How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep in a Hotel Staying in a hotel can be restful or stressful. Individual experiences vary due to hotel location, amenities and services, or the reason for the stay. But whether you’re traveling solo for business, escaping for a romantic getaway with your partner, or bringing the whole family on vacation, perhaps one of the most important things you will do at your hotel is sleep.
For that reason, a quiet, comfortable, and dark sleeping environment is ideal. Even in the coziest suite, some people toss and turn trying to fall asleep. Researchers have observed sleep problems in people occurring during their first night adapting to a new environment, a phenomenon called the first night effect (FNE) National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
The FNE is characterized by difficulty falling asleep, as well as shorter overall sleep time and REM sleep time (the stage in which dreams occur). The FNE could be the result of our bodies attempting to keep us safe. Studies show that people who are sleeping in a new place exhibit increased activity in the left hemisphere of the brain National Institutes of Health (NIH) The NIH, a part of the U.S.
- Department of Health and Human Services, is the nation’s medical research agency — making important discoveries that improve health and save lives.
- An area that is expected to be more dormant when a person winds down for bed.
- Rather than allowing the body to sleep, this part of the brain remains alert and vigilant for signs of danger.
This response may be triggered as a protection mechanism National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. since increased vigilance allows a person to wake up faster in response to unexpected noise.
- For some, the first night effect can create a troublesome sleeping experience when they arrive at their destination.
- But, the silver lining to the first night effect is found in its name — research shows that sleep delays during the initial night of sleeping in a new environment improve over subsequent nights.
So, if you struggle to get restful sleep the first night of your vacation or business trip, there’s a good chance your second night will be better. Oddly enough, some people experience the opposite of the first night effect and find themselves getting more restorative sleep while away from home.
- Why is it that some toss and turn adapting to a new environment, while others find hotel stays promote better sleep? Research suggests multiple factors affect how a person’s sleeping habits change in response to sleeping away from home.
- One study examined groups of people who reported their regular insomnia symptoms improved during hotel stays National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
Researchers then compared this “recovery from home insomnia” group to the “travel insomnia” group — those who experienced new insomnia symptoms that they did not regularly experience at home. Findings indicated that the “travel insomnia” group comprised more business travelers than tourists, suggesting that tourism activities are accompanied by a sense of stress-relief and relaxation compared to business meetings and obligations.
- Researchers also noted that morning types were more likely to report new insomnia symptoms at hotels than evening types.
- Evening types tend to have a more flexible sleeping schedule, which allows them to adapt more easily to a new environment.
- On the other hand, morning types tend to be more regimented and stick to regular schedules, so they may be more sensitive to disruptions from jet lag or environmental changes, such as an unfamiliar room.
Researchers also found that hotel satisfaction significantly affected the reported sleep quality of both groups. If you’re more sensitive to environmental changes, a hotel with the right amenities could improve your sleep quality and reduce disruptions.
- There could be a few reasons you’re struggling to fall asleep in your hotel room.
- The first night effect may be keeping you more alert and restless.
- You might be adjusting to jet lag.
- Or, if you’re traveling for business, you could be stressed about the obligations of your trip.
- While some of these factors are outside of your control, you may have options when it comes to your room and amenities, which can make a big difference in the sleep quality you experience during your trip.
A large study of hotel guests examined the most common causes of sleep disturbance at hotels Taylor &Francis Online and found that complaints ranged from poor pillow and mattress quality to high room temperature, street noise, unwanted light from windows, and ventilation system noise.
- If these factors stand between you and a good night’s sleep, consider requesting more than just new pillows — a room change may be in order! Although it may seem like a hassle to move your things after you’ve settled, feeling well-rested is worth it.
- Requesting a room on a higher level and away from the lobby, elevators, and conference rooms can keep you away from excess noise.
Also, a room on a recently renovated floor is more likely to have a newer mattress. Unsurprisingly, a hotel’s study on mattress quality found significant correlations between mattress quality and sleep quality National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information.
- Reported by guests.
- So, don’t hesitate to make your needs known to the concierge if a room change could improve your sleep.
- There are many actions you can take to help you sleep better in hotels.
- Before your stay, learn what to expect by searching your hotel’s reviews.
- Look for negative reviews that specifically mention pillow or mattress quality, noise, and temperature issues.
Consider checking if your hotel is in an urban area with a lot of street noise. When it comes to room choice, consider requesting a room on a higher level, away from the noise of the street, elevators, and conference rooms. Ask if the rooms feature black-out shades or curtains, allowing you to make the room,
If you require a certain type of pillow, bring your own from home to ensure you will be comfortable. Other familiar items from home may also help you adjust to the new environment of a hotel room. Pack something sentimental to keep on your nightstand, such as a photo of loved ones, or spritz your hotel room with a fragrance you use at home.
