Getting a good night's sleep when you travel away from home can be a challenge, but a good night's sleep is the best thing you can do to function well the next day. Staying in lots of hotels and adjusting to different time zones can be very disruptive leading to poor quality sleep, so I have put together some tips on getting a better night's sleep when you are away from home.

Here are some quick tips from MiniJumbuk's Managing Director, Darren Turner on how to achieve the best night's sleep while travelling.

Quietness, Comfort and Coolness are the secret to sleeping well.

1. Choose a hotel for its location taking into account the noise level that is likely to be there. Hotels on highways that don't have double or triple glazed windows will be noisy as will hotels with thin walls and doors or the late night party goers. Try and get a room that is not opposite the lifts as a quiet room is an essential to sleeping well.
   
2. Comfortable beds and pillows can be found in many good hotels, but a hard or uncomfortable bed will disrupt your sleep as you toss and turn throughout the night trying to get more comfortable. A good bed should add comfort and allow you to stay in one position for longer while reducing pressure on your hips, shoulders and back. If you wake with aches and pain it will stay with you for the whole day! Choose a hotel that has a quality bed and bedding.
   
3. A cool dark room is the best way to fall asleep and stay asleep. The first thing I do when I get into the hotel room is turn the air-conditioning on and down to the lowest temperature and leave it on 18°C all night.

Most hotels have either polyester or feather and down bedding or synthetic blankets and while they may be comfortable initially they both trap body heat not having the breathability and moisture management properties that makes wool so much more comfortable to sleep with. This means that as your body heats up and perspires you wake up more frequently kicking off the bedding and fluffing it to allow fresh air to cool you down. I have accepted the fact that I won't get woollen bedding unless I take my own, so I now turn the air-conditioning down to get the room cold, not cool but cold to help compensate and it really works.

BEST TIP: Pillows overheating your face and neck are one of the biggest causes of waking up frequently. I initially thought that flipping and swapping pillows all night was in search of comfort, BUT it was actually searching for the cool side of the pillow. I now travel with my MiniJumbuk SLEEP COOL Pillow Protector. The cool cotton casing with the wool & cotton quilted filling will keep your face cool, dry and comfortable while allowing your skin to breathe. It allows you to stay asleep longer and wake more refreshed without puffy eyes and face.

"I now travel with my MiniJumbukSLEEP COOL Pillow Protector," comments Managing Director, Darren Turner.

The other bonus is it feels like a piece of home when you are travelling. Even when the best holidays come to an end you always look forward to getting back home to your own bed, so why not take a piece of it with you. The SLEEP COOL Pillow Protector fits pillows of all shapes and sizes and takes up very little room in your luggage. I actually have it as part of my carry on with long haul flights and when folded over it makes the perfect travel pillow too.