Vault of Travel Sleep Hacks: 75+ Tips
- Rachel Carlson
- 22 hours ago
- 20 min read
This post goes all the way back to 2018 – the last time I had a reliably comfortable bed. Our family began nomadic travel in May of that year and have since slept on many beds, couches, air mattresses, pull-out sofas, and even a handful of hammocks, caves, tents, buses, planes, trains, and airport benches (note: don’t always recommend this – ha!).
The bed quality at our accommodation is always an unknown because my family seeks budget-friendly rentals… we’re not high-end travelers where a comfy mattress is guaranteed. We book functional housing with a bedroom, a kitchen, WiFi, and a washing machine for the laundry. And that means that whatever bed we have is what we get. I adjust what I can to make things more comfortable, but overall, I don’t sweat it because it’s always temporary.
So how do we do it? What tips do we have for good sleep? It turns out that we have LOADS of tips because each rental has different perks and complications.
Ideal Sleeping Circumstances
First, let’s take a look at the most ideal sleep environment. Each rental will have some of these amenities, but they seldom have all:
Simplified Biology Lesson: The above conditions promote the reduction of cortisol (a hormone that keeps our bodies awake during the day) and the onset of melatonin production (a hormone which promotes sleep and keeps us asleep during the night). Cortisol is also a “stress” hormone… if we’re stressed, cortisol can override melatonin and keep us awake. Ideally we’d have stress-free sleeping areas every night!
However, you’ll notice that ideal circumstance rarely happens in a traveling lifestyle… so we need lots of flexibility. Here are loads of suggestions to try. Remember though, you can only control some of the things, some of the time. Do your best, tweak whatever comes easiest for you, but don't stress over it because stressing can spike cortisol!
Disclaimer: I have no formal training in sleep science and do not promote the use of drugs, homeopathic tinctures, or other sleep aid products. This article is for informational purposes only. If you are interested in the products mentioned, please do your due diligence to research drug interactions, personal sensitivities, contraindications, and legalities abroad.
No Affiliate Links: If there is a product I use and love, I’ll name the brand. If there is a solid name brand for other products, I will mention it. However, there are no affiliate links in this article, just info!
Note: Yes, I know some of the sleep recommendations are contradictory to one another. Individuals vary in tolerance, and you'll need to experiment with what works best for you.
Room Temperature
Humans sleep better in cooler temperatures, but not if they’re too cold. The more circulation to the hands & feet, the less time it takes to fall asleep. The Japanese have a saying “Warm Feet, Cool Head” to describe this effect.
Warm Room Strategies
Book units with air conditioning during hot weather. Pro-tip: Check how many AC units are available for the property. Sometimes there is only one AC machine in the living area but zero in the sleeping areas.
Look for ceiling fans in the accommodation pictures before booking.
Ask your host if there is a fan for each bedroom. You can make a request for them to add fans or even offer to split the cost.
If you don’t want to bother the host, purchase a fan to use during your stay and take it with you to your next location or donate it to the rental. Fans are inexpensive… plus if you calculate the cost for a 1-2 week stay, it’s a minimal per-day expense.
Compact travel fans are available, they charge with a USB cord.
Cold Room Strategies
You’ll want to make sure your hands and feet are warm. Try a hot water bottle. No need to buy one or carry one around with you, just fill any watertight container with warm water. Place it under the covers near your feet (hands, too if you have circulation issues).
Wear socks and/or mittens (pro-tip: you can warm them up in a clothes dryer first).
It’s also possible to warm up a bag of rice in the microwave (cotton fabric works well in microwaves, you can make one out of a sock or pillowcase). Heat for 30 seconds & place this under the covers by your feet or hands. DIY no-sew rice bag.
You can take warm bath before bed, or even just a hot water soak for your feet in a bowl or bucket. Keep your feet warm.
If your head or ears are too cold, wear a hat or sleep bonnet.
Check if your accommodation has an electric blanket.
If your accommodation has a clothes dryer, warm a throw blanket or towel and place between the covers to warm the bed, especially at the foot of the bed.