If you’re worried about noise, consider bringing a or ear plugs to mask disruptive sounds. When you arrive at your hotel, make sure your room is comfortable for sleeping. Check your pillows, mattress, and curtains to make sure you’re satisfied. Then, — between 60-67 degrees Fahrenheit — ideal for sleeping.
Tamaki, M., Nittono, H., Hayashi, M., & Hori, T. (2005). Examination of the first-night effect during the sleep-onset period. Sleep, 28(2), 195–202. Collins, F. (2016, April 26). Explaining the traveler’s first-night sleep problem. NIH Director’s Blog., Retrieved January 28, 2021, from Tamaki, M., Bang, J.W., Watanabe, T., & Sasaki, Y. (2016). Night watch in one brain hemisphere during sleep associated with the first-night effect in humans. Current Biology, 26(9), 1190–1194. Xiong, W., Fan, F., & Qi, H. (2020). Effects of environmental change on travelers’ sleep health: Identifying risk and protective factors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 724. Pallesen, S., Larsen, S., & Bjorvatn, B. (2015). “I wish I’d slept better in that hotel” – Guest’s’ self-reported sleep patterns in hotels. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. Enck, P., Walten, T., & Traue, H.C. (1999). Associations between back pain, quality of sleep and quality of mattresses. Double-blind pilot study with hotel guests. Schmerz, 13(3), 205–207. Laborde, S., Hosang, T., Mosley, E., & Dosseville, F. (2019). Influence of a 30-day slow-paced breathing intervention compared to social media use on subjective sleep quality and cardiac vagal activity. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 8(2), 193.
: How to Get a Good Night’s Sleep in a Hotel
Why is it hard for me to sleep in hotels?
An evolutionary reason for why it’s hard to sleep in hotels Ever wake up groggy after your first night in a hotel? Your brain may be keeping watch for danger. New research suggests that the parts of the brain do not go into “sleep mode” during the first night of sleep in a new environment. Sleep researchers have long known about “first-night effect,” and consider it a temporary sleep disorder.
Even if the room is the right temperature and the bed is comfortable, sleepers often report waking up groggy and less rested than they would at home. The phenomenon is so common that scientists running sleep studies frequently throw out the first night’s data. The condition is only temporary — it typically recedes by the second night.
Still, it can be the bane of many a business traveler aiming for eight solid hours before a presentation. A group of researchers from Brown University and the Georgia Institute of Technology wanted to know why the “first night effect” strikes. They took images of sleeping brains in two experiments and found something surprising.
- They found that the brains of sleeping people with first night effect were not showing the “slow wave activity” brains normally show during deep sleep.
- One hemisphere of the brain appeared to still be awake.
- The researchers think an explanation for the phenomenon may lie in our evolutionary past.
- It was quite surprising” said Masako Tamaki, one of the study’s co-authors, told CNBC.
She said similar behavior has been observed in other animals, especially mammals and birds, and it might be related to protection in risky situations. “When people sleep in a new room, we are not really sure if the room is safe or not to sleep deeply.
It could be possible that we keep this one brain hemisphere vigilant so that we can monitor and detect something unusual in our surroundings.” The researchers also ran an experiment that showed how that slightly more vigilant part of the brain is able to induce wakefulness much faster when it registers an “unusual signal” from the environment.
The researchers played “unusual sounds” while patients were sleeping, and found they were able to react to them more quickly upon waking up. They published their findings Thursday in the journal Current Biology. So what should a frustrated sleeper do to combat the effects of the first-night effect? The researchers have not yet tested possible remedies for the condition.
- But there may be a few ways to mitigate its effects.
- Since the condition seems to last for only one night, it might help to arrive two nights before any important events, such as a business presentation, Tamaki said.
- It also might help to bring familiar objects on a trip, such as a pillow.
- Sleepers can also try to sleep in the same places when traveling.
And don’t stress over the possibility of looming grogginess, Tamaki said. Worrying is terrible for sleep, so you may be better off just giving in to the phenomenon. : An evolutionary reason for why it’s hard to sleep in hotels
Why do I get anxious when I sleep in a hotel?
It usually goes something like this: The hotel room door shuts behind me with a thud. I let my suitcase drop to the floor. I kick off my shoes and collapse onto the bed. I try to push thoughts about whether the duvet has been washed from my mind. There’s a low hum, coming from either the mini-bar fridge or the air-conditioning.
It’s too quiet. I turn on the TV. It’s the news. I’m reminded of all the reasons to panic, including but not limited to Donald Trump, climate change, nuclear weapons and plastic-clogged oceans. I remember the TV remote is the most germ-ridden object in a hotel room ( according to studies people like me take notice of ).
