![\"P&O](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Pacific-Explorer-Bed-1000x667.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHopefully, I haven\u2019t turned you off cruising yet! I promise it\u2019s so relaxing and enjoyable. I love sleeping with the gentle rocking of the ship as it rises and falls with the waves. Then there is the sound of the ocean. We\u2019ve had an ocean view stateroom right at the bow on Explorer of the Seas and hearing the waves all night was like sleeping in a beach house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, in spite of all the things I love about cruising and sleeping on a cruise ship, sleep is one of those things that can be impacted and might take a bit of adjusting. Never fear, there are several things you can do to help you get the best sleep possible while you are cruising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Make time for the sunset<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
On a cruise ship, light doesn\u2019t work the way it does outside. The sun goes down in the evening, but inside the walls of a cruise ship, the lights remain the same. If you didn\u2019t check the time, you could walk into a corridor and would have no way of knowing if it is 12 pm or 12 am. Although there might be fewer people around at midnight!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Sunset](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sunset-at-Lautoka-from-Voyager-of-the-Seas-1000x667.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nYes, we have lights at home too, but most of the time we live in spaces that have windows. Most buildings these days are designed around capturing natural light and bringing it inside the structure. As a result, you always have some sense of the time of day, even inside, and when it gets dark, you can see that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cruise ship designers (or are they architects?) do try to bring in natural light. It isn\u2019t always practical or possible to have outside-facing windows, especially in larger vessels. Without windows, you can easily miss the natural light dimming and disappearing outside as the day draws to a close and the moon rises to rule the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Sunset](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sunset-over-Sydney-Harbour-1000x667.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nIf you have an interior room, this can be both a blessing and a curse. Since you have no windows and your lighting is always artificial it can really throw off your senses. However, when it comes to bedtime, interior staterooms get you the most darkness. More on this in the next section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To try and keep your body clock in tune, make time to catch the sunset. If you are seated in the main dining room near the windows and your dinner time is around dusk, this might be enough. If not try and put yourself somewhere that has windows, or even better, outside in the sea breeze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Sunset](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Sunset-at-Sea-on-Radiance-of-the-Seas-1000x750.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nOther ideas to see the natural change in light might include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Go for a swim<\/li>
- Chill in the hot tub<\/li>
- Watch an outdoor movie<\/li>
- Read a book<\/li>
- Work out in the gym<\/li>
- Do a few laps of the walking track<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"Watching](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Watching-an-outdoor-movie-in-the-evening-on-Golden-Princess-1000x749.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nIf you wanted to put yourself out there, you could find a good seat and take 20 minutes to watch the sun go to sleep for the day. Sunset at sea can be gorgeous!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Seek out the darkness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Make the room as dark as possible – this is easy in an interior stateroom, but for ocean view, balcony and suite rooms, close the block out curtains tightly before you go to bed. Next, ensure all the lights are off and cover lights that you can\u2019t turn off. One example is the peephole in the door. These let in a remarkable amount of light. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Ocean](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Ocean-View-Stateroom-Curtains-on-Explorer-of-the-Seas-1000x749.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nIf the peephole is missing its cover, I usually stick a magnet over ours. It\u2019s remarkable how often lights outside our door are situated such that they shine straight through the peephole and into my face in bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Looking](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Looking-through-a-Stateroom-peephole-on-Radiance-of-the-Seas-980x1000.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAnother example that I find particularly annoying is the power LED on the stateroom television. The red ones don\u2019t bother me as much, but the blue ones can be bothersome. Blue light is known to disrupt sleep<\/a>, so try to get rid of or block these if you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most \u30ed\u30a4\u30e4\u30eb\u30ab\u30ea\u30d3\u30a2\u30f3<\/a> ships have partial curtains to help block some of the TV light if someone (hopefully someone that has your permission to be in your stateroom) is watching it while you are sleeping. Making sure this curtain is extended is often enough to get the blue light away from sleeping eyes. Otherwise, unplug the TV (if it\u2019s practical to do so).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Radiance](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Radiance-of-the-Seas-Interior-Room-4525-1000x667.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nCruise ships are terrible at emitting unfiltered blue light everywhere. So, once you do retire to your room, drop the light levels as low as you (safely) can as you are getting ready for bed. This can help signal to your body that it is time to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What if you need to get up in the night? Well…if you can manage in the dark that is awesome – I always try to as much as possible, but it isn’t always safe or practical on a moving ship. If you need to use some light, I would suggest the screen of a smartphone with night mode turned on and the brightness down. This keeps the light to a minimum and reduces the amount of blue light, so it should be the least disruptive to your sleep. Otherwise, the bedside lamps are usually dimmer with more orange light than others around the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Mimic natural temperature variations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
In the real world, also known as your home, there are natural temperature fluctuations throughout the day and night. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve noticed at least the ones in the morning. Typically, even on a scorching summer\u2019s day, it won\u2019t be as hot in the morning. The temperature will increase throughout the day to around 1 pm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Once the sun starts to make its descent in the afternoon, the temperature slowly begins to drop. After the sun dips below the horizon altogether, the temperature falls further and continues throughout the night until dawn (most of the time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Watching](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Watching-the-sunset-at-the-aft-of-Pacific-Explorer-1000x749.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAt dawn, as the sun pokes it\u2019s cheery cheeks over the horizon again, the process repeats with a gradual increase in temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With this in mind:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turn the thermostat up after you get out of bed in the morning, even just a small amount. Then turn it down before you go to bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Stateroom](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Stateroom-thermostat-on-a-cruise-ship-1000x1000.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nYou will sleep better when the temperature is a few degrees lower than it was while you were awake. So turning down the thermostat helps mimic that natural change and also reduces the chances of waking up hot and sweaty during the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes I find small temperature tweaks are all that is required, and other times I find more significant changes work better. Just experiment and see what works best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Don’t eat just before bed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Your digestion slows down while you sleep, so if your belly is full right before bed, you may not finish digesting this food properly until morning. Potentially even worse, eating food just before bed disrupts your stomach\u2019s regular healing process<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your dinner isn’t fully digested when you go to bed, it can start to go off after 8 hours of sitting in your warm tumtum, especially dairy and meat. As the food begins to ferment in your stomach, combined with your stomach being unable to heal itself efficiently, it can leave you feeling unpleasant in the morning and potentially wake you up throughout the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"Late](\"https:\/\/stillaslife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Late-NIght-Hot-Dogs-at-the-Boardwalk-Doghouse-on-Radiance-of-the-Seas-1000x750.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAnd no, I\u2019m not talking about the unpleasant feeling of motion sickness either. Not yet, anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Another side effect of eating shortly before bed is that you are doing your digestion in an unusual position, horizontally. Depending on how you sleep, you can be putting pressure on your stomach and esophagus that causes discomfort, and you are more likely<\/a> to experience symptoms like indigestion, heartburn and acid reflux.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I find starting my dinner around 5-6 pm and going to bed around 10:30 pm works well. This timeframe gives my body a reasonable window to digest the food I\u2019ve put into it before I go to sleep and my digestion slows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here’s a great video from Nutrition Facts about the benefits of eating early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n