Ceiling fans | Hot Water Bottle (or Make Your Own)
Room Darkness
Most people sleep more soundly in dark rooms. ~ One of our toughest stays was Prague, Czechia. We were there near the summer solstice. We had two main rooms in the apartment, both with wall-to-wall, east-facing windows and sheer curtains. The official sunrise was before 5am and we struggled to sleep past 4:15 because it was so bright!
Book accommodations that advertise black-out blinds. The best ones are the retractable metal blinds that roll down like a garage door (always a treat when we get those and I look for them in rental pictures before booking).
Creatively hang towels or blankets over windows – if the window opens on the top, you can hang a towel over the window and close the window to hold the towel in place.
Travel with portable black-out blinds, they attach with suction cups.
Cover/unplug anything in the room that emits light.
Buy LED blocking stickers to place over any lights you cannot dim (and double them if the light is still too bright). I use a brand called FLANCCI® LED Light Blocking Stickers. These have saved my sanity from bright indicator lights on AC machines (some have a night feature to turn off the panel lights, but not all!), tvs, fans, routers, microwaves, and other electronics.
Use an eye shade. Choose natural fabrics instead of synthetic. The one I like best is made of silk and has two head straps, one for the base of the skull, and one over the back of the head. It stays in place better than a single strap eye mask, brand name is Alaska Bear®.
FLANCCI LED Light Blocking Stickers | Alaska Bear Double-Strap Silk Eye Shade
Other Light Exposure
Simplified Blue-Light Lesson: Midday sunshine has all the colors of the light spectrum… including blue light waves. This is the only time of day that our natural environment has an abundance of blue light.
When daytime ends, only the longer wavelengths (amber & red) arrive at the surface of the earth. Light from sunsets, candles, or campfires emit mostly red or amber colors which are soothing and naturally tell our body to boost melatonin production. It’s nature’s cue that night is coming.
However, artificial light sources like light bulbs, LEDs, tvs, and phone screens emit loads of blue light (it blends into the white light, to make the screens brighter). These blue light waves are higher frequencies, and they trick your brain into thinking it’s seeing midday light. This keeps cortisol production ramped up, which interferes with melatonin production and effectiveness. It’s best to give your eyes a break from blue light exposure for a few hours before bedtime.
Turn off computers, tvs, bright fluorescent bulbs, etc, 1-2 hours before bed.
If you read after dark, use a red bulb headlamp. Many headlamps have this feature.
Travel with a red- or orange-party-bulb to put in your bedside lamp (haha, no one will do this and it’s probably not safe to travel with a lightbulb in your luggage, but at my last permanent residence, I loved my red party-bulb in my bedside lamp).
Invest in a pair of amber glasses to wear for 1-3 hours before bedtime (you don’t have to wear them while sleeping). These block blue light from reaching your eyes. I've used the Uvex® brand previously, now sold under the Honeywell® brand name. Their amber-colored safety glasses used to be very reasonably priced (we're not going for style here, folks!).
Blue-light-blocking software: f.lux is a popular and free software filter for your computer (Mac, Microsoft, and Linex). I’ve used this on my laptops for 15+ years! You can adjust the amount of warming colors and also disable the color correction if you’re working on color-sensitive projects. https://justgetflux.com/
Mind your phone usage after dark as we tend to hold our phones very close to our eyes. Here are a few options to dim the blue light on your phone screen:
Use a blue-light filter on your phone. Some phones have after-dark settings like Night Shift, Night Light, or Twilight.
iPhone users can also use the following accessibility features (bonus points if you add them to the triple-click Accessibility Menu):
Reduce White Point – tone down the amount of bright light displayed on the screen.
Color Filter – choose a base color of red or orange for a gentler display.
Any Amber Lens Will Block Blue Light | My iPhone Accessibility Shortcut Menu
Comfortable Bed
It’s not always a given that your bed and pillow will meet your comfort standards. ~ We’ve slept on wooden boards covered by a carpet (way back in 2002 in very rural Vietnam)!
Comfy Mattress
Travel with a portable mattress topper. We’ve met more than one person who does this (admittedly easier if you’re traveling by car).