I fling it onto the bed. I go to the bathroom to wash my hands. I fixate on a single hair in the shower that housekeeping missed. I decide to go out. I realize I don’t know what’s good around here. I grab my phone and Google “best restaurants in “. I scroll articles and Yelp reviews.
- I get overwhelmed by choice and decide to order room service instead.
- I inspect the menu.
- I feel resentful at paying $36 for a cheeseburger.
- I feel grossed out at the thought of eating said $36 cheeseburger in the room where I’ll sleep.
- Then I realise it doesn’t matter.
- Because we’re all going to die one day.
The sensation hits me like a tidal wave: an overwhelming sense of existential dread. A feeling that something is deeply wrong, or missing, but I don’t know what it is. Like I’ve had a fatal amount of coffee. Like a comfortable illusion has been stripped away.
- I’m aware this sounds suspiciously like a privileged problem.
- But it can happen whether I’m in an inner-city boutique hotel with luxury bath products and local art on the walls, or a roadside Days Inn.
- Whether I’m traveling for work or for a vacation, whether I’m with someone or alone.
- Jet lag, loneliness, a suspect stain on the duvet or bland decor could all be to blame, but I knew there was more to it.
So I asked Sarah Wilson, author of New York Times Best Seller First, We Make The Beast Beautiful: A New Journey Through Anxiety, “Most of us do not have opportunities to ‘sit with ourselves’ very often,” Wilson said. “In a hotel, we often find ourselves with spare space and time to do this.
- This can be confronting, particularly for A-type business people and ambitious travelers, for whom running from oneself, and grasping outwards to ‘fixes’ and activity, is a coping mechanism.
- The stillness of a hotel room between meetings or with only the company of your room service tray forces us to confront ourselves.” At home, a never-ending list of chores, a towering pile of to-be-read books on the nightstand and an always almost full DVR keep us busy and entertained.
Distracted from our inevitable mortality. As a hotel guest, the things we often use to define ourselves—the country/state/city/town we live in, our home, our family and friends, our pets, our jobs—are no longer immediate. When these things are sucked away like water draining out of a bathtub, we’re left exposed, uncomfortable, vulnerable.
Hotels know this. In an effort to comfort their angsty guests, some have introduced, just to name a few, in-room meditation apps, emotional support animals, horse therapy, healers, hypnotherapists and life coaches on speed-dial, yoga mats, calming massages, acupuncture, anti-insomnia weighted blankets, and aromatherapy oils,
La Palomilla, a boutique hotel in Mexico City, recently began placing worry dolls—a Mexican and Guatemalan tradition for coping with sadness or stress—on the bedside table. Such things are thoughtful touches that might ease our restless, fretful souls briefly, but they are only quick fixes, says Jennifer Shannon, Cognitive Behavioral Therapist and author of Don’t Feed The Monkey Mind,
Travel fatigue, being alone, jet lag, hygiene or safety concerns, a sterile environment, fearing you won’t be able to sleep well, worrying about family or pets at home—all of this can contribute to anxiety in hotel rooms,” she explained. “You may come to associate a hotel room with past experiences of not being able to sleep, thus causing anxiety which then, of course, causes insomnia.” Shannon uses exposure therapy with patients to overcome hotel room anxiety.
“I am working with a client who has a fear of staying in hotels after he had a panic attack in a hotel room 10 years ago while traveling for business,” Shannon said. “I expose him to panic sensations in my office by having him briefly hyperventilate. I then teach the patient how to relax into the sensation and the anxiety itself.
The most common mistake people make is thinking they need to get rid of their discomfort,” Shannon explained. “The immediate goal is not to get rid of the anxiety, but to relax into it, teaching our ‘monkey mind’—that is the amygdala, the less evolved part of the human brain that is concerned with our safety and survival—that this is a false alarm.
“It is much better to ride the discomfort out, which helps to teach us we can handle it. “When we gain this confidence, the discomfort diminishes. It is the old adage, ‘what we resist persists’. So much of what I teach my clients is that when we learn to welcome, rather than resist discomfort, our world opens up, we gain confidence and anxiety decreases.” Wilson has a similar perspective when it comes to anxiety.
- In First, We Make The Beast Beautiful, she argues anxiety is not a condition that needs to be obliterated with medication but a teacher, a yearning to tune into to lead us to deeper meaning.
- As someone descended from a long line of worriers, I find the reframing “anxiety and existential curiously are connected,” as Wilson writes, comforting.
This, the author says, has “helped understand restlessness ever since”. Still, Wilson has developed her own strategies for putting herself at ease in a hotel. “I will always ensure I walk before bed, often to go get a meal. If I arrive at night, I’ll still walk for an hour or two.
