How to have a great night’s sleep on holiday
Posted by Claire Hewitt, on August 28, 2025. Tags: Health benefits, Wellbeing
Estimated reading time: 5 minute(s)
We’re into the final weeks of summer with many of us grabbing our chance of a last-minute getaway in the UK or abroad. With work and regular routines on pause, it’s a great opportunity to avoid the early morning alarm call and catch-up on sleep. But quite often, we end up sleeping quite poorly on holiday, leaving us feeling tired and groggy when we want to feel refreshed. Why is this? According to science, the ‘first-night effect’ is real.
Sleep scientists coined this term (known as FNE for short) after studies revealed that the first night on holiday (aka an unfamiliar environment) really does have the potential to disrupt the quality of our sleep. Research has found that FNE impacts sleep onset latency (the time it takes to fall asleep), reduces the amount of time spent in deep restorative sleep, and causes us to wake more often throughout the night.
Theories suggest this is down to both psychological and physiological factors. Firstly, our brains are primed to stay alert to potential dangers when we’re in unfamiliar environments (consider yourself a cave dweller kipping in a new cave while listening out for predators). We’re also likely to be overstimulated in a different location, checking out the different sights, smells and sounds, which makes it difficult for our brains to shut down at bedtime.
You’re also attempting to sleep in a bedroom where the temperature, light levels, background noises and firmness of the mattress may all differ to what you’re used to at home, with even minimal changes affecting us. Throw in a time zone change (if you’re holidaying abroad) and it’s a recipe for a bad night’s sleep.
What can we do to ensure the ‘first night effect’ doesn’t get in the way of our precious days off? Here are some science-backed tips to keep FNE at bay…
Pack your own pillow
Resting your head on your own familiar pillow – which is likely to be just the right height and firmness for you – not only reduces the risk of neck ache, but is one of the best ways to make your holiday bed feel like home. If you don’t have space in your luggage for a pillow, even the scent and texture of your own pillowcase or favourite blanket can ‘trick’ your brain into feeling safe and secure.
Block out light and sound
While that hotel, campsite or Airbnb may look like it’s in a quiet rural setting, the website photos probably didn’t indicate there was a busy road nearby. Or perhaps you’re dealing with the steady hum of air-con or the 5am crowing of the village cockerel. Earplugs are a quick and easy fix to block out annoying noises, so make sure you pop them into your washbag, just in case.
And while backout blinds may be standard in your own home, your holiday bedroom curtains might be made of the thinnest fabric known to man. If you don’t want to wake up with the sun, an eye-mask is a must – our ethical silk eye masks are the perfect luxurious touch for holiday snoozing.
Maintain your sleep routine
While it’s tempting to go with the flow on holiday by staying up late and lying in every morning, this can interfere with your internal body clock, making it harder to achieve good quality sleep overall. You don’t have to stick to strict bedtimes and wake-up times, but not straying too far from your regular schedule will help keep you on track. Food helps us regulate our body clock, so eat dinner and breakfast at a similar time to when you’d eat at home – at least for the first couple of nights and days – and avoid consuming caffeine and alcohol too late in the day.
Don’t worry, just relax
Worrying about not getting enough quality sleep only leads to more disrupted sleep, so just lean into it. Researchers have found that the body and brain tend to settle into a new environment after a day or two, so you should be sleeping normally by night three. Just as you might do at home, it helps to follow a ‘wind down routine’ to prepare yourself for sleep an hour or more before bed. This can include dimming the lights (who can resist a candlelit veranda or an evening around the campfire?), doing some gentle stretching, sipping herbal tea and listening to relaxing music before bed.
Shop holiday sleep essentials
Don’t forget to pack these dreamy accessories…
Eye Masks
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