Work Travel, Sleep & How to Stay Healthier

If you have to travel for business, make sleep your priority – your health will thank you!

Planes, trains, and automobiles – traveling for work means always being prepared. You have to prep work notes for the big meeting, plan all of your outfits to fit in the smallest suitcase possible, and you have to be ready to handle any travel curveball fate may bestow upon you.

Are you as well-traveled as George Clooney in Up in the Air? Could you write a post about it while snoozing in business class? Do you know all the right lines to go through at the airport? What hotels to avoid? How to optimize your corporate dinner stipend? But, and this is the most important question, do you how much sleep you’re getting when traveling?

Business travel demands hectic schedules, superior work performances, heavy meals and often late nights, but what your body demands is sleep, and plenty of it. You might have mastered the ability to skimp on sleep and feel like a champ but are you keyed into how important sleep is to your work performance? If sleep is an uneasy travel companion, learn how to travel better – with better sleep.

Pre-plane preparation

The first hours of sleep you’ll lose on a work trip happen before you even leave home. The night before a trip you’re likely finishing up presentations, making sure the kids have rides to their activities, throwing in that last load of laundry and confirming travel details. To ensure you aren’t behind before you even start, keep these tips in mind to help you get ahead of the game.

• Plan ahead. Create a to-do list and start checking off items throughout the days leading up to your trip. Nix running around attempting to pull everything all together last minute and be sure to get to bed at a reasonable time the night before your trip.
• Be sleep ready when you arrive. Put together a sleep kit so you’re prepared to sleep when the opportunity arises. Earplugs, eye covers, sound machine, soothing music playlist, maybe a candle. Bringing a few luxury items from home can help you feel more relaxed in an unfamiliar room.
• Give yourself an edge and try to get a workout in the day before your trip. A great way to get your head in the game for an upcoming meeting or presentation.
• Dress for success. Wearing something comfortable, loose-fitting and layered can make you much more relaxed on the plane while traveling. And remember to layer your clothes for temperature fluctuations on the plane. If you’re trying to sneak in a nap, being too hot or too cold will kill that plan.
• Stress less & prepare for the worst. We can’t control the weather, the delays or the person who thought it was a great idea to bring a tuna sandwich and sit next to you on the plane. So just let it go, it’s the cost of doing business and can make for a great story at dinner. Throw on your headphones and let a relaxing playlist take you to your happy place.

Up, up & away – sleeping in flight

With a long flight ahead of you and maybe a not so great night sleep behind you, getting some shut-eye while traveling can make all the difference when you land and hit the ground running. 

• Get comfortable. Bring a travel pillow and if you get cold easily, pack a travel blanket (not supplied by airlines anymore). Add or remove your layers and take off your shoes – do this with consideration and make sure the smell won’t be worse than the passenger with the tuna sandwich.
• Drink water. H2O will help combat dehydration and the dry air recycled on planes. If you drink beverages with carbonation it may give you gas, which again may be worse than that tuna sandwich. Also, try and avoid alcohol and caffeine as they can increase dehydration. And if you decide to indulge in an alcoholic drink, remember that one drink in the air equals two drinks on the ground.
• Ear pressure. Ouch! The worst part of flying. If you’re dealing with any sort of cold or sinus congestion, this may be worse while flying so take precautions. Some quick ways to relieve ear pressure is by chewing gum or frequently making yourself yawn.
• Nap carefully. Take into consideration the length of your flight. If you have a shorter flight, try not to nap for more than 30-45 minutes. You want to be alert when you land and not nap yourself into drowsiness. For longer flights a longer nap is great, even just to pass time. Try to nap during the latter part of your flight, allowing you to feel refreshed and ready to take on work when you land. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, dive into your sleep kit and pull out some sleep tools such as earplugs, eye covers or your music.

Hotel snoozing

Once you’ve arrived at your destination the serious sleep prep begins. You don’t want to worry about all the things that are keeping you awake in the middle of the night when you have to be on point in the morning. Try out this hotel checklist to help you get on the snooze train when you’re away from home.

• Check reviews online before booking the hotel to make sure it meets all your needs.
• Request a room away from the hustle and bustle of the elevator, bar or restaurant. And ask for a room on a quiet floor.
• Bring items from home to make yourself feel more comfortable such as a pillowcase, candle or sound machine.
• Adjust the room temperature and lighting to fit your sleeping preferences.
• Handle any issues in the room that may keep you from sleeping right away – noisy fan, broken shades, etc.
• Establish your bed as a sleep-only zone. Try not to do work on your bed, your brain needs to know that the bed is for sleeping and not staying up stressing about an email.
• Stick to your regular bedtime routine as much as possible. This will help your body and brain know it’s time to power down and relax.
• Utilize that Do Not Disturb sign. You want to keep the early morning knock from housekeeping at bay when you’re trying to squeeze a few extra minutes of sleep or prep time for your meeting.
• Tap into your sleep kit and utilize every measure possible to ensure you get some good sleep hours clocked.

Quick Do’s and Don’ts for work travel

• Do let the sunshine in. Exposing yourself to the sun during the day helps regulate your internal sleep clock that can be thrown out-of-whack a bit from changing time zones.
• Don’t drink too much coffee. A go-to-wake-up-solution is to reach for that Colombian blend, but everything in moderation, right? Enjoy your morning coffee but stop drinking caffeine4 to 6 hours before its lights out for the night.
• Do allow for a nap. A quick power nap can set you up for a good burst of needed energy.
• Don’t overdo it on the alcohol. On work trips, it’s easy to indulge and it’s also easy to lose good sleep and wake up with a headache. Moderation, again, is key.
• Do relax before bed. Allow for your brain and body to slowly work its way to relaxation by sticking to your normal nighttime rituals.
• Don’t go to bed hungry. Or with a full heavy meal in your belly. Both of these extremes can keep you up at night.
• Do exercise. Regular exercise can be a great way to help you get a good night’s sleep. Find the right time and work out for you and sweat it out!

Rest well & wake up ready to go!

Better sleep gives rise to better mornings, bringing your goals into focus and dreams within reach. Hungry for more sleep info? Dig into these posts:

• How to get the best nap of your life
• How to sleep better when you travel for fun
• Smart travel tips from the Property Brothers