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My 5 Steps to Better Sleep Whilst Travelling Abroad

21/08/19 ᛫ Add a Comment

One thing about blogger press trips is that you’re expected to hit the ground running, no matter how many time zones you’ve flown across to get there. The itinerary starts as soon as you land, and so does the content! So whenever I fly long haul, I have a ritual that helps prepare my body for the new time zone before I’ve even arrived. I’m collaborating with sleep experts and mattress specialists TEMPUR®  to bring you my 5 step guide to better sleep whilst travelling abroad. Try them out next time you go long haul so you can make the absolute most of your time on holiday.

better sleep whilst travelling abroad in a luxury hotel room

Sponsored Post

Before Your Flight

Step 1: Adjust your bed time and wake up times before you travel

If you’re really determined to combat jet lag and get better sleep whilst travelling abroad, think about making sleep adjustments before you travel. For 3 nights before your flight, try shifting your bedtime by 1 hour each night (earlier or later depending on your time zone). By the time you fly your body clock will have adjusted closer to the time in your destination.

Example; You’re flying to Thailand on Thursday. Thailand is 6 hours ahead of the UK. You usually go to bed at 10pm, but on Monday you go to sleep at 11pm. On Tuesday you go to sleep at 12pm. On Wednesday you go to sleep at 1am. Your body clock will be 3 hours closer to Thailand before you even board the plane.

Step 2: Pack an eye mask and ear plugs in hand luggage

We all know that a plane isn’t the easiest place to get some sleep, but these items can help to give you a fighting chance, and I never fly without them. The eye mask will keep you in darkness regardless of when the cabin lights get turned on, and the ear plugs will help block out any unwanted noise. You might also want to try a travel pillow too.

Ready to fly to Florida! I always take a travel pillow with me on long haul flights

In Flight

Step 3: Set your watch to your new time zone as soon as you fly

Don’t wait until you land to get your head around the new time zone. Get one step ahead and update your watch during your flight. If you arrive at your destination at night, you’ll want to try and stay awake for your whole flight. If you arrive at your destination in the morning, you’ll want to see your flight as the ‘night’ and try to sleep as much as possible.

Step 4: Minimise alcohol and maximise water

It sounds obvious, but avoiding alcohol really does make a difference if you’re determined to beat jet lag and get better sleep whilst traveling abroad. Because of the low barometric pressure in the cabin of a plane and the lower level of oxygen in your blood, you’re likely to feel the effects of alcohol sooner than on land. Alcohol also reduces REM (rapid eye movement) which is essential for quality sleep. Find out what happens to your body when you drink alcohol on a plane. Avoiding alcohol is one of the best ways to feel good after a long haul flight.

Top Tip: Water is usually rationed out in small cups on board flights and its nowhere near enough to stay hydrated, so I bring a re-usable water flask and ask the cabin crew to top it up for me. This also saves on wastage of copious plastic cups.

Get better sleep whilst travelling abroad on the TUI dreamliner

On board the TUI Dreamliner en route to USA

After Your Flight

Step 5: Be strategic about the first sleep in your new time zone

If you’re arriving at your destination in the day time, it may not be the best idea to go straight to sleep. Going to sleep in the evening of your new time zone can help you beat jet lag all together. If you are completely exhausted, try taking a 1 hour cat nap then see it as ‘starting the day’ again in your new destination. This is what I did when I flew to Bali and although the day felt so long, my body quickly caught up to the new time zone.

Mangos poolside in Bali. Get better sleep whilst travelling abroad.

Resting and recharging after a long flight at the Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay, Bali

My Review of the TEMPUR® Comfort Travel Pillow

I’ve been testing out the TEMPUR® Comfort Travel Pillow and have slept on it for the past 2 nights at home. Despite being much more compact than my usual pillow, I was really surprised by the support and firmness despite its size. I’ve always loved a firm pillow and often find that plush featherdown pillows in hotels flatten down to nothing when you lie on them. Some of the amazing hotels I have stayed at have offered ‘pillow menus’, but I love the idea of being able to travel with a pillow that I know is the perfect firmness. It would be ideal for camping, long journeys and flights too.

How do you beat jet lag and get better sleep whilst travelling abroad? I’d love to hear your own tips, so please do share them in a comment below. Jess x

This blog post has been sponsored by TEMPUR®. All words and photos are my own.

coconut with a straw in Bali

Beating the jet lag with a hydrating coconut in Bali











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Jess is an an award-winning travel blogger based in Yorkshire, navigating the world as a new Mum to baby Theo. Blogging about adventures both local and global.

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Hey guys 👋🏼 This is my little self-developme Hey guys 👋🏼 This is my little self-development project. On 1st January I set some new intentions (not resolutions). The main one was to try and start waking up 1 hour earlier (I am not a morning person). But I wanted to make a change to start each day slowly and mindfully; to wake up and put my own needs first. Usually I would roll out of bed and be straight into Mum mode. Now I sit in silence with a hot cup of tea. Honestly, it has transformed my mornings and I can’t believe I’ve not done it sooner. Here are a few things I’ve been doing in my new daily hour of mental self care; 

⭐️1. The 5 Minute Journal - This book has been the greatest gift I have received in a long time. It has helped me to find gratitude in the smallest things, even when the world feels like its falling apart. I start my hour by filling out this journal. @fiveminutejournal 

⭐️2. Affirmations - I bought these beautiful affirmation cards from @lovaine_store on Etsy. Each morning I pick out a new affirmation and write it in my journal. Then I pluck another from my head. They're definitely teaching me to be kinder to myself and make me feel mentally stronger.

