Can't Sleep Away from Home? 6 tips for a good night’s sleep away from home

Can't Sleep Away from Home? 6 tips for a good night’s sleep away from home.

Do you struggle to sleep away from home? Have you ever slept in a hotel, camping, or Air Bnb after a long journey and woke up as tired as when you arrived? You are not alone! 

Why It's So Hard to Fall Asleep When You're Away From Home? The Science Behind it

 Sleep researchers have long recognised the well-known "first-night effect" (FNE) as a phenomenon. Some people also refer to this phenomenon as "sleep anxiety away from home" A recent study published last year explains why we tend not to have a quality night's sleep when staying somewhere new. There is a natural shift in our brain when a new environment surrounds us that makes us be in alert. One brain hemisphere does not go into "sleep mode". It keeps in alert mode as a night watch to monitor unfamiliar and sleeps only lightly if the new venue turns unsafe.

The alertness can interrupt your sleep cycle, preventing you from a deep sleep and affecting the rest of your nights away from home. This is why it is essential to manage to calm down the body, mind and find ways to tell your brain that you are in a safe space, like at home!

Are you planning to go for a holiday away from Ireland, visit local places around the country or have a business trip to Dublin or another city? Whether you're travelling solo for business or bringing the whole family on holiday, you deserve a restorative sleep and wake up refreshed to enjoy your holidays or success in your business meetings!

Using a Kocoono weighted blanket and following some tips can help you have a good night's sleep when you are away from home.

6  tips to have a good night's sleep away from home

1) Pack your Sleep essentials

If you are one of those who have some favourite objects to fall asleep, take them with you always: that pillow that you like to hug while sleeping or even your soft set of sheets. Having familiar items will help your body and mind feel safe and relaxed like you are in the security of your own home.

Most of our customers from the UK and Ireland who are used to sleeping with their Kocoono Weighted Blanket miss it when they sleep away from home. If the space allows you, bring your favourite sleep items to tell your brain you are safe and have all the necessary to feel safe!

The LUXE version of the Kocoono Weighted Blanket is customisable, so users can remove some of the inner weighted bands to make it lighter and easy to carry around!

One thing that can also make you feel at home is bringing the fragrance you usually use in your house. Using the scent of lavender, according to sleep specialists, will help you rest pleasantly if you place this aroma on your pillows.

2) Stick with your Sleep Habits

Going to bed is a ritual for many people. Some start by putting on their favourite pyjamas or whatever clothes are comfortable and loose-fitting. It is good that before going to bed, people have a light dinner, drink an infusion of tea and turn off the light in the room completely. It is essential that you feel that you are getting ready to go to sleep, especially if you are away from home for a business trip, work, or a short holiday.

These rituals, known as sleep hygiene routines will tell your brain that you are ready to sleep, and if you do what you normally do at home in the same order and around the same time, your brain will easily disconnect. These little rituals that you can do everywhere you go can be as simple as: 

- Take your shower with the same shower cream you usually use before bed
- Eating the same pre-bed snack
- Spreading the fragrance of your regular room in the new venue

3. Try an Eye mask and ear plugs

If you are one of those people who need to be in absolute darkness to fall asleep, you should always carry an eye mask with you. Sometimes hotel curtains are not dark and thick enough to leave the room in total darkness, so wearing an eye mask is an excellent remedy if you don't want to be woken up by the light. If you are sensitive to the noise, some earplugs among your travel belongings, with which you will be assured of a pleasant night's sleep!

Make sure that you choose the right Eye mask and this covers your eyes completely, blocking the light properly!

4) Make sure to do light to moderate-intensity activity

Especially if we are travelling for business, we usually forget to do some exercise. Regular exercise during the day can help you have a night of quality sleep. If you are camping or close to the sea, go for a walk! There is a lot of research on the benefits of walking through nature or on a beach and being near water.
Avoid high-impact workouts two hours before bed because this can have the opposite effect. If you are too energised before bed due to the high impact activity, you will need to calm down your mind to enter into sleep mode. A tool like a weighted eye pillow can help you switch off instantly.

