Travel and sleep
As a travel agent and a sleep consultant, this is something that I think about a lot. I like to travel as much as possible with my kids, but I also have pretty strict boundaries around sleep that can become difficult to uphold while traveling.
It’s not only about me. Yes, a lot of the sleep stuff is my own anxiety. But it comes from a place of experience.
I have one kid who has a lot of needs when it comes to sleep environment, timing, and routine. He has a lot of trouble sleeping when things are “off”. This means sleeping in a different place leads to lost sleep. Sleeping at different times leads to lost sleep. His routine being even just slightly different leads to lost sleep.
And what happens when you travel? Well. The environment is obviously different. Timing is usually different, especially if you travel to a different time zone (which we often do), or if you have activities planned that impact naps and bedtime. And the routine is wildly different. We travel a lot, and we lose sleep every time, and you know what’s not fun? Being exhausted on vacation.
This blog comprises all of the travel tips I’ve learned over the years to make it a little easier, as well as all of the sleep stuff I learned since becoming a sleep consultant to make it even a little easier than that. But here’s my disclaimer. It may never be easy to travel with young kids. It may always lead to lost sleep. These are just tips to make that a little better. And in the end, for me at least, it’s usually worth it.
Environment
The ideal sleep environment comprises of 3 things:
Pitch black room
White noise
Cool temperature (68-72 degrees)
When traveling, try to replicate this as much as possible. I know it’s not always possible. Traveling is actually how I learned that my oldest is so sensitive to all of these things. And your kid may not be super sensitive! That’s fine too. I have two that aren’t. But if they are, it’s not actually that difficult to replicate.
Unless you’re camping or in some remote location without air conditioning or heat, wherever you’re staying is probably going to be between 68-72 degrees.
White noise is easy. There are small portable white noise machines. There are phone apps with white noise. It’s so incredibly beneficial that I promise, it’s worth it to bring your white noise. Especially if you’re sleeping in a smaller space than you’re used to, or sharing rooms. The white noise will block out a lot of the noises within the room as well as outside.
A pitch black room is tougher, but not impossible. You just have to get creative. Here’s a list if things I’ve used to black out a room on vacation:
Black garbage bags
Broken down cardboard boxes
Dark construction paper
Tin foil
Cut up brown paper bags
Masking tape
Blankets and pillows
But the ideal environment isn’t always just about these three physical aspects. It’s also the environment your baby/toddler/kid is most comfortable in. Bring their comforts! For a little baby maybe this is just a sleep sack or the sheet that’s in their crib. For bigger kids do not forget their loveys or stuffed animals. I always travel with my kids pillow cases to put on when we arrive because they’re tiny (much smaller than whole pillows obviously) and make them feel much more comfortable in new places.
And then get comfortable in your new environment. Of course this isn’t always possible if you arrive late at night, but we always go straight to the bedroom when we arrive somewhere new. I show my kids exactly where they're going to be sleeping and let them help set up and play in the space for a bit. I started this when my oldest was an infant. He has always been the most sensitive and he needed to get used to a new environment, so I took him to his crib or pack n play that he’d be sleeping in, got the whole room set up with his stuff, and let him just roll around or crawl and play.
Timing
A lot comes into play here. There’s timing on travel days, timing when enjoying activities, timing around bedtime, and time changes. Let’s break it down.
On travel days:
Try to let go as much as possible. There is so much outside your control and just know your baby will not be broken at the end of it. You can always get back on track. However, there are definitely ways to make it easier.
If driving, think about the highest traffic times where you’re located and where you’re going. Think about whether or not your baby is a good car napper. Think about how long the drive is and if you’d prefer to drive at night or during the day. Work backwards from there.
If flying, I always always always recommend a morning flight. My favorite time to fly is usually around 9 am if possible because this doesn’t require a super early wake up but leaves room for issues. You cannot control what happens when you fly. People often ask me if they should fly before or during nap time. If you fly before, you may be delayed until nap time. If you fly during nap time, you cannot control whether or not your baby sleeps on the plane. My go to is just always 9 am (if possible, or something close).