Use towels, yoga mats, extra blankets, or your wardrobe to pad the bed. Look around the apartment and see what’s available. I once took a rug off the floor and put it under my bottom sheet because the bed was so hard!
Inflatable camping pads are another compact, travel-friendly option if your body is super sensitive to hard surfaces. However, read reviews to know if they're noisy when the sleeper is changing positions.
Comfy Pillow
Some worldschoolers travel with their own pillow, even requiring a second suitcase to bring them along. Alternatively, there are inflatable pillows that do not take up much room. Some travel pillows compress into sacks to roll, squeeze out the air, and seal to keep the size small.
Flat pillows are a common issue at rentals. Double up pillows or fold in half for more height.
If a double pillow is too thick, use a single pillow and try tucking one corner of the pillow under your neck or chin for a little more height. This works really well for sleeping on the side and not feeling that your head will roll off the pillow.
Some of my friends travel with their own pillowcase as well… both for beauty purposes and sleeping purposes. Silk & satin pillowcases can support hair and skin health… plus a familiar pillowcase can be calming when you change accommodation a lot.
Comfy Covers
Not enough covers? Use towels as extra covers if the blankets are not warm enough.
Buy additional covers or bring a travel blanket. I've even seen weighted blankets in thrift stores before. You can always donate purchases to charity or the rental when you depart.
There are sleep compression sacks that you climb into – an easy way to recreate the feeling of a weighted blanket within a smaller luggage space. Hug Sleep® is a name brand, though I've never tried them.
Sometimes the bottom sheet is a flat sheet and doesn’t stay in place during sleep (like a fitted sheet does). Or perhaps the fitted sheet elastic has seen better days. There are compact & travel-friendly “bed sheet clips” or “bed sheet holders” (but get into the habit of stripping the beds when you check out to avoid accidentally leaving them behind).
If you’re picky about fabric feel and breathability, it’s possible to travel with your own sheets. We get by with what’s provided at our rentals, but in our pre-nomad life we had an amazing set of bamboo sheets, those were the bomb: soft to the touch and comfortable in winter or summer temperatures.
For side-sleepers whose knees knock together, try using a small pillow from the couch or a rolled up sweatshirt to place between knees.
Soft Sheets | Yoga Mat for Extra Padding | Satin Pillowcase & Hair Bonnet
Peace & Quiet
Sometimes we get very lucky with a quiet neighborhood or well-designed buildings. ~ My family stayed a month in Budapest in a nightlife-heavy part of town… yikes! Luckily, our apartment faced the inner courtyard, and it was unexpectedly quiet overnight. Some of our friends weren’t as lucky and ended up with a karaoke bar downstairs!
Read Reviews! If you are a light sleeper, definitely read all the reviews. Past guests typically disclose whether the neighborhood was quiet or noisy. If you’re not able to choose a different neighborhood, then come prepared for the noise…
Use ear plugs and experiment with different brands and styles until you find something comfortable for your ears. I’ve struggled with plugs that are too firm or too large, and they cause a lot of ear canal pain. My favorite brand is Mack’s® Ultra Soft, they gently block a good deal of noise, admittedly not as much as standard plugs. I've also tried their Slim Fit product which are more comfortable than the standard ear plug, but prefer the Ultra Softs.
Some travelers have a portable white noise machine… or use a white noise soundtrack to play over a portable speaker. Travel versions can be charged via USB.
Your phone may have a white noise setting. iPhones include the Background Sounds accessibility feature (and you can put it in the Accessibility Menu for easy access). The background noises can play over other audio (say an audiobook or guided meditation) and it’s a nice feature because sometimes when the voice stops, it startles the listener from drowsing off – the ambient noise continues and keeps the general noise level steady.
PS On an iPhone you can adjust the background noise volume for when it’s playing at the same time as other audio so it’s not overpowering. How to Use Background Sounds on iPhone.
Use a fan for gentle background noise, travel fans can be charged via USB.
For stuffy sleeping areas, use a fan or open a window for gentle circulation. If necessary,keep a door open to the rest of the apartment so there is some air circulation.
Play gentle meditative or calming music. YouTube has loads of tracks that run 8-12 hours.
