Getting a good nights sleep at a hotel can be hit and miss.
This post originally appeared onVan Winkles.
I wasnt in love.
And I really wanted to sleep.
I had arrived in Bangkok in the evening after 21 hours and two sleepless flights.
My hotel was a five-star palace of pampering.
It should be a place engineered for good sleep.
And yet, there were issues: my curtains wouldnt shut all the way.
There was a digital alarm clock with glowing green numbers illuminating the room like a spotlight.
Hotels, of course, should be for sleep.
At the ridiculous end of the spectrum, several hotels offer an in-house pet psychiatrist.
More reasonably, but still a bit extreme, others promise fragrance butlers and wake-up calls from celebrities.
Robbins has a Ph.D in sleep studies and talks about sleep like most people chat about the weather.
Noise above 60 decibels can interrupt our sleep, she said.
If all else fails, Robbins said, bring ear plugs.
Second,heed the heat: Keep the air temperature at 65 degrees, Robbins told me.
Its the optimal temperature for sleeping.
As soon as you check in, turn the thermostat down to 65 degrees.
(Thats about 18 degrees Celsius.)
According to the good doctor, warm rooms can actually induce nightmares.
What about that pesky opening in the curtains?
Robbins suggested bringingclothespins to clamp that irritating gapin the curtains.
I had an even better solution.
I clipped three pants clothes hangers to the two curtains, thus closing the opening.
And that alarm clock?
I didnt want to unplug it because I have it set to wake me up in eight hours.
Robbins suggested aneye mask.
Eight hours later, I was indeed awoken by the annoying alarm clock.
My hotel hacks had worked: Id slept through the night and felt refreshed.
My room was darker and cooler than usual, both of which promote sound sleeping.
I knew exactly what he was talking about.
Hack Your Hotel for the Best Nights Sleep Possible| Van Winkles
David Farley is an American author and journalist.
Photo byaerogondo2(Shutterstock).
