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better sleep in your rv

6 Must Have Items for Better Sleep in Your RV

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6 Must Have Items for Better Sleep in Your RV

How to Get Good Sleep In Your RV NuventureTravels.com

How to get good sleep in your RV? We want it, too! As full-time RVer’s we’ve had our fair share of no sleep nights. Either, we find an awesome, secluded spot and in the middle of the night someone pulls up next to us with their lights on, music up, and generator running. Come on, y’all! Or, one of us is ready to sleep and the other’s not and wants lights on, so we’re both frustrated.

We’ve been there, too! Here’s a list of 6 must have things to get good sleep. And, through researching, here are 7 tips we’ve found to get better sleep in your RV.

6 Must Have’s for Better Sleep in Your RV

  1. Ear Plugs

Adam’s a super sensitive sleeper, so if he gets woken up, it’s a good chance he’s up the rest of the night tossing and turning. So he keeps a tiny bag of ear plugs under his pillow to keep any noises (my turning of a book page or noisy neighbors) out of ear shot.

He has the bright orange neon ones just like these I found on Amazon.

Foam Ear Plugs

 
 

2. Eye Mask

If you want to take a nap in the camper mid-day or your partner wants to read with the lights still on, snag one of these. We got ours from an international flight we took and still use it. Or, grab one on Amazon. Ooooo! Silky, silky!

Silk Eye Mask

 
 

3. Head Lamp

For us, we rarely doze off at the same time. A lot of nights one of us is still reading while the other wants to pass out. Instead of keeping overhead lights on to light our book, we’ve found that using our head lamps is better for the other person sleeping. The headlamp keeps the light more directed into the book instead having an overhead light on making it hard for the other person to fall asleep.

Here’s the headlamp I use and it has three settings of light.

 
 

4. Awesome Mattress

One of the best things you can do for yourself is invest in a good mattress! We LOVE our mattress and it’s not expensive- less than $250!

The best sleep we get is on this mattress in our camper! We’re not exaggerating. We’d rather sleep in our camper at family and friend’s houses when we’re visiting. Shhh… don’t tell them:)

We bought our camper from another couple and they included this mattress in the sale. However, we love it so much, when we recently moved back into our house in Colorado, I bought these same mattresses for in our home while we’re base camping there part time of the year. We totally recommend this mattress with five stars!

Spa Sensations Memory Foam Mattress, 8 inch, Full Size

 
 

5. Cool Sheets for Summer

We’ve found that our sheet choice really affects our sleep in the different seasons. We have cool sheets for hot, muggy summer nights and flannel for cold, winter nights.

I’ve been hearing a lot about these bamboo sheets that stay cool all night. Right now we have cotton, but we may try these for next summer! Wanted to share this with you:)

Cool Sheets for Summer

 
 

6. Flannel Sheets for Winter

We love our flannel sheets! They make a huge difference in the winter months keeping us warmer all night. Here’s a list of must have winter items I keep on hand too to make sure I keep myself warm. If not, I’m a cold grouch!

Just seeing these flannel sheets makes me want to crawl into bed for a nap:)

Deliciously cozy Eddie Bauer flannel sheets… time for a nap!

 

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6 Must Have Items to Get Good Sleep in Your RV

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7 Tips for Better Sleep in Your RV

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7 Tips for Better Sleep in Your RV

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We’ve been getting terrible sleep lately. We’re tossing and turning all night, dreaming way more than usual, and waking with cricks in our necks. If you’re out traveling and exploring like us, we have full days of fun and adventure or hard work pushing ourselves on projects. We ain’t got no time for no sleep! We have to get good rest or we’ll be exhausted and grouchy in a fun new place! No bueno.

I’ve been researching how to sleep better and here are some tips I found to set yourself up for better sleep in your RV. I also made a list of sleeping gear to have to get better sleep, too.

7 Tips for Getting Better Sleep in Your RV

  1. Find a Secluded Site/Spot

First, find a secluded spot to camp tucked away from traffic and neighbors.

Depending on the circumstances that can be hard. If you’re planning to stay at a crowded campsite, ask the campsite host for the quietest spot available. Hosts know their sites well and can put you in the best spot. Also, double check that you’re away from a bathroom. Waking up hearing the bathroom door slam over and over in the middle of the night is terrible.

To take it a step further, phone ahead and reserve your campsite in advance asking for the quietest spot available.

