You’ve looked forward to a trip for months and now the time has finally come. The first day is done, the room is dark, the pillows are soft, and tomorrow’s exciting itinerary is waiting. Yet instead of sleeping, you are studying the ceiling and wondering why your body has chosen vacation as the perfect time to stay awake.
Science may have an explanation. Your brain may have a reason for resisting that unfamiliar hotel bed. During the first night in a new place, it can remain unusually alert, quietly monitoring the room while the rest of you tries to sleep. Known as the first-night effect, this phenomenon can make it harder to fall asleep, cause more frequent awakenings, and leave you feeling exhausted on your trip.
Overall, travel insomnia is remarkably common, with up to 80 percent of travelers reporting poorer sleep away from home, according to Clayton Sleep Institute. Although an unfamiliar mattress may take some of the blame, sleep depends on a delicate collection of cues including light, routines, surroundings, and a sense of safety — and travel can scramble nearly all of them at once.
What Is the First-Night Effect?
Even in a quiet, comfy hotel, part of your brain recognizes that you are somewhere new. The resulting sleep disruption is called the first-night effect.
Explore All OptionsA study in Sleep showed that people commonly take longer to fall asleep, awaken more frequently, sleep for less time, and experience reduced sleep efficiency and REM sleep during their first night in a different environment.
Recent research from another Sleep study suggested this effect can also appear across nonconsecutive nights and may not be caused solely by unfamiliar surroundings. Changes in routines or the experience of being monitored during a sleep study, for example, may also contribute.
One intriguing explanation, provided by a study in Current Biology, is that the brain appoints a nighttime lookout. Researchers found that one hemisphere may remain more vigilant than the other during deep sleep in a new place, potentially reflecting an ancient survival strategy that would’ve protected our ancestors in dangerous new environments.
When it comes to consequences, the first-night effect can cause more issues than just feeling tired. A study published in Scientific Reports found that the first-night effect reduced some of sleep’s benefits for visual learning and temporarily altered neurochemical processes associated with brain plasticity. In other words, even brief sleep disruption could interfere with some of the overnight work the brain normally performs.
Read More: For Long-Term Sleep Improvement in Adults and Children, Melatonin May Not Be the Answer
What Else Causes Travel Insomnia?
The first-night effect is only one possible culprit of travel insomnia.
According to Clayton Sleep Institute, crossing time zones can push the body’s circadian rhythm out of alignment with the local day. This internal clock, regulated by a brain region called the suprachiasmatic nucleus, responds strongly to light, meals, and habitual activity.
When this group of signals suddenly changes, the body may release melatonin and cortisol at inconvenient times, leading you to feel alert at midnight and exhausted during lunch.
Travel itself can also be negatively stimulating. Airport crowds, tight connections, packed schedules, unfamiliar sounds, and excitement about an upcoming trip can elevate cortisol and adrenaline. Add caffeine, alcohol, late restaurant meals, or a room that is warmer and brighter than home, and restful sleep becomes even harder.
How to Sleep Better While Traveling
Johns Hopkins Medicine outlines a few suggestions for beating travel insomnia.
For longer trips, begin following the destination’s schedule as soon as practical. To do this, seek natural light after waking, eat according to local time, and avoid long naps that make it harder to sleep in the evening.
For trips lasting fewer than two days, maintaining your home schedule may cause less disruption than forcing your body to adjust, then immediately readjust.
Familiar cues can also make a strange room feel safer. Pack a favorite pillowcase, use familiar background noise, and follow your normal bedtime routine. Keep the room cool and dark, and limit caffeine, heavy meals, and alcohol near bedtime.
In the morning, a warm shower followed by outdoor light and exercise can signal that the day has begun. Most importantly, do not panic over one restless night. The first-night effect usually eases as the brain learns that the new bedroom is not a threat — just a temporary address.
Read More: Losing Just 80 Minutes of Sleep a Night Could Lead to Weight Gain
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- This article references information from a study published in Sleep: The first-night effect of sleep occurs over nonconsecutive nights in unfamiliar and familiar environments
- This article references information from a study published in Sleep: Addressing the first-night effect: it is more than the environment
- This article references information from a study published in Clayton Sleep: Why Travel Disrupts Sleep
- This article references information from a study published in Current Biology: Night Watch in One Brain Hemisphere during Sleep Associated with the First-Night Effect in Humans
- This article references information from a study published in Scientific Reports: First-night effect reduces the beneficial effects of sleep on visual plasticity and modifies the underlying neurochemical processes
- This article references information from Johns Hopkins Medicine: 6 Tips for Better Sleep When You Travel
