Travelers are often referred to as ‘living the dream’. We make people insanely jealous with our tales, our photos and the way in which we capture our experiences online.

But being on the road is tough at times; and sometimes, when it comes to getting enough sleep, the life of a nomad can feel more like a waking nightmare. Take it from me, I find it very hard to sleep on my travels, especially air travel. I wish I could sleep like a baby on every trip but Alas.

Moving from location to location, from hotel to guest house to hostel can be exhausting. The kind of tiring that leaves you grumpy and jaded. But alas, being dead on your feet does not always go hand-in-hand with getting a good night’s rest. And a good night’s sleep, no matter if you’re at home or abroad, is absolutely vital for your health.

Fortunately, you don’t need to go spending a small fortune on expensive hotel beds to sleep properly when on the road. All you really need to do is make sure you excel at the art of packing and include a few handy little accessories in your backpack.

Read on below and I will let you in on the five essentials you simply must carry with you if you want to improve your odds of getting a good night’s rest when travelling.

Eye Mask

Yes, I know your Great Auntie Valerie wears one and it makes her look hilarious. But believe me, the humble sleep mask is worth ten-times its weight in solid gold when it comes to catching some shut-eye when travelling.

Forget how silly you may look, being able to block out the incessant on/off of dorm room lights or the early morning sun streaming through cheap threadbare curtains is well worth a little bit of embarrassment.

I for one never ever leave home with an eye mask in my travel bag. And if you forget to bring yours, don’t fear you can always ‘borrow’ the one they give you when you board the plane!

Ear Plugs

So you’ve arrived in a new town, that means a completely new bed – what comes with a new bed apart from hopefully clean sheets? A whole new selection of wonderful and sometimes downright weird night-time noises to contend with.

It could be highly suspicious grunts coming from the next bunk to yours, which you are hoping beyond hope are just strange snores. Or it could be monks chanting into the night or a cacophony of cockerels who have confused dawn for 2am. Whatever the the new noise you have to content with, ear plugs are the solution for you.

Lavender Essential Oil

Now this one isn’t for everyone but it works for me. Pack a little bottle of Lavender Essential Oil and come bedtime sprinkle a drop or two onto your pillow.

Lavender has a well known ability to instill a sense of calmness, relieve stress, alleviate headaches and generally soothe your mind into a better place for sleep. It’s got a heap of other benefits, too; so it makes a pretty great travel companion!

For instance, lavender is known to help help sunburn and reduce the symptoms of skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Yay!

Mosquito Net

In my opinion nothing, and I mean nothing, has the power to keep people as wide awake as the incessant whine of a mosquito flying past your ear in the night.
So you flick on the lights and chase the little pest around the room, swearing frantically and knocking over furniture everywhere. You think you’ve killed it. But then as soon as you hit the lights, there it is again, that horrible whine. Why?!

Even if you happen to be somewhere where the little biters aren’t carrying malaria, Zika, dengue or another of the umpteen vector-borne diseases, that horrible whine is still their way of saying, “I’m waiting for you to fall asleep and then you are dinner!”

Mosquito spray can obviously help but let’s face it, it’s horrible stuff. Not only does it make you feel sticky, it’s also not great to be slathering yourself constantly with pretty strong chemicals like DEET.

So what to do, well this is where the net comes to your rescue. Thankfully, in recent years, travel nets have got a lot more compact. Gone are the days when you would be trying to stuff something the size of a wedding dress into the bottom of your bag.

Silk Sleeping Bag Liner

Ooooh, silk! Yes, that’s right…with my last tip I’ve got a bit classy. Let’s face it, sometimes on the road we have to settle for accommodation that isn’t always the most hygienic. Sheets that look like the last time they were washed Abba were still riding high in the charts. A simple solution to this sticky problem (hopefully not literally sticky), is a silk sleeping bag liner.
Why silk? Because it is lightweight, packs super small and importantly won’t make you feel stuffy even in the hottest climates. They may cost a little but they are well worth it.

Well, there you have it travel fans – five essential travel sleep accessories that you should never leave home without.

If you find that you’re still having trouble sleeping – at home or on the road – check out what the crew at the Sleep Advisor have to say. They’ve got tips on meditation, sleeping positions and bedtime accessories to help you get the sounder sleep you deserve.

Happy wanders in the meantime!