Sleeping Like a Baby

This is the view from the doorway of my extremely cozy and pretty-much-perfect hostel room at the Dream Hostel in Warsaw, Poland. There was a heated towel rack in the bathroom, for fuckssake. I’d recommend staying here even if you have the money to afford some fancypants hotel. This hostel was awesome, but this isn’t about that. It’s about how well I slept here. With the down comforters and the lack of noise outside on the main street at all (activity near Castle Square really dies down after about 9pm), plus my ear plugs and eye mask, I was basically a zombie for 8 hours a night. Saying I was sad to leave this hostel is an epic understatement.

But now that I’m home, in my own bed, I’m sleeping like a baby again. Better than I slept in my bed before I left. I don’t know what it is – the complete one-eighty from sleeping in strange beds for 10 days straight, or the new MyPillows that I bought, or maybe it’s knowing that it’s my bed and everything on it is perfect.

Side note: Not all was copacetic on my first night back. I went to bed stupid early because hello, jetlag and when I woke up around 11:30pm, I forgot where I was and freaked out when I saw someone come into my room and go into the bathroom. That someone was my boyfriend and he was in my room because, well, I was home. But did my heart stop for a split second? Yes. Oops.

I’ve been going to bed earlier, sleeping more soundly, and through the night. It’s lovely. I hope it keeps up because, although I used to say I could get enough when I was dead, sleep is actually a very lovely thing. 

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How To: Sleep in a Hostel

You know what I perfected while I was abroad and sleeping hostels? Just exactly how to do that. 

Now you may be a heavy sleeper and have no trouble falling asleep after you’ve been awake since 8am and have walked 11 miles that day sightseeing, but I’m not. I’m a light sleeper and it blows. 

So, I had to adapt.

Sometimes you get roommates who snore. Sometimes you get roommates who check in really late at night (like the German guy who came into CBP at around 2am and I gave him my best sleepy “bitch please” face before rolling over and attempting to go back to sleep). And if you have a room with more than 2 people in it, people are usually coming in and out, so there’s light.

Whatever. You’re paying like $50/night for these rooms, so you have to suck it up. Here’s how I coped:

Eye mask: I wear an mask on a nightly basis anyway and I think I was about to not bring it abroad but I’m so, so glad I did. I needed that thing. People used nightshift eye masks like bandanas and stuff, but I was glad I basically had a blackout eye mask.

Melatonin gummies: These things are the best. Who doesn’t love gummy bears? Have 2 or 3 of these (or 4) and pass out. 

Ear plugs: Yeah, get these. You might have roommates who snore.

Ear buds + iPod with white noise: After my ear buds proved to be pretty ineffective, I went straight for my earbuds with an on-repeat rain track playing. It was sort of annoying to keep having to maneuver the iPod when I turned over but if it was between that or listening to my roommates snore, I’d choose the former. 

I think these things are pretty key when you’re sleeping in a room with strangers. Some wine might be pretty effective too, but I’d definitely recommend at least an eye mask to start with. Happy hosteling!