A member asked:

I can hardly sleep well. i want to have a deep and comfortable sleep. i travel a lot.

18 doctors weighed in across 8 answers

Anxiety?: Providing there is no physical cause for the sleep loss, I wonder if you are experiencing anxiety? And if so, speaking with a psychotherapist about it would likely be a great step forward.

Answered 5/10/2016

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Dr. Justin Greiwe answered

Specializes in Allergy and Immunology

Better Sleep Hygiene: Better sleep hygiene: maintain a regular sleep schedule, do not force sleep, avoid caffeinated beverages after lunch, avoid alcohol near bedtime, avoid smoking or other nicotine products (especially at night), adjust the bedroom environment to decrease stimuli (reduce ambient light, turn off television), avoid prolonged use of light-emitting screens before bedtime (laptops, tablets), reduce stress

Answered 5/10/2016

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Dr. Christine Hom answered

Specializes in Pediatrics

Sleep and travel.: Traveling is very disruptive to sleep. Different bed, different food, different time zone. Keep up physical fitness - 15-30 minutes of aerobic exercise helps quality of sleep. Don't nap. Keep sleeping hours one long stretch. Turn off lit screens an hour before the projected bedtime. Judicious use of melatonin helps some people.

Answered 5/10/2016

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Traveling a lot is: the first suspect of sleeplessness, especially if you travel east or west (north/south likely will not mess with your time zone orientation). Circadian rhythms don't like moving, relative to sun position, and get out of sync with each other. There are hundreds of circadians that all co-function, unless one of them gets thrown off, then it takes a day or so to adjust per time zone traveled.

Answered 5/10/2016

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Dr. Krishna Kumar answered

Specializes in Psychiatry

Insomnia: I understand your distress. “Travelling a lot” can affect sleep as your Circadian Rhythm get out of phase with your sleep/wake cycle. “I can hardly sleep well” is likely due to stresses in life. Before sleeping, do Breathing and Music Relaxation, Yoga, Meditation. Prior to travel and during travel use Visual imagery of Yosemite National Park Wonders. See Psychiatrist for Therapy and Medication.

Answered 5/10/2016

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Sleep Hygiene: Shutting down the brain at night is easy for some,but difficult for others.Try meditation or progressive muscle relaxation before bed.I recommend a 20 minute guided pmr--many are found on itunes,such as 1 by dr. Beth Salcedo.In addition, there are many books out there about how to have good "sleep hygiene"--the art of getting good rest.Develop a preparation-for-sleep "ritual" & use wherever u are!

Answered 4/30/2017

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Dr. Stephen Kibrick answered

Specializes in Clinical Psychology

CBT helps insomnia: Travel often disrupts sleep patterns, esp if you are crossing time zones. Behavioral changes can markedly improve sleep. Avoid caffeine after 1 PM, avoid alcohol use 2 hrs before bed. Turn off TV and computer or phone screens 1 hr before sleep time. Try to eat light healthy meals when traveling. Getting 30 min/day of moderate exercise 6 hrs before sleep time can help. Avoid sleeping pills!

Answered 5/14/2016

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Dr. Gabriel Medina answered

Specializes in Sleep Medicine

Travel insomnia: Traveling requires adjusting your wake/sleep schedule appropriately depending on time zone changes. Try to exercise on trips when possible to improve the quality of your sleep. Stress can also worsen sleep and having a wind down hour to clear your mind before entering the bed can help.

Answered 5/1/2017

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