- Walking has been shown to shut down the anxious part of the brain.
- I think it’s also important to keep your ‘bedroom’ just for sleeping.
- I don’t get room service for this reason—a sleep hygiene issue.
- I also try to work to a routine similar to back home—I exercise and then meditate in the mornings.” A wiser choice than drinking an irritatingly small and overpriced bottle of chardonnay from the mini-bar in bed while watching back-to-back episodes of Dateline,
Noted.
What is first night in a hotel syndrome?
Can’t Sleep Your First Night In A Hotel? It’s Probably Not Due To Jet Lag Or An Uncomfortable Bed Pretty much anyone who’s ever stayed in a hotel has had the experience of tossing and turning the first night and feeling far from rested in the morning.
You might have attributed your sleeplessness that first night to jet lag, a too-hard or too-soft mattress or the light in the hallway seeping under the door to your room, but you’d be wrong. Think about it: While you do get acclimated to your new time zone, the mattress and the light remain constant, yet you usually sleep better on subsequent nights in the hotel.
Sleep researchers this phenomenon, dubbed the “first night effect,” or FNE, more than a half-century ago. It was so obvious and consistent that scientists sometimes wouldn’t even bother collecting data on a research subject’s first night in the sleep lab, which is probably why they never figured out what was going on in their restless subjects’ brains.
- Sleep researchers have noticed that when a participant comes into a sleep laboratory for the first time, they show a very distorted sleep structure,” sleep researcher Masako Tamaki told me.
- And those study participants typically had only traveled across town, not across the country.
- Tamaki coauthored a recent in the journal Current Biology that uncovered an intriguing explanation for the FNE.
The reason most people don’t sleep well their first night in an unfamiliar room is because half of their brain is standing watch while the other half sleeps more deeply, the research suggests. The researchers discovered this by using sophisticated technology to scan the brains of a total of 35 young, healthy volunteers who spent two nights in the sleep lab, one week apart.
- The first night effect might change the next night’s sleep,” because the volunteers would have been more tired than usual, said Tamaki, explaining why the overnights were a week apart.
- We didn’t want the first night effect to impact the second night data.” But wouldn’t a week between the nights lead to the FNE during the second one as well? Turns out that is not the case, Tamaki said.
A month could have passed between their two nights in the sleep lab, and the research subjects still wouldn’t have experienced the FNE the second night, she said. Apparently, the brain remembers places well. Many people are sleepy the day after spending one night in an unfamiliar hotel room, a phenomenon,
Dubbed the “first night effect.” (Photo by Shutterstock) In their first experiment, Tamaki and her collaborators monitored 11 subjects’ slow-wave brain activity, which reflects depth of sleep. What they found was unexpected. “At first, we were surprised,” Tamaki said. “When we were comparing the data from the right hemisphere and the left hemisphere, it seemed like something was odd, but only from the first night.” The left hemisphere was more awake than the right hemisphere that first night.
On the second night, though, the depth of sleep in both hemispheres was similar. I’m left-handed, so whenever scientists start talking about left hemisphere/right hemisphere of the brain I always ask whether they included any southpaws in their research (to simplify matters, they often don’t).
Isn’t it possible that in lefties, the right hemisphere would keep watch, not the left? “We couldn’t find many left-handed people,” Tamaki said. “To be honest, we don’t have any idea how handedness might affect this night watch system.” It’s possible that the role of watchman switches back and forth between the hemispheres during the night,, but she and her colleagues measured brain activity for only the first sleep cycle, during which the left hemisphere slept less deeply, Tamaki said.
In two followup experiments, the researchers looked to see whether the lighter sleep on the left side of their brain made people more aware of strange sounds, which, in this case, was a high-pitched beep scattered among lower-pitched beeps that they had been told to ignore.
- The beeps were played in their right ears, which correlates with activity in the left hemisphere of the brain.
- Sure enough, in the first of those experiments, conducted with a new group of 13 volunteers, Tamaki and her coauthors observed bigger jumps in brain activity in the left hemisphere on the first night than on the second in response to the high-pitched beeps.
Activity in the right hemisphere was similar both nights. In the second of the experiments with the beeps, the researchers asked a different group of 11 volunteers to tap their fingers when they heard the high-pitched beeps. They woke up more quickly and tapped on the first night than on the second.
- Their findings support the hypothesis that the FNE “is an act for survival over an unfamiliar and potentially dangerous environment,” Tamaki and her coauthors concluded.
- She said she and her coauthors wonder whether people with sleep disorders such as insomnia exhibit that FNE brain asymmetry every night.
