Sleeping Over the River and Through the Woods

Sleeping in Someone Else’s Bed?

Or are you the someone else?

This time of year, you may be looking at sleeping somewhere other than your own comfy bed at home. If you’re one of the lucky ones who will be home for the holidays, you may be providing beds or sleeping accommodations for your family or friends coming to visit.

According to AAA, 48.7 million Americans are expected to hit the roads or airways for Thanksgiving this year. That’s almost 49 million souls who will be laying their weary heads down on unfamiliar hotel beds, family guest rooms, living room sofa beds, air mattresses, cots or sleeping bags. It makes your back ache just thinking about it, doesn’t it?

While you can’t completely control what your sleeping arrangements will be when not in your own home, you can take a few simple steps to make sleeping in someone else’s bed as comfortable and restful as possible.

• Don’t eat or drink too much right before bedtime. Thanksgiving is a time for indulging in our favorite family dishes and having a celebratory cocktail or glass of wine (or three). Enjoy yourself and the holiday eats, but make sure you’ve had time to digest and sober up before you go to bed. There’s not much less fun in this world than feeling not-so-good when away from home. And no one wants to experience digestive issues away from their own bathroom, in the middle of the night.
• Bring your own pillow. Yes, it takes up space in your bag or car, but if you really do struggle to sleep away from home, this might be a tradeoff that’s worth sacrificing that extra change of clothes. A great way to minimize the space it takes is to use a space saving bag that you can vacuum the air out of and seal up in a nice, flat package. Open it up when you get there and your pillow will bounce back as good as new, and it will stay clean during the trip.
• Bring your own entertainment. Whether you bring something to read, or have music or video apps on your phone or devices, it will help you relax if you have trouble falling asleep when everyone else has nodded off. A personal reading light helps if you have old-school books so you don’t keep anyone else sleeping near you awake. If you’re listening to music or watching a movie online on your phone, make sure you have earbuds so only you have to listen in.
• Earplugs. Enough said.

If you’re playing host or hostess this year, you can make sure your guests feel as comfortable as possible by providing a few simple amenities:

• Clean, fresh smelling bedding. Whether you’ve got a cozy guest room or are bedding people down on your family room sofa, make sure you have plenty of freshly washed sheets and clean pillows. It’s amazing how many people pull extra sheets that haven’t been laundered in years out of the closet, and use pillows that are less than fresh smelling for their guests. This is a simple thing that will help your visitors relax and enjoy their stay.
• Provide nightlights where your guests will sleep, in hallways and in bathrooms. Your company may not be familiar with your house and this will make them more comfortable making their way to the bathroom or down to the kitchen if they need to in the night.
• Keep your pets in your own room or in a special area away from your guests’ sleeping areas at night during their visits. They are a part of your family, but Uncle Ernie may not think it’s quite as cute as you do when Fluffcat uses him as a pillow or Scruffy licks his toes at 5:00 am.

The most important thing to remember is to relax and enjoy your holiday. Having or being a visitor can be stressful, and things will be a little bit different than your usual routine, but spending time with loved ones is a very special thing and should be enjoyed to the fullest. Do your best to get some good sleep, and enjoy your Thanksgiving!