The ‘First-Night Effect’: Why Your Brain Refuses To Sleep In An Unfamiliar Bed

Though my Instagram stories tell a different story, my first day of travel is always tinged with a little delirium. Airports, flying, navigating a new country and then, horror of all horrors, trying to sleep in a new bed.

As much as I love it, I’m not a particularly great traveller as it is but that first night, no matter how tired I am, I just feel extremely out of sorts and find myself missing my own very comfortable, very familiar bed.

It turns out, no matter how strange I think I am for this, it’s actually very common. So common in fact that it has a name: The First-Night Effect. Who knew?!

Writing for The Conversation, Charlotte Gupta a Sleep Researcher at the Appleton Institute and Dayna Easton Postdoctoral Research Fellow, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University explain that our brains are ‘wired for predictability’.

They say: “Internally, your body signals that it’s time to sleep by decreasing core body temperature and increasing the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin. This makes you less alert.

“Externally, your environment needs to support these signals, not compete with it. At home, your typical pre-sleep wind-down habits and familiar surroundings tell your body it is safe to sleep.”

Of course, in a new place with an unfamiliar sleep environment, that built-in safety check is in disarray and even if we feel physically tired, our brains are still on high-alert, leaving us feeling wired and restless.

The researchers add: “From an evolutionary perspective, lighter sleep or more frequent awakenings when we’re somewhere new may be protective, allowing us to detect potential threats more quickly and respond to danger.”

Am I weird or is that kind of cute? We’re just being protective of ourselves!

One of the pieces of advice the researchers offer is self-care in a very real sense. They say: “Pack your sleep routine in your suitcase. Just as parents might do for their small child, pack your sleep routine with you.

“If you have a particular pillow case or a sleep mask, or a certain scent that helps you sleep at home, try bringing these with you so your brain has some familiar cues in an unfamiliar environment.”

They also recommend not doing anything too strenuous on your first full day of your holiday, saying: “If you know you’re sleeping somewhere new, expect that the first night might not be your best. Where possible, avoid scheduling demanding tasks the next morning and give yourself time to adjust.”

So on the first day I should shop for trinkets and relax in cafés? Got it.