometimes instead of rice. It’s not the most exciting food on its own, but I like to mix it with egg and milk and fry it to a crunchy-tasting omelet.

To my surprise, I also found that bananas can be included in this list. Despite their sweetness, they contain potassium and magnesium which are natural muscle relaxants. This means it's better to have bananas in the evening and not in the morning. I eat them in the late afternoon to have their sugar digested before I go to sleep. Last but not least, I like to have a cup of sugar-free herbal Chamomile tea – another known sleep and relaxation inducer.

Food that you want to avoid for better sleeping includes the usual suspects of greasy, oily, sugary, and spicy food as well as caffeinated drinks (remember that some tea has more caffeine than coffee). Alcohol may make you sleepy, but its physiological effects rob you of deep-quality sleep, making you feel groggy the next day. It also dehydrates you and should be especially avoided in hot weather.

Sleeping Pills – Go for Low Dosage or Natural

When I started having my sleeping problems sleeping pills seemed like a magical solution. It amazed me how I would drift off to such a seemingly deep sleep that I could be unbothered by any noises or disturbances.

Of course, the problem with sleeping pills is that many brands leave you drowsy the next day. I felt there was no difference in how poorly I would be able to operate without sleep or under the effects of a sleeping pill. When I would finally recover from the drowsiness I felt I would become alert just when I actually needed to slow down again... leading to the temptation of taking another pill.

I’ve tried many brands and did find some that had milder side effects like Sleepinal. Recently a doctor also recommended a generic brand that had a lower dosage and slow release of the active ingredient. I didn't get a deep sleep with it, but it also had very mild side effects the next day.

Natural sleeping pills or drops (considered food supplements) contain, among other ingredients, Valerian root extract, Chamomile, and even Melatonin. It sounds great on paper but personally, I had a mixed-bag experience with the few brands that I tried. I would get a better sleep than usual, but not a very deep one and would not feel as energetic as I would had if I ate sleep-promoting foods.

I feel some of the other ingredients of those supplements are bad for sleep. German brand Dr. Reckweg drops, for example, contain alcohol. The coating of the Alteril brand pills also has alcohol. Some of them have a sweet taste for some reason.

I would also get good results on the first two-three nights and then I would feel the effects are wearing off. Still, they are probably better than regular sleeping pills for giving you a chance at sleeping with fewer side effects the next morning.

So when should you use a sleeping pill? If you had a spell of bad sleep for a long time you kind of need to reset your system. But at this point, your body almost forgets how to sleep. If eating food that helps you sleep won’t do the trick then a sleeping pill, taken once in a blue moon, could help hit that reset button, even for the mere fact it will give you a one-time break from all those nighttime disturbances. Physically it doesn’t realign your sleep cycle, but it can help you psychologically. Do try to take it on a weekend or at a time that you don’t need to be too alert the next day.

Summary

Eat foods that promote sleeping at least 2-3 hours before bedtime.
Relax your mind with meditation or stretching. Find a grounding sensation with a slight pressure on the bridge of your nose or other face areas.
Make sure to maintain good levels of B12 vitamin.
Make your environment more sleep-friendly by curtaining out light and blocking out noises with a fan or with flat-speakers playing white noise.
Make your budget hostel or hotel bed more comfortable with a sleeping pad.
Get the right fitting earplugs, silicon earplugs, or custom-made ones.
Avoid computer and phones' blue light. Use an eBook reader for web browsing and other digital needs. Get a blue-light-blocking sunglasses.
Disconnect from the disturbances of your digital lifestyle.
Avoid regular use of sleeping pills, but consider having one once in a blue moon if you need a break from a long bad-sleep period.