Most people sleep worse on the first night of a trip, and there is a real biological reason for it. Sleep researchers call it the first night effect. Various studies have shown that on a first night somewhere new, people took longer to fall asleep, woke up more during the night, slept less overall and got less REM sleep. By the second night, most of that effect had settled. Adults in their 20s were the least affected. Children, middle-aged and older adults felt it more.

It isn’t only about being in a strange room. A 2024 study in the journal Sleep found the same effect when the nights were a week apart, and even when people slept at home under study conditions. A change in routine seems to be enough to keep part of the brain a little more alert than usual.

So if your first hotel night feels light and broken, that’s expected. If you have an important meeting, race or event, arriving a day early gives your sleep a chance to recover. And try not to lie there worrying about it, because the worry tends to do more damage than the new environment

Beyond that first night, most of what ruins hotel sleep comes down to light, noise, temperature and what you eat and drink.

Light

Your body clock takes its cues mostly from light. In a 2021 study, adults who sat in bright light for three hours before bed had lower melatonin, a smaller drop in body temperature and took longer to fall asleep compared to when the room was dim. The more light you get late in the evening, the later your body wants to sleep.

Eye masks are one of the best-studied simple fixes. A 2023 network meta-analysis of 31 randomized trials ranked eye masks, alone or paired with earplugs, as the most effective low-cost way to improve sleep quality. Most of those trials were done in hospitals, which are brighter and louder than a hotel. In other studies, Women using a mask and earplugs were more than twice as likely to gain at least 30 extra minutes of sleep a night, and most said they slept better.

In practice, close the blackout curtains all the way and pin the gap in the middle with a clip or a pants hanger. Cover the small glowing lights on the TV, smoke detector and clock with a bit of tape. Use the lamps instead of the overhead lights for the last hour or so before bed, and bring a soft, contoured eye mask. If you get up at night, keep the bathroom light low.A hack I personally use is take dim red light motion detected night light, that only turns on when I get out of bed to use the restroom. This way I am not entirely walking in dark and neither do I need to turn the lights on.

Noise

Hallway voices, slamming doors, elevators and traffic are the complaints hotel guests mention most. Noise can pull you out of deep sleep without fully waking you, so you may not remember it and still feel tired the next morning.

Earplugs have good support. Several studies found better sleep quality in people who wore them overnight. The sensible approach is to start with earplugs and add steady background sound if it helps you. When you book or check in, ask for a room away from the elevators, ice machine, stairwell and street, and avoid connecting doors when you can. Higher floors are usually quieter. Foam earplugs work best when rolled tight and allowed to expand in the ear. For background sound, setting the room fan to run constantly works well, or you can use a white noise app at a moderate volume with your phone across the room.

Temperature and air

Your body needs to cool down a little to fall and stay asleep, and a warm, stuffy room works against that. In a 2022 experiment, older adults sleeping at 86°F lost about 26 minutes of sleep and spent about 27 more minutes awake than at 81°F. Better ventilation in the same study added more deep sleep and REM sleep. A 2023 study of older adults at home found sleep was most efficient when the bedroom stayed between 68 and 77°F, and it dropped noticeably as the room got warmer. Being too cold isn’t good either. People who often feel cold in the bedroom report worse sleep.

These are mostly small experiments and observational studies, many in older adults, but they all point the same way. Set the thermostat when you check in so the room is cool by bedtime. Somewhere near 68°F is a good starting point, and you can adjust from there. Switching the fan from auto to on keeps the air moving and gives you background noise at the same time. If you get cold, ask for an extra blanket rather than turning up the heat.

Caffeine and alcohol

Travel days tend to mean an extra afternoon coffee and a drink at the bar in the evening. Both cost more sleep than most people expect.

Multiple studies found caffeine cut total sleep by about 45 minutes and reduced deep sleep. Doctors agree that a cup of coffee should be finished at least 8.8 hours before bed, and a typical pre-workout supplement about 13 hours before. For a 10 p.m. bedtime, that means your last coffee should be around 1 p.m. Keep an eye on the less obvious sources too, like minibar sodas, iced tea, energy drinks and chocolate.

Alcohol helps some people fall asleep, but it disrupts the second half of the night. Having one more drink than usual was linked to a higher heart rate during sleep, lower heart rate variability and shorter sleep. The effects were stronger in women and younger adults, and drinking earlier in the evening reduced them. This was an observational study run by a wearable company, not a clinical trial, but it lines up with years of lab research. If you drink, keep it to one or two, finish a few hours before bed and drink water alongside.

Screens in bed

A hotel room makes it easy to end up in bed with the TV on and your phone in hand. In a 2025 study, adult athletes who used their phones for two hours before bed for five nights slept less, took longer to fall asleep and had slower reaction times the next day than when they read magazines. A 2024 study in JAMA Pediatrics, which used cameras to track young people’s real screen use, found that screens before getting into bed made little difference, while screens once in bed were linked to less sleep. Gaming and multitasking were the worst. Do your email at the desk, and once you get into bed, put the phone across the room.

Time zones

If you crossed several time zones, jet lag stacks on top of everything else. A 2024 study found the best results came from combining approaches: getting light at the right times, eating on local time, staying active and in some cases using melatonin. Most of these studies were small, and the right timing depends on how far and which direction you flew. As a general rule, switch to local meal and sleep times as soon as you arrive. Our Jet Lag tool may help you plan your travel better and help you get adjusted to new time zones ahead to your travel.

A few other things

Your body likes routine, so keep your wake time close to normal even on vacation, and bring one or two familiar wind-down habits, whether that’s a book, your own pillowcase or a few minutes of stretching. If you can’t fall asleep after about 20 minutes, get up, sit somewhere dim and do something calm until you feel sleepy. These come from standard behavioral sleep principles rather than hotel studies, but they’re low risk and they help.

If you use CPAP for sleep apnea, bring it. Skipping even one night can leave you exhausted. Pack it in your carry-on with an extension cord, since hotel outlets are often nowhere near the bed. Most machines are fine without the humidifier for a night or two if you can’t find distilled water.

It helps to keep a small pouch packed and ready with an eye mask, earplugs, a couple of binder clips for the curtains, a bit of tape, a small night light and a white noise app downloaded for offline use. That way you don’t have to think about it before each trip.

When to see a sleep doctor

A rough first night away is normal. Poor sleep most nights, at home and away, is not. If you snore loudly, gasp or stop breathing in your sleep, feel very sleepy during the day despite a full night in bed, or take days to recover after every trip, it’s worth seeing a sleep specialist. Insomnia, sleep apnea and body clock disorders are all common, and all of them can be treated.

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Disclaimer: This article is for general education only and is not medical advice. It does not replace an evaluation by a qualified healthcare professional. If you have ongoing sleep problems or health concerns, or before starting any supplement such as melatonin, speak with your doctor or a board-certified sleep medicine specialist.

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