2. Cut Out Incoming Light at Night

I’ve learned light has a big role in our sleep/wake cycle, so if you’re a light sleeper it’s going to be a much better night’s sleep if you cut out incoming light. In our RVs, we have the sun streaming in, headlights from cars coming into camp late at night, or Walmart’s parking lot lights streaming in all night. Installing blackout curtains can cut out the light from interrupting our sleep.

We haven’t done this yet, because we like waking up with the sun. But, when we make quick trips cross country, we stay in lots of Walmart and Cracker Barrel parking lots at night. I’m realizing the parking lot lights coming through the cracks of our blinds aren’t helping our sleep:(. It’s now on my to-do list.

3. Put Away Screens Before Bed

We’re learning this is a big deal to getting good sleep and this is a tip for day-to-day life, too.

When we’re in our RVs, it can be tempting to kick back and start scrolling social media or watching Netflix to unwind at the end of the day. However, to get restful sleep, we should put away our phones and screens at least 2 hours before we want to fall asleep.

I found this article about the light from our phones actually confuses our bodies into thinking it’s daytime. The light makes our minds want to wake up and turn on. This explains why we have a harder time falling asleep or not getting restful sleep because we’re waking ourselves back up with our screen lights. You can check out the article here:

To get better at this, I set up a daily alarm on my phone at 8 pm to remind me to put away my phone and computer and open a book before bed. So far it’s been a good nudge to start wrapping up my day.

4. Stick to a Regular Sleep Schedule

Adam and I’ve learned we thrive when we follow routines. Go figure. We started this lifestyle to have freedom, but we’ve figured out we’re better off with routines and it seems like the same is true with getting better sleep.

If you have a nightly routine at home or before you were RVing, then stick with it! Do what you can to transfer your routine over to RV life while you’re traveling. You might not always be able to follow your routine when you’re doing things and having adventures, but be as close to it as you can to get better sleep.

I’ve learned a consistent sleep schedule tunes your body’s internal clock for a regular sleep and wake cycle. When I look back at the seasons of life where I was on a strict schedule, I remember feeling more fresh, energized, and calmer. I'm excited to try this again.

5. Get a Good Mattress

Some of the mattresses that come standard in RVs can be stiff, thin, and uncomfortable. Our “mattress” that came with the Casita was four bench cushions squeezed together. For one night, that’s doable, but for a full-time lifestyle like ours or going out for weeks or months at a time, that’s not a long term solution to good sleep.

Sleepadvisor’s 48 Sleep Hacks say a better mattress is important to help prevent issues with cricks in your neck and back pain, especially if you’re being physically active during the day. That’s all of us in our RVs.

Thankfully, we inherited a Spa Sensations Memory Foam mattress when we bought our Casita, and WE LOVE IT! We think it’s more comfortable than sleeping at our family and friends when we’re visiting. We love it so much, we got this mattress for our bed when we moved back into our home in Colorado. It’s less than $250. To get better sleep it’s well worth investing in an upgrade!

6. Get the Right Pillows & Sheets for the Season

We’ve learned this one over the years. Pillows and sheets are super important for your comfort in your RV. Whatever pillow you like, make sure you get a good one. Adam likes lumpy and thin, I like medium. We know when we’re accidentally using the other pillow, because it just doesn’t feel right. So, make sure you have good pillows to sleep with instead of the leftover ones from home.

Also, having the right sheets is so important for us! When it’s summer, use light and cool sheets. When it’s winter, definitely use flannel.

We’ve learned our sheets definitely determine how well we sleep. If we don’t have the right sheets in summer, we’re hot and sweaty all night. If we aren’t using flannel sheets on cold nights, the chill keeps us tossing and turning.

7. Only Drink Caffeine in the Morning

This is gonna be a hard one for me!

One thing I read is to keep caffeine only in the morning and not drink any in the after noon. This is tough because when we’re out traveling or working, we tend to get tired around 3-4 pm and we want a caffeine pick-me-up mid afternoon.

I’ve been trying to not drink coffee after 12 pm and so far it seems to help me get better sleep.

Conclusion

Some of these tips are combatting uncontrollable things, like noise and light from outside the RV. Others are things we can control and new habits to form like putting screens away, sticking to a routine, and not having afternoon coffee. We’re working on improving this, too.

We hope these tips help you get better sleep in your RV. Wishing you restful sleep tonight!

-Lindsey


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7 Tips for Better Sleep in Your RV, NuventureTravels.com

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