I am a bed snob and proud of it! I blame my father, who brought quality mattresses into our household when I was in 4th grade (when he start working at Symbol Mattress). The problem with being a bed snob is that it makes it very difficult to get quality sleep while traveling! So when I have room to pack or am able to change the environment here are the things I need to make my sleep environment top notch:
1. Cool temperatures: This is for sure the highest ranking, must have, and usually the easiest thing to help me get comfy! I need the room cold (and really we all do)! I prefer 60 degrees at night. Our bodies actually are built for sleeping in cooler temperatures. Your body needs to lose heat to induce sleep. The ideal temperature to sleep in is between 60-67 degrees. You can read more about it here.
2. Dark Room: Who doesn't love the black out heavy curtains hotels have? Light can mess with your sleep by disturbing your melatonin production. Melationin is a hormone needed to help you sleep and stay asleep. So when we're staying at a cabin at a campground (because the Miller's don't camp), I bring dark table cloths or old curtains to tack up over the windows.
3. Comfort: A comfortable pillow, nice sheets, and a softer mattress are all found in our bedrooms
at home. Clearly, it is difficult to bring my mattress, sheets typically don't make it in the suitcase but I love my pillow. I am a heavy side sleeper so my curved Quest pillow, with cooling features comes along with us no matter where we travel. If I know there isn't going to be extra pillows, I will bring my body pillow as well. Higher thread count sheets made of natural fibers are preferred and an optimal mattress has some plushness. We (Nick and I) need it plusher because we sleep on our sides.
4. Aroma Therapies: We use essential oil diffusers in all our bedrooms at home. There is usually a blend with Lavender, DoTerra Serenity, Veviter, and/or Cedarwood in the diffusers. Depending where we are traveling, I will pack a smaller diffuser plus it doubles as a night light for the kids. I will also pack my sleep time roller to put on mine and the girls plus points and chest before bed.
Hope you enjoy your travels and get some rest and relaxation! Happy travels!