⭐️3. Mindfulness - After my journal I practice a guided meditation using the @calm app. 13 days in, I feel a lot more clarity. Tomorrow I’m also starting an 8 week mindfulness cognitive behavioural therapy course with @natalieenglander. I am a novice and I am excited to learn more.

Whilst we all feel like we have very little control over our lives right now, the one thing we CAN still control is our mindset. If you’re feeling frazzled and overwhelmed by the world right now, I really can’t recommend trying things enough ✨ 

What are you doing to look after your mental well-being right now? It’s brutal at the moment. Take care guys 💓
When your knee surgery gets cancelled AGAIN. If I When your knee surgery gets cancelled AGAIN. If I don’t laugh I’ll cry 😅 Another month on crutches for me. At least I got to see my boy experience snow for the first time today instead. Will keep being grateful for the small things ✨
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This means despite already isolating for 14 days, we need to continue isolating over Christmas in the hope that I can get the surgery on 29th December instead. So like all of you in tier 4, we will also be having a merry ‘little’ Christmas as a family of 3. We’ve spent Christmas before in hospital with Theo in an incubator, so to have him home and healthy is still a big step up from that. 

Still being on crutches after 7 weeks, I am stuck in a very frustrating situation. I am feeling low but trying to pick myself up and focus on the one thing I can control right now: my mindset. I still want to make Christmas special for our little boy despite the unwanted plot twist (shout out to my dad who is currently scouring supermarkets trying to piece together a Christmas food shop for us). 🙌🏼🥴

Merry Christmas guys. What a year. We can only try to make the very best of the cards we’ve been dealt. Stay safe and keep it little. See you all soon ✨🎄✨
⚡️FESTIVE NEWS FLASH ⚡️ 🌟You don’t n ⚡️FESTIVE NEWS FLASH ⚡️

🌟You don’t need matching family pyjamas to have a good Christmas.

🌟You don’t need to make a Christmas Eve Box to be a great parent.

⭐You don’t need expensive Christmas days out to make it magical.

🌟You don’t need to watch Christmas films in a tidy, ambient room.

🌟You don’t need a perfect, colour coordinated Christmas tree.

🌟You don’t need to overindulge if you don’t want to.

🌟You don’t need a sprawling mass of presents under the tree.

🌟You don’t need to cook everything featured on the Jamie Oliver Christmas special.

🌟Hell, you don’t even need to change out of that trusty loungewear set you’ve been wearing all year.

💓 Embrace the chaos and all the things that make your Christmas unique. Stop letting social media trick you into thinking you don’t have it all. Honey, you do 💓

Merry Christmas and thank you for following us this year, love from me and Theo 🎄✨

(Inspired by Bd Blogs)
Hey guys! I’ve been quiet on here as I’m self Hey guys! I’ve been quiet on here as I’m self isolating for 2 weeks for my knee surgery which is just before Christmas. So right now I’m literally just focusing on getting through the days and reaching my op date. 

I’ve torn cartilage and the ACL ligament in my knee (caused by an old sport injury). My knee is ‘locked’ bent and I can’t weight bear on it. I have been on crutches since mid November so in true 2020 style, it’s all been a bit shit. Fortunately, the surgery will instantly unlock my knee, then I have a long physio programme to follow.

Like many others, this isn’t how I imagined the lead up to Christmas would be. If you’re feeling a little disappointed, you’re not alone. It’s not easy isolating with a toddler and an injured knee. It’s taking a lot of mental strength at the moment but my strategy is to just go one day at a time. Gin is also helping 🙃

Bring on January when I can run around like this with my boy again and plan new adventures. I’ll appreciate it all the more now. Do you have any coping strategies to get through a 14 day isolation? I’m all ears 👂🏼🌿 P.S Help 🥴

Photos by @korm87
Hey guys! I’m excited to share some big news. I’ve got a job! It’s an amazing communications role at a national UK charity 🥳

Since 2016, running The Travelista has been my full time job and sole source of income. I have travelled the world through a job that I created, and I could not be more proud of this. However, my life evolved when I became a Mum and suddenly and traumatically (15 weeks earlier than expected) my lifestyle totally changed.

Then Covid came along. My blog earnings took a hit and the summer lockdown with a young toddler was difficult to say the least. I was left feeling burnt out and desperate for a bit of structure. I also craved some financial certainty. I realised what I needed and went looking for it, in the middle of a pandemic.

I am proud to be a working Mum and I am pleased to say I feel like I have designed the ideal working scenario for myself now. But fear not, The Travelista isn’t going anywhere! 

The new job is part time so I work 3 days a week for the charity and have the rest of my week to dedicate to Theo and do bits for The Travelista. I spend some evenings and Sundays working on blog content, but only if I want to. I don’t put any pressure on myself. The result is that I am enjoying my content creation so much more. As a part time employee and a small business owner, I sort of feel as though I now have the best of both worlds. 

I am learning so much in the job and although I work from home, I feel so much more connected to the outside world. Its very nice to be part of a team again and feel like I am making a difference for a charity with a very good cause. So far the job has been very good for my mental health.

After totally losing myself in the first year of motherhood, this is a really positive step for me and one that I thought was worth celebrating. So that’s one good thing to come out of 2020 😊 Essay over!

Now, tell me one positive thing that has happened to you in 2020? ✨

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