Though it’s not always an option, sleep in separate rooms away from snoring partners, children, or pets that interrupt your sleep with movement, noises, or smells.
Use sleep ear buds to listen to music, podcasts, audiobooks, or meditations. Some people do not mind Bluetooth by their head, I do. I use a wired pair of sleeping ear buds by MAXROCK® that are super compact so you can even sleep on your side. Brilliant.
MAXROCK Sleep Ear Buds w/Apple Adaptor | Mack's Ultra Soft (tan) and Slim Fit (purple) Ear Plugs
Calm Body / Calm Mind
Travel itself can be stressful! There are many moving pieces every time we change locations: packing, weight restrictions, organizing travel docs, arranging check-in, crossing fingers all goes well with transit, finding a new grocery store, jet lagging, language barriers, lining up phone data, new bed, new “directions to the bathroom in the middle of the night” to remember, etc.
Sometimes our minds go round and round in circles when our bodies are exhausted and we should be sleeping. Sometimes our bodies are out of their normal rhythm. Here are strategies to help both our bodies and minds prepare for sleep:
Bedtime Routine
Plan wind-down time every night – nothing elaborate but try to pick a few activities to incorporate as bedtime approaches: read a book, take vitamins, solve a crossword puzzle, spray your pillow with a lavender sleep spray, have a cup of chamomile tea, etc (more suggestions below).
Maintain a steady bedtime, same time for weekdays and weekends.
Relaxation Ideas
Calming activities include: reading, journaling, listening to a gentle audiobook / podcast, quiet bath, meditating, a guided relaxation session, a back rub, breath work, stretching, prayer, reciting a mantra, etc.
Things to avoid: escalatory news, arguments with family members, violent/scary stories, rehashing “what ifs” or past mistakes (give your mind something else to focus on such as a breath exercise or an audiobook).
Familiar Space
Add elements to your nighttime space to create some familiarity at each destination. Think of each of your senses (sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste) and pick a few items that appeal to you: red/amber nightlight, silk or satin pillowcase, lavender pillow spray, soft pajamas or sheets, white noise machine, gentle breeze of a fan, snuggles with a loved one, square of dark chocolate, etc.
Soothing scents include lavender, chamomile, vanilla, or ylang ylang... or any scent you choose to use consistently because it will become familiar. I also like frankincense.
Calming the Monkey Mind: Sometimes our minds run around in circles when our head hits the pillow (or if we wake up during the night). These are a few tools I use in my sleep kit. I don’t need them all the time, but have them within arm’s reach for when I do. They soothe me back to sleep and give my mind gentle distraction in case my thoughts get out of control.
Meditation Podcasts: Look for a guided meditation, some of them have background binaural beats that help shift brain frequencies to a calming and sleep pattern. I have a few recommendations:
Yoga Nidra is the practice of Yoga “Sleep.” In essence you’re guided to put your body into a relaxed, sleep state without falling asleep – however, who is to say this isn’t the perfect way to put your body to sleep? Listen to the “Rotation of Awareness” or “Circle of Body” script (which gently directs your focus to specific body parts to relax your body in a sequence). Give yourself permission to completely fall asleep rather than rouse yourself after a meditative period.
Yogi Bryan is a genius for writing and delivering meditation scripts. His voice is calming and grounding. Many of his podcasts are available with or without background music. I listen to him for free via Amazon Music in the Podcasts section and can download my favorite scripts. Check out his programming for Nidra, Sleep, Stress Relief, Building Confidence, Accepting Grief, etc. He’s also available on Spotify & YouTube and has an app (I tried it but prefer other access points). Yogi Bryan's YouTube Yoga Nidra Playlist.
You can also search for the binaural theta wave music to relax your brain: YouTube Binaural Beats for Sleep Search.
