This is why you sleep terribly on vacation

One of my superpowers is that I sleep incredibly well. If we were to hand out grades for sleeping, I would definitely score at least a nine plus. Minimum. I'm not shouting this around to irritate people with insomnia, but because I simply find it a blessing. Sleeping well at night is really my hobby. Only on vacation does this hobby sometimes backfire and often goes wrong.

You arrive at your destination with a few missed hours in your day due to an impossible journey at an impossible time. You just ordered a bit too much wine and start yawning mercilessly at the table. Ha, finally going to bed without an alarm clock. You would think, but that almost never happens. I often lie awake the first night, tossing and turning like a French toast in the pan, with my eyes wide open. Every hour visibly ticks away and I hear all the nighttime activities of any neighbors. Exhausted, I then show up for breakfast the next day. How lame is that? Quite lame, but there is a very simple reason for it. It even has a name: the first-night effect.

In your network of nerve cells is stored whether the environment around you is safe. And that tent in southern France at the campsite by the beach or that white stucco hotel on a Greek island is simply not what your brain is used to. No, your brain adjusts to that usual bedroom, in your usual house, with the usual sounds, at a usual bedtime. If you suddenly change this, your consciousness remains more active and as a result, you are quite alert that first night. With the result that you sleep poorly, wake up frequently, and while you actually really need some blissful sleep.

The funny thing is that this first-night effect has often saved us in the past. You know, in prehistoric times, when people secretly robbed you of your life at night. It’s quite an animal instinct, as birds and cats also apply it. Your consciousness simply doesn’t completely shut down, making it feel like you are between waking and sleeping, which leads to ridiculous dreams.

Rest assured, because on the second night your brain has already made peace with your new accommodation and you sleep as usual. Hmmm, maybe that switch after five nights on vacation isn’t such a good idea after all.