They’re also curious about whether the FNE hinders people’s ability to retain new information, since sleep is the time for, the process by which short-term memories become long-term memories. Of course, hotel guests usually don’t have to be on the alert for predators, so Tamaki has a few suggestions for minimizing the impact of the first night effect.
If you’re planning a return trip somewhere, try to stay in the same hotel-the same room, if possible-as you did on a previous trip. If you need to be fresh for a presentation or an event, try checking into the hotel two nights before the big day. In addition, a recent by Korean researchers suggests that going to bed and waking up at regular hours in your own home the week before you travel might help minimize the FNE.
And when you travel, should you try to find a hotel like The Benjamin in New York City, with its “,” sleep masks, ear plugs, blackout curtains, noise machines and lullaby music library? Could those perks stymie the first night effect? It’s doubtful, Tamaki said.
How do you survive a bad hotel room?
Mind the Dirty “Danger” Zones – Researchers who tested surfaces in different hotel rooms found that 81% of them contained some fecal bacteria. When a toilet flushes, it sprays bacteria around the bathroom, and dirty hands spread contaminants into the room itself. The dirtiest surfaces were:
TV remote (the #1 dirtiest)Light switchesToilet (duh)Bathroom floorBathroom sink
Other especially dirty surfaces were the hotel phone, the carpet (though you’re probably not going to touch it with anything but your feet), drinking glasses (which often sit near the toilet and don’t get disinfected after use), and bedspreads. This test was done in average hotels, so you can imagine that the surfaces in a dive will be even grimier.
Bring some disinfecting wipes and wipe off some of these surfaces before you touch them. Bring a pair of flip-flops you can wear in a grimy shower. Consider removing the bedspread altogether; if you get cold, use the bathroom towels for warmth. If the bed sheets look dirty, ask the front desk for a replacement set.
If none are available, lay the bathroom towels over the dirty sheets. Consider bringing your own top sheet with you; it packs small and guarantees you a clean surface to roll up in. You should examine your bed for these signs of bed bugs offered by the EPA :
Rusty or reddish stains on bed sheets or mattresses caused by bed bugs being crushed.Dark spots (about this size: •), which are bed bug excrement and may bleed on the fabric like a marker would.Eggs and eggshells, which are tiny (about 1mm) and pale yellow skins that nymphs shed as they grow larger.Live bed bugs.
If you do see signs of bed bugs, you should really high tail it out of there. Saving money on a hotel is not worth bringing a crazy-hard-to-eradicate infestation home with you.
Why do I always get the worst hotel room?
Mistakes that will guarantee you get a bad hotel room – and how to avoid them What do the hotel star ratings really mean? Hotel star ratings can be quite confusing, and that’s especially true when traveling abroad. How do you avoid a bad hotel room? For Michael Rewers, it means staying away from “free” hotel vouchers – and at least one four-star hotel.
- Rewers, who travels frequently as a sales rep for a European energy company, recently tried to redeem a hotel coupon for a weekend at an upscale hotel in Warsaw.
- Big mistake,” he recalls.
- At first, the hotel employees at the front desk didn’t recognize his voucher.
- After consulting with a manager, the receptionist handed him a key to a closet-sized room on the 12th floor.
“It smelled terrible,” he said. “I reported it to the receptionist. A manager said that for the voucher, that’s all they can offer me.” Rewers checked out of the hotel and never returned. On your next vacation, you might not have the luxury of picking up and leaving.
- This year, for your accommodations.
- But some hotel rooms are better than others, as Rewers discovered.
- How do you avoid the worst of them? Experts say a lot of things can get you stuck in a bad hotel room.
- They can include common-sense factors, such as the amount you pay, the channel through which you book your room, and your elite status.
But they can also include some uncommon variables, like the time of your check-in and how you treat the staff.
Do I have Somniphobia?
– If you believe you have somniphobia, it’s best to start by talking to a mental health professional. They can give you an accurate diagnosis and support you through the process of overcoming it. Usually, phobias are diagnosed if fear and anxiety cause distress and difficulty in your everyday life. You may be diagnosed with somniphobia if your fear of sleeping:
affects sleep qualitynegatively affects physical or mental healthcauses persistent anxiety and distress related to sleepcauses problems at work, school, or in your personal lifehas lasted more than six months causes you to put off or avoid sleep as much as possible
What is the fear of hotels called?
Hodophobia is a specific phobia as classified in the DSM-5.
What is first night effect?
Introduction – The “first night effect” (FNE) is a well-known phenomenon in polysomnographic (PSG) recordings characterized by decreased total sleep time, lower sleep efficiencies, reduction in REM sleep, and longer REM latencies on the first night of testing ( Agnew, Webb, & Williams,1966 ).