Audiobook: If a meditation podcast isn’t your thing, try an audiobook. I often wake during the night, and an audiobook helps me drift off faster than letting my thoughts start to get out of control. I set the volume as low as it can go without having to listen carefully to decipher the words. I’m careful to place bookmarks and set a sleep timer so I can figure out where I dozed off and need to pick up the story. I also have background sounds going at the same time as playback. Here are a few recommendations:
Saskia Maarleveld is hands down my favorite book narrator. Her voice is gentle, and she expertly voices male and female characters with a wide variety of accents and dialects. I am always thrilled to see her new audiobooks released. She’s performed over 300 books and here is the Good Reads' Audiobook List for Saskia Maarleveld. Most of her audiobooks are historical fiction & fantasy, occasionally there are nonfiction and young adult selections… I seem to enjoy them all and get lost in the stories & characters.
Books that put me to sleep. The first two are slow, gentle stories with excellent narration. The final two have moments of excitement but overall are great stories:
Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist read by Jeremy Irons
Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House read by Tom Hanks
Kate Quinn’s Diamond Eye read by Saskia Maarleveld
Kate Quinn’s Alice Network read by Saskia Maarleveld
Remember, you can slow down the playback. I often put my audiobooks on 0.95 playback speed. This slightly slows the audio delivery for a more relaxing listen.
Pro-tip: I use the Libby and Hoopla apps to "check out" audiobooks via the library cards I hold. You can sign up for Audible and receive bonus credits, then cancel after a month or two. They usually send you a “please return” offer as well. I rarely have an active Audible subscription, but any purchases I’ve made are always in the Audible account: My two favorite books are there: Patrick Rothfuss’ Name of the Wind and Wise Man’s Fear, I can't seem to get the audiobook via the library so I bought them both... fantasy stories, 28-43 hours long.
Mind Soother or Kava Extract Tinctures: These liquid tinctures by Herb Pharm® are natural and supposedly non-habit-forming, but I still only use when needed and sparingly. Kava is the main ingredient in both products. It will numb your mouth and it tastes like dirt + trash, just get it down quickly. For me the full body relaxation starts within 5-10 minutes. Very easy way to “take the edge off.”
Bach’s® Rescue Remedy Spray: A friend of mine recommends these for stress relief and sleep. Bach's offers a night sleep spray and a daytime anxiety spray. I’ve used the night spray occasionally but find I prefer the strength of the kava supplements.
NOTE: I am very careful to monitor outside sources of drugs, medicinal plants, or hormones to fall asleep… it’s important that our bodies know how to fall asleep, and stay asleep, themselves. We want to rely on primary environmental input for sound sleep, not additional sources of pills or tonics. I personally use some of these strategies in the short-term, but am very careful not to create dependency.
Bach's Sleep Spray | Lavender Essential Oil | Herb Pharm's Mind Soother (former name was Anxiety Soother)
Random & Unexpected
These are some random tips and a few surprising strategies I’ve uncovered as a full-time traveler.
Limit exposure to overnight EMFs (Electro-Magnetic Fields). Some people are sensitive to EMFs which can interfere with melatonin production and sound sleep.
If your phone must be in your bedroom, use airplane mode. Otherwise put your phone in the living area.
Unplug Wi-Fi routers & any electronic items you’re not using in the room: tv, computers, alarm clock, Bluetooth devices, etc.
Antihistamine: Not only for allergies! Occasionally I use a 24-hr nondrowsy allergy pill. I certainly use them if I’m in an apartment with allergy triggers (dusty blankets, mildew smell in the bathroom)… however, I often sleep better when I take an antihistamine. I assume that’s because we have varying environmental inputs (dust mites, new pollens, different mold spores). I do not use antihistamines consistently, and I do not use products that increase drowsiness. My preferred pharmaceutical is Loratadine, the generic equivalent to Claritin®.
Overnight Breathing Support:
I do not use these, but Breathe Right® nasal strips open the nostrils to allow for better breathing during sleep. They even have a lavender scented product for extra relaxation!
Some people must travel with a C-PAP machine which keeps positive air pressure in the lungs to prevent episodes of sleep apnea.
There are mouth guards that help with snoring / teeth grinding, both useful for sound sleep. You can have one made by a dentist or buy an over-the-counter product.
Melatonin – Careful here!! Only use for jet-lagging. Individuals who consistently use melatonin to fall asleep can experience a decrease in overall melatonin production due to artificial availability.
