Don’t Lose Sleep over Summer Travel
When you have established sleep routines, it can feel a little stressful to think about leaving the comfort and controlled environment of your home and taking your family on the road. If your baby is finally sleeping through the night, you might worry about disrupting that accomplishment. Maybe your toddler is in the midst of a sleep regression or your older child has new fears around bedtime and you're worried about how all of this will unfold while you’re away.
Here are some best sleep practices that will help you prepare and ease your mind about venturing out this summer:
Is this our “normal way”?
If babies (over the age of 5 months) and kids have a regular habit of falling asleep independently, that is the expectation they travel with. Going into their crib or bed fully awake and aware is their go-to way, and they feel confident about what to do to fall asleep on their own. They are not relying on us to help do it for them– and they travel with this mindset. That means you can have the same expectations for bedtime as you have at home. Give your baby or child the feeling that you’re not worried about this - you know they can do it. If you’ve been using the Sleep Wave method, you can use it while you’re away from home.
Check out the space together
When you arrive where you’ll be staying, make it one of the first steps to put the crib, pack n play, or mattress where it will be for sleeping. Show everyone (including babies) where they will sleep and briefly talk about the plan. Have your familiar stuff with you, like sheets, loveys and books.
Consider the summer sun
We are pro-gear that creates darkness, like the Slumber pod and other travel blackout products. The benefit is that they not only create a sleeping environment that is super dark, they can create a visual distinction for babies and toddlers so they feel as if they have their own space. This can be especially important for summer travel, because the day length is so long.
Hold onto your Wind Down and Bedtime Routines
When we’re busy enjoying ourselves, it’s so easy to skip routines and just hope our kids will fall asleep without them. Do your best to maintain not only the routines themselves but also the correct times to start them, depending on your timing plan (see time zones below). Maintaining familiar routines, with the same books, language cues, and steps, will go a long way toward helping your baby or child feel secure and ready to let go, so their bodies can pull them into sleep.
Independent bedtime
Remember to put your baby down in their own sleeping place, or to say goodnight to your older child and leave the room at bedtime. Even if you’re sharing a room, try not to resort to staying in the room while they fall asleep. If your child is 3 years old or older, this is a good moment to use the Reverse Sleep Wave method (see Chapter 5 or get in touch with us for a consult if you want to learn this).
Adjust times with sunlight
Morning sun is the most powerful input to our circadian systems. Use this knowledge to help your family adjust or maintain sleep schedules. Outdoor light (not artificial lights, or sunlight through a window) sends a signal to the brain clock that helps us feel fully awake and energized and also sets a daily rhythm that helps us fall asleep easily when bedtime rolls around. Seeing the outdoor light – even through clouds – for 5 to 15 minutes within the first hour of waking up, syncs the brain clock and makes us alert and sleepy at the proper times.
You can also use sunlight to adjust to new time zones. If you are traveling east a few time zones, for under a week, you might want to keep your family on your home time. That means going to bed at 10pm and waking no earlier than 9am. In this case, the most important step is to fully black out the bedroom windows. If you’re traveling east for a week or more, adjusting somewhat to the local time is almost inevitable and usually ends up feeling better. In that case, you can move by about 30-60 minutes every day. Wake your baby or child at 9am the first day, 8:30am the second, and so on. Adjust bedtimes simultaneously. Again, using blackout in the rooms, and then going outside when you do wake up is important.
If you’re traveling west, you will want to adjust as soon as possible to avoid your child wanting to fall asleep at 4pm, for example (if traveling from New York to California).
Don't worry if sleep regresses
Despite your best efforts and positive attitude, for some babies and kids, being in a new place can derail sleep to some degree, especially if you’re staying in someone’s home or any place where you worry about waking others up with some protest crying. The good news is --- and we’ve seen this over and over -- when you get back home, you simply re embark on your Sleep Wave plan with great consistency and you’ll be back on track in no time.