One major problem people have when traveling is sleeping. There are many reasons you might not be able to sleep when you’re away from home.
- You may not feel safe not being in your own bed (and here’s something you can do to help that)
- The temperature in your room isn’t where you want it (and you can also try to fix that problem yourself)
- The room might be too loud, or too quiet (if that’s the case, check out these apps)
- You may be experiencing jet lag (which you can deal with using these tips)
- The bed may be too hard or too soft (If that’s the case, try to stick to these hotel chains with the best beds)
But there’s one more thing that may be keeping you from getting a good night’s sleep.
The sun is still out at midnight!
While many people are aware that the days are longer or shorter as you approach the earth’s poles, it’s not something you always think about when booking a trip. Sure, some people travel just to experience 24 hours of daylight or darkness (depending on the season). We’re not going to see that on our trip to Iceland, but it’s the farthest north we’ve ever traveled.
I checked out the sunrise and sunset times for Reykjavik:
Sunrise 3:27 AM
Sunset 11:36 PM
Day length 20 hours, 9 minutes
20 hours of sunlight. Sure, that gives us plenty of time to sightsee, but it might cause a problem going to sleep at night. Particularly if the places we’re staying have large windows for us to look at the surrounding landscapes.
Not surprisingly, many of the tips to deal with prolonged sunlight are the same as those you hear about dealing with jetlag.
Checking out the reviews online for the places we’re staying, several guests have commented that the rooms have excellent blackout blinds. Another thing we’ll do is be sure to bring good eye masks. Sharon always uses one but I don’t. I also don’t usually have a problem falling asleep when the sun is out unless it’s shining in my face like it did in our cabin in Tennessee.
And if you’re still having problems getting to sleep, here are some hints to help you fall asleep wherever you are.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
Cover Image by Matty Rogers from Pixabay