Daytime routine:
Expose your body to 10-20 minutes of daylight when you wake up.
Eating a small breakfast can establish hormonal & circadian cycles.
Nap earlier in the day if midday naps make it difficult to fall asleep at night.
Finish any exercise 2-3 hours before bedtime so there is time for cortisol to wind down while melatonin production takes over.
Manage stressors best you can. Unmanaged stress causes cortisol spikes and elevated cortisol levels. Uncontrolled cortisol will unravel all the other wonderful sleep habits and environment you’re creating.
Be at Ease in Your New Environment
Follow a healthy diet. ~ Believe it or not, food can be a stressor! If we're feeding our bodies the wrong things, it takes energy to process them which can interfere with other normal body functions. Here are a few tips for nutrient-dense foods and eating habits that can support sound sleep.
NOTE: The next two sections are paraphrased from The Paleovation Workbook, a book I co-authored with my chiropractor-nutritionist friend: Kelly Andrews, DC (& Rachel Carlson, BS, RYT).
Eat a wide range of vegetables, proteins, and ancestral fats like extra virgin olive oil, avocados, coconut, butter, and animal fats (fats available hundreds of years ago, not made in a laboratory and not from animals raised on factory farms).
Limit foods & beverages that stress our bodies: sugars & sweets, processed foods, deep-fried foods, any personal sensitivities (such as gluten or dairy)… generally limit foods that were not available 100+ years ago (vegetable oils, preservatives, colorings, artificial sweeteners, etc).
Finish your last meal / snacks a minimum of 2 hours before bed, eating later can interfere with melatonin production.
If you must snack, choose a protein or vegetable. High-carb snacks like sweets, backed goods, crackers, popcorn, or potato chips/crisps can cause a blood sugar crash overnight – which can cause a cortisol spike – which can inhibit melatonin’s effectiveness. Choose nuts, plain Greek yogurt, veggies and hummus, lunch meats or sausage slices, cheese, jerky, edamame, or eggs.
Eat starchy vegetables at dinner (like sweet potatoes, beetroot, squash) – they’re digested more slowly than other carbs and can provide a steady release of glucose to sustain brain activity overnight without a blood sugar crash.
Drugs & alcohol & toxins
Caffeine: Energy drinks, coffee, tea, and chocolate all can disrupt sleep. Caffeine has a half-life of 5 hours… so if you have 1 cup of coffee at noon, your body is still processing ½ that caffeine at 5:00pm… and still processing ¼ of the caffeine at 10:00pm. Limit coffee after noon.
Limit use of other stimulants after noon: nicotine / tobacco, natural energy boosters such as ginseng, guarana, Ashwagandha, maca, and other teas / tinctures, some over-the-counter medications (some cough & cold drugs, some allergy nasal spray, some headache formulas).
Use natural body products to limit exposure to chemicals that stress the body (we can’t avoid all chemicals such as air pollution, the cleaning products used in our rentals, etc) so when you have a chance to limit chemical exposure by choosing clean body products, it makes sense.
Choose Whole Foods with Lots of Colors | Careful of Caffeine after Noon
Foods to Boost Melatonin Synthesis
Simplified Biology Lesson: Our bodies make melatonin through a complex process: The protein, tryptophan, is converted to serotonin, which is then converted to melatonin. Eat foods that provide the following nutrients to assist with those conversions: tryptophan, B-Vitamins, magnesium, omega-3 fats, and Vitamin D… as well as other foods that boost serotonin and melatonin levels.
Tryptophan-rich foods: Animal products contain tryptophan but organ meats and seafoods (shellfish, mollusks, fish) have a higher concentration of tryptophan without competing amino acids. If you need a vegetarian source, tofu & soybeans, quinoa, and pumpkin seeds contain some tryptophan.
B-Vitamins: Animal products are sources of B-vitamins: organ meats, shellfish (oysters, clams, mussels), meats, eggs, dairy, & fish… vegetarian sources include legumes, nuts & seeds, dark leafy vegetables, nutritional yeast, and seaweeds (nori, spirulina); however, many vegetarians and vegans need a B12 supplement.