There are things you can do to help your baby nap on the go. Bring anything that usually helps signal sleep. For little ones, that might just be a swaddle or sleep sack. They obviously can’t wear these in a car seat, but they can on an airplane if you’re holding them, and either way they can cuddle with it! For bigger ones maybe it’s a lovey or stuffed animal.
For tiny ones, extra feeds on travel days (and for big ones, unrelated to sleep, all the extra snacks they want)! Maybe you don’t normally feed to sleep. It’s ok to break that rule today or on an airplane.
You can also create a sleep conducive environment! Bring your white noise (or use white noise on your phone). Roll down the window, put a blanket in and roll it back up to create a blackout situation. And if all else fails, let it go. It’s out of your control and you can always offer a nap or early bedtime upon arrival, or make up for it the next day.
Timing when enjoying activities:
It’s okay for your baby to nap on the go and it’s okay if you don’t get as long of a nap because of it. Consider your baby’s age and how many naps they take each day. Maybe you want to make sure one nap is in their crib for a long restorative period and another nap is in the stroller or car or even on the beach. Or maybe you only have one nap and they are too busy playing with cousins to take that nap so you do an early bedtime. It’s okay for things to be off! Take note of how your baby reacts to changes. You may be surprised and they may do great! They may not, and then you can always change it up tomorrow.
And if you’re like me and you’d prefer to have your baby who doesn’t know what they're missing, miss activities, and there is an adult willing to stay back with them, then that’s fine too and you DON’T have to explain your decision to anyone or let anyone talk you out of it. Pro tip: Get yourself an introverted husband who will nap with the baby while you’re out with the big kids :-).
Time zone changes
This one really depends on if you’re going east or west, how big the time change is, and what your goal is for your trip. If you’re going east, congratulations. This is the easier time change because you can:
Keep a later bedtime for the trip and enjoy having your baby be a night owl and go out for dinner at normal times.
OR Wake your baby up in the morning on day 1 to begin to adjust to the new schedule quickly.
West is more difficult. Ideally, we want to keep our babies up a little later and then they’ll sleep a little later and boom. We’re adjusted. Unfortunately for many babies this doesn’t actually work. This can lead to an overtired baby who actually wakes up earlier, and no one wants that.
I would work on adjusting one hour per day if it’s multiple hours and you’re there a while. If it’s not a super long trip, you can stick with early bedtime, early wake up, or my personal favorite, meet in the middle.
For example: We travel to Colorado a lot which is 2 hours earlier. At home, bedtime is at 7 EST which is 5 PM MST. We usually slowly adjust to a 6 PM MST bedtime, 8 PM EST.
The best way to adjust is to take advantage of our bodies natural drive for sleep, which is dictated by circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is heavily controlled by light exposure which is why, in my opinion, a time change is actually easier than a regular at home schedule change. The sun is coming up at a different time! Keep them in their beds in the dark until your desired wake up time, and then try to expose them to natural light. This will really help their little bodies adjust more quickly.
This may mean changing up some of your sleep “rules”. I never lay in bed with my kids at night or in the morning. I do on vacation though! If I want to turn an inevitable 4 am wake up into a 5/530 wake up, giving them a tablet so I can sleep later and hoping they’re more tired the next day isn’t going to work (at least for my kid). Laying with them to keep them in the dark longer will.
Routine
Believe me, no one gets this one more than me. I have a kid who NEEDS his routine. It’s not a want. It’s a need. I always recommend keeping as much of the routine the same as possible. Try to keep nap timing and bedtime around the same. Try to keep meals and snacks around the same time, with familiar or preferred foods. Try not to overdo it and honor your kid’s needs.
Obviously this isn’t always possible. When you travel things will be different and there’s no way around it. That’s fine! But the bedtime routine doesn’t have to change. It can be exactly as it is at home, and this will signal sleep in your little one’s brain.