First night data are often excluded in analyses of PSG recordings because they are considered to reflect a period of adaptation that is unrepresentative of usual sleep patterns. Although the FNE has been widely studied in healthy subjects and clinical populations, few studies have systematically examined the causes of FNE.
Some ambulatory PSG studies suggest that providing a comfortable sleeping environment or conducting home recording eliminates or reduces FNE ( Coates et al., 1981 ; Edinger, Marsh, McCall, Erwin, & Lininger, 1997 ; Sharpley, Solomon & Cowen, 1988 ). Other home PSG studies of healthy participants ( Le Bon et al., 2001 ), elderly individuals ( Wauquier, van Sweden, Kerkhof, & Hamphuisen, 1991 ; Edinger, Marsh, McCall, Erwin, & Lininger, 1991 ) and patients with generalized anxiety disorder ( Saletu et al., 1996 ) conclude that adaptation effects occur in certain subgroups regardless of setting.
Others have postulated that adaptation to PSG recording equipment plays a significant role in FNE. Lorenzo and Barbanoj studied the FNE in healthy volunteers during three nonconsecutive sets of laboratory recordings one month apart. They found FNE only in the “very first night” of the first series of recordings ( Lorenzo & Barbanoj, 2002 ).
These results suggest that familiarity with PSG equipment may eliminate FNE in subsequent PSG studies. Individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are an important test population for PSG studies that examine FNE. Most patients with PTSD report nightmares and insomnia, which are listed separately in the re-experiencing and hyperarousal clusters in the DSM-IV criteria for the disorder ( First, Spitzer, Williams, & Gibbon, 1996 ).
Subjective sleep disturbances are frequent among patients with PTSD both in treatment seeking ( Roszell, McFall, & Malas, 1991 ) and epidemiologic samples ( Neylan et al., 1998 ), while laboratory-based PSG studies have produced mixed results. A recent meta-analysis of 20 studies found that patients with PTSD had more stage 1 sleep, less slow wave sleep, and greater rapid-eye-movement (REM) density (REM activity/ minutes REM sleep) compared to people without PTSD ( Kobayashi, Boarts, & Delahanty, 2007 ).
Given the high frequency of reported sleep disturbances and the hypothesized state of nighttime hypervigilance in subjects with PTSD, it has been proposed that FNE would be prominent in these subjects, particularly in an unfamiliar sleep environment.
Two laboratory-based PSG studies comparing first night adaptation effects in PTSD subjects and controls have reported mixed findings ( Ross et al., 1999 ; Woodward, Bliwise, Friedman, & Gusman, 1996b ). Ross and colleagues found no differences in adaptation effects in a mixed sample of outpatient and residential treatment PTSD subjects compared to outpatient controls in a laboratory study ( Ross et al., 1999 ).
However, increased REM activity and density was observed in PTSD subjects on the first versus the second night. In contrast, Woodward (1996b) found that FNEs in PTSD subjects were dependent on whether the subjects were currently in a residential treatment program versus outpatient treatment.
In this laboratory-based study, PTSD inpatients showed decreased FNEs compared to outpatient controls, whereas PTSD outpatients had enhanced FNE compared to outpatient controls ( Woodward, Bliwise, Friedman, & Gusman, 1996b ). These results suggest that adaptation effects observed in PTSD may reflect enhanced sensitivity to a novel sleeping environment.
As most previous PSG studies in PTSD have been conducted only in the sleep laboratory, it is difficult to discern whether FNEs observed in PTSD represent adaptation to recording equipment, novel sleeping environment, or both. A direct comparison of PSG testing in the two settings would clarify whether the recording context affects the results, allowing for more accurate study and enhanced understanding of PTSD- related sleep disruption.
To date, this is the first study to examine FNE in medically healthy medication-free subjects with PTSD and age-matched controls with two pairs of PSG studies conducted in both home and hospital settings. We hypothesized that both the PTSD group and the control group would have greater FNE in the hospital than at home, and that the PTSD group would have greater FNE compared to controls in night one versus night two of the study in both settings.
Finally, we hypothesized that adaptation effects in both groups would be attenuated in the second pair of PSG studies.
What is hotel paradox?
Paradox Hotels and Resorts – Homepage With hotels in Vancouver and Whistler, BC, we provide a seamless balance of mountain exhilaration and urban luxury and sophistication. From the culturally drenched atmosphere of Singapore to the tropical haven of Phuket, we welcome you to explore new facets of yourself in an array of majestic locations.
How long does first night effect last?
What is the First-Night Effect? – Have you ever experienced poor sleep when sleeping in a new environment that you’re not familiar with or accustomed to? The first-night effect is a disturbance to sleep architecture that commonly occurs when sleeping in a new environment.