Magnesium-rich foods: salmon, yogurt & kefir, legumes, dark greens, nuts and seeds, avocado, banana, dark chocolate, artichokes, and goat cheese.
Magnesium is also known for supporting muscle relaxation and is excellent for restless leg syndrome and tense muscles.
Consider magnesium supplements: Magnesium Glycinate is the best form for sleep as it contains glycine (more about glycine below) and doesn't have laxative effects of other magnesium compounds.
Magnesium spray is also available, but some nighttime or muscle relaxing sprays contain melatonin (more about avoiding melatonin supplements above). A recommended brand is ACTIVATION Ease®, note this may cause stinging or burning if you personally have low magnesium levels or dry skin. There are other brands available.
Omega-3 Fats: Your body needs DHA & EPA to synthesize melatonin (not the ALA found in flax seeds and walnuts, though ALA can be converted to DHA & EPA). Rich sources of DHA include wild-caught fatty fish, fish oil / krill oil, shellfish, and pasture-raised fatty animal products (eggs, butter, milk, & yogurt). Vegetarian sources are limited to microalgae and some seaweeds like wakame and nori, but it’s possible to eat ALA rich foods and rely on the body to convert them to DHA & EPA… the conversion is not very efficient, however.
Sourcing Vitamin D: Sunshine without sunscreen! Cholesterol in your skin is converted into Vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. Fatty fish (salmon, tuna), pasture-raised egg yolks, mushrooms, grass-fed butter, cod liver oil, and some nuts & seeds (sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, almonds) are food sources.
Glycine-rich foods: glycine is an amino acid found in gelatin, and the body can convert glycine into serotonin. Animal products are the best sources including connective tissues (gristle), gelatinous meats (shanks, oxtail, ribs, feet, necks), skin, bone broth, gelatin, & collagen supplements. Vegetarian sources include seeds (especially pumpkin & chia), legumes, soybeans and soy products, and nuts (cashews and pistachios).
Melatonin-containing foods: Note that though these foods contain natural melatonin, it is in small amounts and bioavailability can be low. If these foods improve sleep, it may be due to the other nutrients they provide. However, it’s worth a shot: tart cherry juice; animal sources such as eggs, milk, fish, and other meats; some fruit such as tart cherries and goji berries; and nuts such as pistachios or walnuts.
Foods that Support Melatonin Synthesis
The Reality: Phew, that is a lot to digest!
If you bring every one of these get-a-good-night’s-rest suggestions with you, you’d need a few suitcases per person! Screw that! Pick a few ideas to incorporate and do the best you can with what's on hand. It's not worth stressing over... do what works for you.
Here’s what’s always in my sleep kit:
Mack’s Ultra Soft Earplugs
Sleep Ear Buds by MAXROCK
Eye Mask by Alaska Bear
Background Noise via iPhone
Libby/Hoopla Library Apps w/downloaded audiobooks to use in airplane mode
Amazon Music app w/downloaded podcasts to use in airplane mode
YouTube Music Account: My kids and I share an account (I think we get up to 5 devices) and we can listen ad-free and download songs, podcasts, etc.
Magnesium Glycinate (when I can find it, but I would take it every night if it was readily available around the globe)
Occasional use: Loratadine antihistamine (I get the generic pills but the name brand is Claritin), Bach’s Rescue Remedy Sleep Spray, Herb Pharm’s “Mind Soother” (I like the lavender one, still tastes bad!) or Kava Tinctures, Activated Charcoal Tablets (if I drink excessive alcohol I’ll take 4-6 tablets with lots of water when I wake to pee during the night, charcoal absorbs toxins but also absorbs nutrients if you take it with meals, use wisely).
Rachel's Green Eyeglass Case with Nighttime Supplies: Magnesium Glycinate, Mood Soother (when needed), Loratadine (when needed), Mack's Ear Plugs, MAXROCK Sleep Earbuds, Hair Bonnet, Alaska Bear Eye Mask
What about you? What are your travel sleep tips?
Please leave a comment below!
PS Also let me know if any of the links are not functioning, URLs change over time.
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