How to get a good night's sleep in a hotel

Do you struggle to sleep in hotel rooms? Follow our top tips for how to get the best night's sleep in a hotel.

There's nothing worse than climbing into that lovely king-size bed, surrounded by pillows and a sumptuous duvet, only to be struck with insomnia. So many of us find it hard to sleep in hotel rooms, even when it's quiet. Use these tips to make sure you get a good night's kip on your next hotel stay. 

1. Get high

If a silent night is your priority, forget about asking for an upgrade. Instead, ask for a room on a higher floor where you're less likely to be disturbed by street level noise or noises coming from the hotel's lobby and bar. But before putting in your request, do a recce. Some hotels have rooftop air conditioning units which make the very uppermost floor the loudest one. Read this guide on getting the best hotel room to make sure you're in the right place. 

2. Breathe

If deep breaths and counting sheep don't do it for you, try the 4-7-8 technique, also known as the relaxing breath technique. After exhaling completely, inhale quietly for four seconds, hold your breath for seven and breathe out for eight. Repeat the process four times. Many sleep experts believe this technique works well because it allows the lungs to take in larger amounts of air and, in turn, allows more oxygen into the body, resulting in a deeper sense of calm.

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3. Stay awake

Can't sleep? If your mind is refusing to power down, challenge yourself to stay awake through willpower alone. An experiment by the University of Glasgow found that participants who were asked to stay awake had low anxiety levels at bedtime and went to sleep quickly.

The theory is that trying incredibly hard to stay awake takes more effort than trying to sleep, and trying to stay awake also stops us from anxiously obsessing over the inability to drift off.

4. Don't count sheep, count backwards

Counting sheep to drift off rarely works because it's a relatively easy challenge. To really tire out your over-active brain, try counting backwards. Start by trying to count down from 300 in groups of threes. Although it's relatively simple, it's complicated enough to stop your mind wandering.

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5. Embrace vanilla

If you've got a sleep-enhancing spray on your bedside table, it probably contains a hefty whack of lavender. But if it's no longer working its magic, try spritzing your pillow with a vanilla-based fragrance. A study by Germany's Tubingen University found the scent reduced the startle response in humans and animals. And in the 1990s, doctors at New York's Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center discovered that those exposed to heliotropin, a vanilla-like scent, reported a 63% decrease in anxiety.

6. Bring your own bed linen

We're not suggesting you squash your duvet into your suitcase, or that there's anything wrong with (most) hotel bed linen. But it's a well-known fact that people sleep better when they're in familiar environments.

Having the same brushed cotton pillowcase from home home might just make sleep come a little bit quicker. Or, spritz your pillow with a familiar scent, whether it's your favourite perfume or the sleep spray you use at home.

7. Skip the pool view room

Yes, an infinity pool might look beautiful and be the perfect backdrop for that all-important selfie, but you're probably not the only person who thinks so.

It's likely to be one of the noisiest spots on the property. Additionally, water reflects and amplifies noise so a sun lounger being dragged over concrete could sound more like an air horn.

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8. Use noise to your advantage

Unnatural noises like groaning water pipes or snoring from next door are more likely to wake us up. If the noise is familiar or more natural, like trees rustling or birds tweeting, it's less likely to wake us.

While we're not suggesting you download an album of whale noises, consider blocking out less natural sounds with more natural ones like recordings of rainfall. Also consider turning on the air conditioning – low ambient noise can help your brain ignore other sounds. You could also buy travel-sized white noise machines or even download white noise apps.

9. Embrace routine

Being on holiday is an excuse to go to bed late and sleep in but keep in mind that it's much harder to sleep when our bodies are out of kilter. There's a high chance jet lag will already be wreaking havoc with your circadian rhythms (more on avoiding that here), so to increase the chances of a good night's sleep, try incorporating a few elements from your usual bedtime routine.

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10. Avoid the elevator

Ask for a room as far away from the elevator as possible. In addition to the noise of the machinery, it's likely you'll be woken by people going in and out or the sound of late-night room service food trolleys. Also bear in mind that the largest rooms are often at the ends of corridors so you might just bag yourself an upgrade at the same time.

11. (Don't) let there be light

You might not be able to do much about distracting noises but you can counteract potential disturbance from light by making the room more relaxing.

If blinking lights on televisions or alarm clocks disturb you, pack a small roll of masking tape to cover the offending light sources. Bring a bulldog clip to pinch together flimsy hotel curtains that are likely to let in painfully bright shafts of light the moment the sun sneaks above the horizon.