When sleeping in a new or unfamiliar place, you actually sleep like a dolphin – one half your brain is more vigilant than the other to protect you during sleep. This part of the brain watches out for indications of danger and wakes you up if it finds any. The slightest sound, light, touch, or other external stimuli that would typically not interfere with your sleep can wake you up during the first night.
You might also struggle to fall asleep as quickly as you usually would. The first night effect is characterized by a reduction in total sleep time, lower sleep efficiencies, and reductions to important sleep stages such as REM sleep. An older study suggests that this first night effect may extend beyond the first night.
What are the negative effects of hotels?
Benefits of Adopting Sustainable Development Goals – There are numerous benefits of going green in the hospitality industry. Verdemode detail some interesting insights on the effects of hotels on the environment in their remarkable infographic, here are some amazing highlights from their article (all data is for US hotels):
Hotels create CO2 emissions equal to 19 volcanic eruptions, thats close to 60 million tonnes/year Hotels have energy spending that surpass $7.5 billionHotels create 1.9 billion lbs. of waste each yearHotels use over 219 billion gallons of water per year
So what are the benefits gained from going green for US hotels? Eco-friendly hotels can reduce 50%-75% waste, saving hotel owners millions of dollars in disposal costs. Using green energy sources can also reduce energy costs by 10%, which when aggregated to the entire industry can lead to savings of 8.5 kilowatts per year.
Why do hotel rooms turn me on?
Researchers reveal the science behind hotel sex Published: 20:21 BST, 23 November 2015 | Updated: 22:40 BST, 23 November 2015
- Maybe it’s the better lighting and bigger bed, or it could be the lack of family pictures and unpaid bills laying around.
- Having sex in a different environment where you can hang a ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door seems to make the act even more exciting and enjoyable.
- Researchers have now worked out why – and say having sex in a hotel room, instead of your own bedroom, can causes a rush of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
Having sex in a different environment where you can hang a ‘Do not disturb’ sign on the door seems to make the act even more exciting and enjoyable. Research shows having sex in a hotel room instead of your own bedroom causes a rush of the neurotransmitter dopamine to come out and play
- Dopamine is what controls the reward and pleasure center of your brain, and your brain gets to enjoy a nice dose of dopamine when you have novel experiences.
- ‘The novelty of the hotel room is going to stimulate dopamine transmission in the brain, which plays a big role in arousal and sexual excitement,’ said Ian Kerner, a licensed psychotherapist, sex counselor and best-selling author, told,
- This feeling is similar to when you eat your favorite food after not having it for a while.
- It taste just as delicious as it did the first time you ate it, because you get a shot of dopamine.
Dopamine is the pleasure high, the fireworks, our reward. It’s one of the most fundamental neurotransmitters we have.
- The expectation of dopamine drives our mind to control our body to do things.
- We think you wanted a coffee to perk yourself up, but in fact it was a dopamine cycle that kicked in to make your body get up and find a coffee to sate the dopamine expectation.
- Serotonin is serenity, ecstasy and the state of grace.
It is the lingering pleasure sensation we get that is less intense than dopamine, but nonetheless a powerful driver for our behaviors. Serotonin is about feeling good, really good. Oxytocin is the bonding agent, the cuddle chemical. This makes us want to connect, physically, with another person.
- Oxytocin can be easily fabricated, just with close contact to another human being.
- Just twenty seconds of hug contact, even with a stranger, can dramatically boost levels of oxytocin.
- The fourth chemical is a male neuro-hormone, vasopressin.
- Vasopressin is the protection drug, one that kicks in to support feelings of possession and desire to thwart anyone else taking possession.
The novelty of the hotel room is going to stimulate dopamine transmission in the brain, which plays a big role in arousal and sexual excitement
- Hotels also appeal to all five senses, making it the perfect place for intercourse.
- ‘There’s a psychological mindset when people check into a hotel that they can pamper themselves,’ Kerner told,
- ‘There’s something a little luxurious, languorous, and sumptuous about a hotel that lends itself to feeling sexual.’
- When you check into a hotel, you are also checking out of life for a little.
- In order for sexual arousal to occur, especially in women, parts of the brain associated with anxiety and stress need to be turned off.
- ‘So often I advise couples to turn their bedroom into a love nest that’s free from distractions,’ said Kerner.
- ‘I think a hotel – as a sort of generic luxury – automatically helps people tune out the anxiety.’
- ‘You’re in a place out of time, out of your life.’
- ‘And shutting down or the pushing away of the anxiety, creating a boundary of anxiety and stressors of everyday life, is going to contribute to sexual arousal.’
- Kerner also noted that you don’t have to travel miles and miles away for this experience, even a staycation has the same effects.
