Is it time to seriously consider sleep and rest as part of your trip.
Vacations are supposed to be relaxing, but increasingly, they just…aren’t. Over 90 percent of people in a recent study admitted that travel stresses them out, for reasons that are obvious: Planning them takes a ton of work, especially with inflation and the post-pandemic travel boom making everything more expensive.
But there are a lot of non-monetary reasons our vacations kind of suck these days. The division between our work and private lives had eroded, and “workcations” are becoming more routine, ruining what should be a respite from our jobs. Our devices make it harder for us to leave our worries behind and truly be in the moment when traveling. And the rise of Influencer culture, which treats travel and vacationing as a job while also making it seem like every moment of your trip needs to be Instagram-ready, is causing serious FOMO.
For these reasons and more, your next trip needs to be a “sleep vacation.” If you wish your time away from work left you refreshed instead of exhausted, stop racing around trying to cram in activities and film TikToks no one will ever watch. Instead, go someplace peaceful and beautiful and get some damn rest.
We’re all suffering from sleep debt
Prioritizing sleep even when on vacation is crucial because so many of us are sleep deprived.
Instead, it’s time to seriously consider sleep and rest as part of your trip.
Engage in some sleep tourism
There are two ways to approach a “sleep vacation.” One is to make sleep the main focus by going on a “sleep retreat” of sorts, which usually involves booking a luxury hotel room that has been specifically designed to promote rest, and mindfulness.
The other approach is to prioritize sleep while on vacation. Most of us focus on activities, meals, and adventures when we travel, and treat sleeping as an afterthought—as long as we have a place to collapse at the end of the day we’re happy.
Plan, but plan lightly
Lest I make it sound like vacation planning is the enemy of sleep, consider that a well-planned trip can actually be incredibly relaxing, provided you don’t over-schedule yourself.
The bottom line
Even if you don’t want to plan your vacation around resting, getting some rest should definitely be a part of your plan, or you’ll come back from your trip feeling even more burned out. It’s a self-care practice that will not only improve your overall health and sense of wellbeing, but will also improve your vacation, since it will reduce some of the stress of scheduling every spare minute with an activity. Next time you’re jetting off somewhere, make sure there’s a really, really good bed waiting for you on the other side.
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