With the arrival of July and August, the time has come for everyone to take a few days off and the holiday is its maximum expression. The word holiday comes from the Latin and means “to be empty and free”. Empty days from work, from studying, from the various daily commitments – in which the rhythms can slow down, in which we can sleep more, do what we want.
Yet for an ever-increasing number of people, going on vacation also means staying with eyes open at night, finding that they can’t sleep well during the vacation, especially the first few nights. This is because the brain has a hard time falling asleep when you are in a different bed than usual, in a room with a non-preset temperature and in a place with a variety of new noises. The combination of being in a new environment and disrupting your daily routine can make relaxation a challenge in general, especially at night but also making the next day heavier.
The “first night” effect on vacation
Scholars argue that the first night of sleep on vacation is typically the worst. They call it the “first night effect,” in which our brains stay awake to protect us from potential threats; that’s why every random noise seems to wake us up with a start at the beginning of the holiday. Basically our body implements a series of measures because it feels the need to protect us when we find ourselves in a new environment.
The scientific explanation for this first night effect lies in the increased production of cortisol and adrenaline when we are stressed or excited. Both of these hormones increase your heart rate, which means you find it increasingly difficult to fall asleep.
What can we do
It may seem a little strange to use rituals, but it is scientifically proven that we sleep when we feel safe, so if there is something that helps you create a feeling of familiarity, a pillow that makes you feel good, use it or take it with you. on holiday. When we sleep, familiarity is essential, not only from a psycho point of view, but also and above all from a physical point of view.
Without a shadow of a doubt, and especially in recent years, booking a holiday means not only choosing where to go, but above all how to sleep, because the quality of sleep and the bed system are some of the main drivers that significantly determine the satisfaction of our experience.
From this point of view, the quality of the bed system and mattress becomes central, since sleep corresponds to one third of the time spent on vacation. The journey becomes a search for personal gratification and satisfaction that inevitably also depends on the quality of rest. No wonder, sleep is a basic human need, like food and drink, and is critical to health. Furthermore, the pandemic has put the importance of health back at the center and in the wake of Covid-19 most travel will have a strong inclination towards well-being. Therefore, living the rest or the environment in which to sleep superficially means giving up a clear percentage of well-being and quality of life, as well as an irreplaceable source of psychophysical energy.
The best solution
The mattresses of the location where we book our holidays cannot be changed. And you know, on vacation, mattresses are almost always hard… but that’s exactly why Toppers exist!
The topper is a thin (3-5 cm of memory) mattress in memory or polyester staple that must be added to the mattress in which we want to sleep to have a soft and extremely comfortable effect. It’s super easy to take them away with us as they can be rolled up! Another solution is the travel pillow: a memory pillow that becomes tiny when rolled up.
Don’t give up on choosing how you want to sleep!