How to Sleep in a New Place: Holiday Travel for People Who Train

Holiday travel means new beds: a guest room at your parents' place, a pull-out couch, a hotel near the airport. If you train, you notice the bad nights fast. Here's why sleeping somewhere new is often harder, and a plain plan to make it easier.

Why the first night is often rough

You're not imagining it. The Sleep Foundation notes that "people tend to have worse sleep the first night that they spend in an unfamiliar environment," which sleep researchers call the "first-night effect" (Sleep Foundation). It adds that first-night sleep quality "was reduced even in an inviting setting like a spa resort."

A 2016 study offers one explanation. The researchers report that on the first night in a new place, one side of the brain stays "more vigilant than the other as a night watch to monitor unfamiliar surroundings." By later sessions, "none of these asymmetries were evident" (Tamaki et al., 2016).

The good news is in that last part. The Sleep Foundation says "sleep usually improves after the first night, but this may not always be the case when traveling," especially if the room has "an uncomfortable mattress or excess light or noise" (Sleep Foundation). So plan for a rough first night, and fix what you can about the room.

Before you go

A few things are easier to sort out at home:
- Hold your wake time in the days before you leave. The Sleep Foundation suggests trying "to wake up at the same time" every day (Sleep Foundation).
- Pack a small sleep kit: eye mask, earplugs, a water bottle and a phone charger with a long cord, so the phone can sit across the room.
- Bring your pillow if it matters to you. The Sleep Foundation's hotel guide is direct: "If you require a certain type of pillow, bring your own from home to ensure you will be comfortable." It adds that "other familiar items from home may also help you adjust" (Sleep Foundation).
- Ask about the room. Guest room or couch? Blinds or curtains? It's easier to bring an eye mask than to find one at 11 PM.

The travel day

Travel days run long. An expert consensus on athlete sleep lists travel among the sport-specific factors that affect athletes' sleep, alongside training and competition (Walsh et al., 2020). Holiday travel counts too.
- Keep the wake time even on a travel day, if you can.
- If you nap, the Sleep Foundation suggests keeping naps "relatively short and limited to the early afternoon."
- Don't drive drowsy. Swap drivers or stop.

Guest room, couch or hotel

The Sleep Foundation's hotel guide cites a large study of hotel guests where complaints "ranged from poor pillow and mattress quality to high room temperature, street noise, unwanted light from windows, and ventilation system noise" (Sleep Foundation). Most guest rooms have the same problems. Work through them:
- Temperature: aim for about 65°F, within a 65 to 68°F range (Sleep Foundation). Holiday houses run warm. Ask if you can turn the heat down, crack a window or use a fan.
- Light: close the blinds, cover chargers and clocks, or wear the eye mask. The hotel guide suggests keeping the room "as dim as possible for at least an hour before sleep."
- Noise: earplugs or a white noise app for the furnace, the street or a houseful of cousins.
- The bed: if the pillow is wrong, use your own or fold a towel to adjust height.
- At a hotel: ask for a room away from the elevator and ice machine. The hotel guide suggests a higher floor, away from the lobby, elevators and conference rooms.

Holiday dinners and late nights

Holiday meals run late and big, and there's usually a toast. The Sleep Foundation notes that alcohol "may make it easier to fall asleep, but the effect wears off, disrupting sleep later in the night" (Sleep Foundation). Two small moves:
- Go easy on alcohol, and drink water alongside.
- Protect the wake time after a late night. If your schedule needs to shift, the Sleep Foundation recommends "small, step-by-step adjustments of up to an hour or two."

Training while you're away

You don't have to pause training, but plan it like a travel week:
- Go easy the first morning if night one was rough. Save the hard session for day two or three.
- Pack for a short version of your routine: a run, bodyweight work or a hotel gym.
- Train earlier in the day if evenings are full of family plans, so the late nights don't stack on top of a late session.

Coming home

The first night back can feel off too. Get back to your normal wake time the next morning, even if you're tired. Unpack the sleep kit and leave it packed for the next trip.

Your pillow

If your pillow is one of the things you'd bring, here's ours. The MOSO Black Performance Pillow is filled with viscose made from bamboo, blended with bamboo charcoal and tourmaline. It's designed to sleep cool, and it's medium firm with a steady height. There's no polyester in the fill or the ticking, and no microplastics.

We're a Denver company, and every pillow is assembled and finished in Denver.

• Standard/Queen, 18 × 26 in: $109 (2-pack $169)
• King, 18 × 36 in: $119 (2-pack $179)
• Charcoal or Silver

Hosting this year? A 2-pack covers the guest room. There's no same-day delivery on Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov 26), so between Centennial and Westminster, order by 1 PM MT on Wednesday, Nov 25. Order by Dec 18 for delivery by Christmas.

Denver delivery

Between Centennial and Westminster, free same-day hand delivery runs 7 days a week (no same-day delivery on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year's Eve or New Year's Day): orders placed by 1 PM MT are delivered the same day, per our shipping policy. Elsewhere in the U.S., standard shipping is free on orders over $99. New customers: HELLOMOSO takes 10% off.

Get the MOSO Black Performance Pillow →

Keep reading: Ski Season Sleep · Can't Sleep Before a Race? · A Bedtime Routine for Athletes

— Team MOSO

FAQ

Why can't I sleep in a new place?
It's common. The Sleep Foundation calls it the "first-night effect," and a 2016 study reports that one side of the brain stays more watchful on the first night somewhere new. It usually eases after the first night.

How do I sleep better in a hotel?
Ask for a quiet room, keep it cool (about 65–68°F) and dark, use earplugs, and bring your own pillow if you're particular about it.

Should I bring my own pillow when I travel?
If you need a certain type of pillow, the Sleep Foundation suggests bringing your own from home.

How do I keep sleeping well over the holidays?
Hold your wake time, go easy on alcohol, and make small changes of an hour or two at most when your schedule shifts.

Should I train while traveling?
You can. Go easy after a rough first night, and keep sessions earlier in the day when evenings are busy.