Sleeping outside gets a bad rap for being uncomfortable. You leave your plush bed at home for a completely new setting. No one enjoys camping if they don’t get a good night’s rest. We’ve put together some tips and tricks for getting good zzz’s at night.
Get a Full Day In
One great way to ensure a great night’s rest is to make sure that you actually get tired throughout the day.
Hike. Bike. Climb. Paddle. Play.
Get a full day’s worth of activities in before heading to bed. It’s fairly easy to do fun activities while camping, so use every single bit of time you have.
Use up your body’s energy so that it has no choice but to recharge once your head hits the pillow.
Have a Full Stomach
Remember Thanksgiving? And how exhausted you feel after you have lots of yummy food in your belly. A full belly makes you tired. Make sure to take in the calories after a long day of playing outside.
To be specific, make sure you amp up the protein when planning out your meals. In order to gain the benefits of amino acids like tryptophan (the amino acid that makes you sleepy after a Thanksgiving meal), you need to make sure you are consuming protein-rich and nutrient-dense foods.
Try making things like stew, tin foil dinners, and pasta to replace carbs and stock up on protein. Having a stomach full of nutrients will help your brain increase serotonin levels, which leads to a more restful sleep.
Use Nature's Clock
When at home, it’s easy to offset your biological clock due to blue light from televisions and smartphones. Watching blue screens after the sun has gone down will trick your body into thinking that it’s not time to go to sleep.
When you are outside and away from TV screens, your body will naturally align with the sun. Once the sun begins to set, you will naturally become more tired. Similarly, when sleeping outside, the rising sun will be an alarm clock. Your body will naturally adjust to these changes. The earlier you wake up, the more likely you are to head to bed early for a solid eight hours of sleep.
Get the Right Gear
Not going camping because you’re worried about an uncomfortable camping bed is no longer a valid excuse. Klymit has used air and foam technology to create a comfort-focused camp set up. The Klymaloft sleeping pad rivals sleeping on your mattress at home and can easily be thrown into the back of your car or your trailer for camping.
And don’t even think about balling up your coat to create lumpy pillows that will make your neck sore in the morning. Klymit’s Drift Pillow is a fool-proof way to get a nice foam pillow outside without ruining your pillow at home. Looking for a pillow more suitable for backpacking? The Luxe Pillow offers comfort, while still rolling down smaller than a Nalgene bottle.