It’s a great setting for intercourse, as the environment appeals to all five senses. In order for sexual arousal to occur, especially in women, parts of the brain associated with anxiety and stress need to be turned off. When you check into a hotel, you are also checking out of life for a little ‘Sometimes sex therapists often advise patients to switch up their sex scripts and try having sex in different positions, or try having sex in different rooms,’ Kerner said.
Why do people stay in 5 star hotels?
What Makes a 5-Star Hotel We’ve all heard about five star hotels, but what does it really mean for a hotel to have a ‘five star’ rating? There is no international standard for ranking hotels, so hotel ratings differ from country to country, with some offering diamond ratings and others star ratings.
There is however a general consensus that hotels at the top of the scale share some common characteristics, both in terms of the physical product and the service. Below is a review of some of the benefits that you can expect to experience when you pay high luxury-hotel rates for a stay at a five star hotel.
Aesthetic First and foremost, a 5-Star hotel has its own unmistakeable personality, and no matter the location, you immediately know upon arrival it is an integral part of the destination. Once inside, you will be impressed and pleased with the space and feel its personality in the vibe.
- Decor, appointments and treatments will make perfect sense and never seem gimmicky or that management was trying to be ‘fancy’.
- The Senses A 5-Star hotel has to be more than good-looking.
- Everything you touch; the surface of the front desk, your room key, the door handle to your roomwill be pristinely clean and feel cared for.
Dining room silver will have heft, china will feel balanced and delicate, and your cocktail glass will be the perfect vessel for your libation. Linens and terry will caress your skin, and bath amenities will entice you. Fixtures, controls and technology will operate with unmistakeable precision and purpose.
Quality of Service Consistent, exceptional service is arguably the single, most important distinguishing factor between a five-star hotel and other hotels. Five-star hotels are characterized by staff who are trained to carefully anticipate your needs as a guest and deliver the highest levels of personalized service, at every interaction.
Every member of staff is courteous, attentive, intuitive and are genuinely pleased to delight you with even the most mundane request. If it seems that staff can read your mind, it is because they are trained to do that. Secondly, you will always feel that staff is readily available.
Queues (if there are any) will be very brief, phones are answered immediately, and even at peak capacity, service will remain attentive. Creating a team so motivated that they totally buy into the hotel’s ethos of consistent, exceptional service delivery is not an easy task, and this is why only few hotels achieve five-star status.
Personalization of Service Right from the moment you arrive at a five-star hotel, you can expect to be greeted by name at the front desk, and this experience is likely to continue throughout your stay. This is because five-star hotels go to great lengths to offer a level of personalization not experienced at other hotels.
- As a guest at a five star hotel, your preferences are quickly noted, such as what time of day you like to have your room made up or what special requests you’ve made on previous visits.
- Don’t be surprised if on your next visit to a five-star hotel, staff not only remember when last you visited, but also what your dining preferences were.
This level of personalization and attention to detail is what gives guests a sense of being genuinely welcome and cared for, and another reason why five star hotels stand out from the crowd. (Don’t love the paragraphs above.) Personalized service at 5-Star Hotels is perhaps the key differentiating characteristic from other hotels.
By carefully listening and observing, staff will get to know you quickly and will subtly and discreetly make you feel special; not just another guest. The maitre d’ will already know you are dining for a special occasion and start the meal with a special amouse bouche. The pool attendant will appear with a cool towel and drink.
Most importantly, these personalized touches will feel natural and pleasing, your personal space never infringed upon. Rooms, Dining and Amenities Five star hotels offer luxurious décor and carefully selected furnishings with high attention to detail.
- The guestrooms and suites are tastefully decorated with high quality furnishings and consistent design, ample space, large queen or king sized beds, premium bedding and luxurious bath products.
- Rooms should include complimentary breakfast, free high-speed internet, minibar, a room service menu that is the same as the restaurant menu and round-the-clock room service.
Guests paying to stay at the highest quality hotels have the right to expect the finest dining experience, and that is exactly what they receive. Five-star hotels include an extensive breakfast buffet and an assortment of restaurants and dining options.
- Guests can also expect free access a range of world-class recreational amenities including tennis courts, spa services, swimming pools and 24-hour fitness centers.
- Consistency Five-star hotels do not just get it right, but do so every time.
- From the way guests are greeted to the way the dinner table is set, you can expect the same, excellent level of service delivery every time you visit.
Service will not decay even slightly during peak periods or down times. Many hotels offer luxurious rooms, fine dining, beautiful décor and world-class amenities, but what sets the five-star hotel apart from the rest is their ability to anticipate the needs of their guests, and the unwavering commitment of their staff and management to deliver personalized, exceptional service – every time.