Switch off for 5 minutes after your exercise with the Kocoono Cold Therapy Eye Pillow

If you need instant relaxation or switch off, the Kocoono Weighted Eye Pillow is your best ally! The 500g ️Weighted Eye Pillow applies Deep Pressure Therapy evenly on and around your eyes, helping you feel relaxed. If you travel for business and spend long hours in front of the screen, the Kocoono Eye Pillow can be very helpful as it helps to recover from visual overload. If you suffer from headaches, you can use it with its cooling effect (by inserting the inner weighted band in the freezer for about 10 minutes).

5. Relax before bed 

Each person has their own methods to help them relax, but something that usually works to do before bed if you are away from home is to take a hot shower! Surely if you are in a hotel, it will not be difficult for you to have a hot shower or even a hot bath! If you are at camp, find the calm you need in nature: take a short walk, contemplate the sunset, the stars...

Do Yoga or meditating are also great ways to calm your mind and enter a state of rest that allows you to disconnect from everything that happened in the day.
If you feel like you can't sleep even with your sleep routine, you can apply the 4-7-8 technique. This tactic consists of inhaling for 4 seconds, then holding the air for 7, and finally exhaling for 8 more seconds. You should repeat this exercise 2 to 3 times, and you will see how you manage to fall asleep and sleep peacefully. Check some other relaxing techniques in our blog 6 Relaxing Techniques to fall asleep

Relax your body before sleep with the Kocoono Weighted Lappad

The 1.5 kg Kocoono Weighted Lappad is an ideal tool to calm your body down just before sleep. It is designed to be used while sitting down. It applies pressure therapy over your legs, naturally calming and grounding the body. It is customisable, so you can remove some of the weighted bands if you want to use it for the children, making trips out more enjoyable for everyone! 

Relax before sleep with Kocoono Weighted Lapad

6) Feel secure & safe wherever your go with a Kocoono Weighted Blanket

Using a Kocoono Weighted Blanket can help you sleep better at home and help your body feel safe and cocooned, like if you are in the security of your home.

How does the Kocoono Weighted Blanket work?

By providing Deep Touch Pressure Therapy with its gentle weight, the Kocoono Weighted Blanket touches your pressure points, similar to a massage or a big Hug. It makes you feel embraced and cocooned, bringing an immediate sense of calm.

  • The distributed weight encourages stillness and decreases the impulse to move. You will drastically reduce restlessness and the need to move back and forth. The next day, you will wake up refreshed!
  • The feeling of a hug with the Luxe version of Kocoono Blanket is even greater thanks to its shoulder embrace that applies pressure over your shoulder area and fits smoothly over you thanks to the neck cut out that surrounds you! Literally, like someone hugging you the whole night! This exclusive feature makes you feel cocooned!

    • Our Kocoono LUXE version is customisable! You can remove some of the inner weighted bands to make it lighter and take it wherever you need it! This makes it suitable for children. as parents can make it lighter for their children.
    • The Kocoono Weighted Blanket LUXE has cold therapy capabilities, making it ideal to cool down the body in the hottest days or relieve sport injuries or muscle pain. Learn more here.

    Order Your Kocoono Weighted Blanket and take it wherever you go on holiday!

    Weight Selection

    When buying a gravity blanket, look for one that weighs around 10 per cent of your body weight. It will be heavy enough to help with some of your symptoms but not so heavy that you are uncomfortable.


    We have 3 different weights for our Kocoono Weighted Blankets:

    • 5kg - Suitable for someone who weighs between 50 - 70 kg (8- 11 stone)
    • 7kg- Suitable for someone who weighs between 70 - 90 kg (11- 13 stone)
    • 9 kg- Suitable for someone who weighs over 90 kg  over 13 stone)

      


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