I recently read an article in National Geographic Traveler where a travel writer confessed to a deep, dark secret pleasure of hers. She confessed to her most favorite travel activity, which was…sleep. Instead of scheduling hours of endless activity and sightseeing, she scheduled hours, often 12 hours+, of sleep. For many people, sleep is a guilty pleasure when traveling. We hate to admit that some of the most enjoyable moments of our recent vacation was sleepy time. The reality is, sleep is a huge aspect of any travel itinerary. Great sleep is a travel experience in itself and heavily affects how you remember your vacation.
The article made me think…I really love travel sleep too! I have traveled all over the world and I have spent a lot of that time sleeping. Yet I never stop and reflect about my foreign sleep experiences and rarely have I considered sleep an actual travel activity. Well now I am reflecting and as it turns out I have slept in some amazing places in some amazing ways.
There was the afternoon nap in Costa Rica that I opted to take due to the thundering rain that forced me to retreat to my rainforest hideaway. I have made many attempts at combating jet lag in Paris, New York City, Rome, and one of my favorite nap cities, London. I have rocked myself to sleep on numerous beach hammocks, slept on a tatami mat in Japan, dozed off while watching falling snow, reluctantly slept through the sound of roaring lions in the African bush, and I have embraced sleep versus embracing seasickness on numerous cruise ships. Of course there are also those times, embarrassing to me, where I fell asleep on the lounge chair by the pool or the relaxation area of the spa. Admit it, we have all spent many day light hours sleeping in order to recover from the previous night out on the town as well! And oooh yes, my favorite…the afternoon siesta in Spain. I am also proud to say that I have slept through many, I am sure breathtaking sunrises and probably a few sunsets as well. My name is Leah Smith and I am addicted to travel sleep.
My point being, embrace travel sleep because it is awesome! When you are traveling your senses are constantly being stimulated, which makes falling asleep for that afternoon nap seem like one of your most marketable skills. The reality is, you can’t sleep like this at home. If we are lucky, at home we might be able to achieve a 20 minute, one eye open, rest (cannot even consider it sleep.) Unfortunately the world does not stop while you sleep and yes there are so many things to see while traveling but that is kind of the beauty of travel sleep. You will appreciate the hussle and bussle that comes with travel much more when you are well rested.
I may actually develop a travel itinerary that is revolves around the idea of achieving the best sleep of your life. Yes, I am being completely serious. Where have you had some of the best sleep of your life?
