Do you know the #1 thing that makes us exceptionally successful?
Sleep. It is called.
Despite it reducing stress and inflammation, it sharpens your memory and boost creativity. This modicum plus a single dose of action are essential ingredients of success -sleep accompanies better action too.
Travelling is novelty. Your mind needs to be sharp for a successful trip.
Writing is fun for me, but it doesn’t come naturally unless I sleep well.
Too bad, I have difficulty sleeping when my mind finds itself away from home, particularly on the first day. Travel stress disarms me.
A trip left me feeling overwhelmed as a result of travel plans, the safety of the destination and the travel experience – solely because I wanted to have a road feel, I travelled 1,548 kilometres.
I lost the feel almost halfway the journey – before Abaji, Abuja.
On getting to Rahama Hotel along Damboa Road, my brain was already saturated, and I could barely think.
I had had a poor sleep all night on transit, I flatted down and didn’t wake until late evening that day. The sleep wasn’t deep but I couldn’t leave the couch.
It’s a “workation.” I needed to be atop my game. I’d be talking to some folks and researching the presence of the state, but my brain was drained – I typically left every experience by.
Almost late, but I was rejuvenated. Else, I wouldn’t remember the taste of the disappearance of Delehi, the coarseness of Brabisco and the sweetness of the rice inclusive Kunu.
Because sleep is necessary when you travel, these four ways will get better sleep on a trip so you don’t miss the “meaty” fun.
Pen down your time
The best way to cull out your sleep time is to break your day by the hour. Write them out.
Allocate your travel goals on an hourly breakdown, and enjoy every in between of places, cuisine, culture and language.
If you switch between towns, depending on the travel time, take a full 8-hour sleep at night or reduce it a little and make up for it with a 1-hour afternoon nap, just don’t doze off on transit unless you feel safe.
By writing my hourly allocation, I successfully identify and block out activities that don’t align with my travel goals -i.e Watching TV. I can do that in Lagos, why Maiduguri?
This also substitutes as my schedule for the period. Before I leave the hotel every day, I know how long I’d stay out, what I’d likely do and when I’d be back in the hotel room.
Great point. Please, don’t be hard on yourself.
You can slot in some out-of-travel activities provided they would be worth the time. I actually sat for an online and got certified right on that hotel couch.
Replace Coffee with Ginseng
For the fragrance, I love coffee. Not for any more reason.
In fact, I just googled “why people take coffee.”
Most mornings, I take a cup of coffee but that’s only when I’m home.
While away, I replace coffee with Ginseng. There are many Ginseng products in Nigeria but I use two – Ginseng root and Ginseng sweet.
I often use the sweet when I’m off home. A pack in my bag keeps fatigue away. It produces a sedative effect that helps me sleep well. And it aids digestion.
After meal each night, I’ll melt two wraps in my mouth. Minutes later, I’d feel a smooth relief.
Food digestion.
Avoid sugary food
I was hanging out with the locals in “Abujan Talakawa.” – Translation: Poor people from Abuja.
Our conversation was informing but the scorching sun was wicked. Disrupting the enlightenment, I went for a bottle of chilled Coca-Cola, I got one at room temperature but finally had two before leaving.
If you need your sleep, avoid the sugary product. If you do, burn up the effect with a slight exercise. Else, your body will pay for it with a huge sleep currency.
Practice mind travel
A wandering mind invites sleeping difficulty. Over-excitement, stress, psychological and biological issues sometimes stray the mind.
A calm mind finds nights of sleep. Almost immediately. It’s natural.
Conscious mind travel helps defeat insomnia.
I’m not a yoga person, but I’m a firm believer of mindfulness.
My go-to strategy for conscious mind travel is,
1. I gradual exhale and inhale
2. I shut my eyes
3. I relax and focus on ONE thing, which is nothing.
This is always the apex of my trip. Each practice fills the void in my life and I return home fulfilled with experience to write about. Rather than foistering shallowness.
The National Sleep Foundation believes it’s important to evaluate your quality of sleep. I think it’s better to understand thy self, so ruminate on Will Durant’s thoughts: “The only real revolution is in the enlightenment of the mind and the improvement of character, the only real emancipation is individual, and the only real revolutionists are philosophers and saints.”
Choose yourself.
How do you manage to get enough sleep when you travel? Tell me!