Why You Sleep Badly in Hotels, and How to Fix It

If you sleep worse on the first night of every trip, you are not imagining it. Sleep scientists have documented the "first-night effect" for decades, and in 2016 they found one reason for it.

Half your brain stays on watch

Masako Tamaki and colleagues found that on the first night in a new place, part of the left hemisphere stayed more responsive during deep sleep, reacting more to unusual sounds and prompting quicker waking. Like some birds and marine mammals, we keep partial watch in unfamiliar surroundings.

And you cannot feel the cost

In a landmark study, people restricted to six hours of sleep for two weeks developed attention lapses comparable to one or two nights without sleep, yet reported feeling only slightly sleepy. Short sleep hides itself.

The portable sleep kit

• Dark: a contoured eye mask and blackout clips for curtains.
• Quiet: earplugs or steady white noise.
• Cool: around 17-19 °C.
• Familiar: your own pillowcase or scent, and the same wind-down ritual every night.
• Unplugged: phone across the room.

Request the right room

A high floor, away from lifts and ice machines. Return to the same hotels when you can; familiarity shrinks the first-night effect.

VIP Global Travel members share their sleep preferences once, and their concierge requests the right room for every stay.

Discover VIP Global Travel →

Sources

1. Tamaki M, Bang JW, Watanabe T, Sasaki Y. Night watch in one brain hemisphere during sleep associated with the first-night effect in humans. Current Biology. 2016;26(9):1190-1194. Link
2. Van Dongen HPA, Maislin G, Mullington JM, Dinges DF. The cumulative cost of additional wakefulness: dose-response effects on neurobehavioral functions and sleep physiology from chronic sleep restriction and total sleep deprivation. Sleep. 2003;26(2):117-126. Link
3. Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, et al. National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations. Sleep Health. 2015;1(1):40-43. Link