Improved sleep in hotels with Quiet Room® label
“Great initiative” says Kees Kwakman of Slaapcoach.nl
Sleeping problems are symptomatic of our modern lifestyle. Due to our overpopulated society, our hectic way of life and our noisy cities, fewer and fewer people are getting the good night’s sleep they really need. Hotels are an excellent example. As a holiday maker or business traveller you obviously want to sleep well in your hotel room, but unfortunately these are often insufficiently soundproofed. The Quiet Room® label remedies this situation by certifying hotels and thereby guaranteeing its guests a well-insulated hotel room.
“I wholeheartedly support this initiative,” says Kees Kwakman. He is the creator of Slaapcoach.nl, a company which helps consumers and businesses improve their awareness of good and healthy sleeping habits. “The Quiet Room® label is a big step in the right direction, because noise pollution is one of the major problems when it comes to sleeping in hotels.”
What else can hotels do
“As I said, the Quiet Room® label really is a great development,” continues Kwakman. “But there are other issues that are vital for a good night’s sleep in your hotel room. To mention just a few: the amount of light, the temperature, the smell, the mattresses and pillows. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if, when booking a hotel room, you could indicate your preferences in advance? I’m thinking of things like:
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choice of a hard or soft mattress/topper
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choice of down pillow or neck pillow
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choice of aroma (lavender improves sleep)
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choice of room temperature
I would imagine that hotels might be interested in offering these choices to their guests, maybe at a small extra charge. It gives them an added opportunity to distinguish themselves from their competitors and satisfy their customers.”
Tips for a good night’s sleep when travelling
“For a lot of people it’s difficult enough to sleep well at home,” says Kwakman, “but when we travel we’re confronted with all kinds of added impediments. To begin with, travel itself is more tiring than our normal daily routine. In addition, we have to deal with a different environment, a different language and different eating habits. Also, we often end up in a different time zone. All these things increase the risk of not sleeping as well as we should.”
“Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do yourself to make sure you sleep well when travelling,” continues Kwakman. “Once you’re in ‘holiday mode’, you tend to eat too much and drink more than usual, but you can still try to maintain a certain rhythm, e.g.:
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make sure there’s at least 2 hours between your last meal and the time you go to bed
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have a hot bath or shower before you go to bed, this will help you fall asleep
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do some exercise or fitness during the day
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for the business traveller: don’t go on working too late.
How to handle jet lag
If you’ve ended up in a different time zone, have had little sleep yet need to be fresh for an important meeting, there are a few simple rules which can help you. Our sleep is made up of segments of 90 minutes, which means you could do the following:
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if you have 3 hours or more before your meeting, plan a 90 minute sleep segment. This leaves you with enough time to fall asleep and freshen up after waking
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if you have less than 2 hours, have a power nap of 20-30 minutes.
Oh, by the way, I recommend the following standard equipment to every traveller: a pair of earplugs and a sleeping mask (you can get these from the webshop at Slaapcoach.nl).”
