First, you don’t necessarily have to do anything to prepare for sleep while traveling ahead of time. 

Traveling can be stressful as it is, so no need to add to the stress.⁠ For my family, our sleep can be a little off when we travel and there are a few simple things I do which have been helpful for us.  If you do want to prepare to help your children get the best sleep possible while traveling, here are some ideas you can think about.⁠

Recreating the sleep environment 

If you’re familiar with Delightful Dreamers at all, you know that we are big on having a sleep environment that supports and promotes sleep. Two key things for this are keeping it dark and using white noise. Luckily, most sound machines are easy enough to bring along when you are traveling. If this isn’t an option, there are free apps for white noise, and even white noise videos on youtube. The one thing I would caution with the free apps is to check if they have the option for white noise all night if that’s what your child is used to having at home. I used one app a long time ago but it would only work for an hour and shut off, and this was disruptive for our sleep. If you don’t use white noise at home, it may be helpful to use while traveling if you find you are in a noisier environment than usual.

To keep the room dark, there are a few options. I know some people have travel black out shades which I’m sure come in handy. There is also the SlumberPod which is a really cool product. I’m an affiliate and you can use my code Delightful$20 to get $20 off the original SlumberPod, SlumberPod and fan combo, or SlumberPod and homebase combo.

Don’t feel like you have to buy something else just for traveling if you don’t want to. I’ve hung blankets over windows while traveling, or if you have black trash bags or tinfoil these can also do the trick for blocking out any extra light.

Bring any special lovies or blankets if your child usually uses them⁠

If there’s something specific your child uses to fall asleep, you’ll want to make sure you bring it. If they use a pacifier, bring a few extra in case one gets lost. (Safe sleep note, lovies and blankets should only be introduced to children over a year)

Try to get good sleep the day before traveling 

Going into traveling well rested can help set things up for success with sleep while traveling. I know this isn’t necessarily something you can control, but I know I’m guilty of staying up late the night before we are going somewhere to finish chores and packing. When possible, planning ahead so we don’t fall into doing this can be really helpful.

Think about your schedule

When flying, often the super early flights are the cheapest, but  you know your family and if getting up extra early is going to set up for a miserable day then you may want to plan on leaving later in the day⁠. For road trips, thinking about when nap time is and if your child naps in the car or not can be helpful to keep in mind. Traveling as a parent is definitely more work, but the schedule can be important especially for kids who are more sensitive if their sleep is off.

Traveling across time zones

If you are going to be traveling across time zones, there are some options. It really depends on how long you will be there and how great the time difference is. If it’s a quick trip or a difference of an hour, it probably doesn’t make sense to change anything timing wise. If it is a bigger time difference, or you are going to be there for a longer time, then you can gradually shift the schedule to match your travel destination⁠. 

Talk ahead of time about sleep expectations

If you are traveling with your partner, it can be helpful to talk to them ahead of time so that you have a plan and so everyone is on the same page. If you are staying with family while traveling, you may want to talk to them and let them know what your plan is. If your visiting grandparents and they are planning dinner at bedtime, talking about the schedule ahead of time can help avoid conflict. In this situation a compromise will have to be made and either dinner can be earlier or bedtime will be later. If your kids are old enough to understand⁠, you can also talk to them ahead of your trip and let them know that bedtime will be later or we’ll be getting up early, whatever may be different while you are away.

If you are traveling, I hope it will be a fun time! 

Having fun as a family is often the goal of traveling, though I know this can sometimes be hard. Traveling can get stressful, especially when kids are involved. But hopefully the information shared here can help make the sleeping piece a little less stressful.

Do you have any tips that help your family with sleep during travels?

Share your tips in the comments! If you have any big trips coming up and would like to take some time to talk through any sleep concerns, you can schedule a free discovery call and get a consultation set up!