WOMENS' FORUM: Do you have any problems sleeping when you're out

[RV-Hopeful]

Hopefully I'll be out and traveling by this time next year will for sure be at the RTR, my first!  I've got my van but haven't had the desire to do anything to it yet to get it trip worthy. My mind is going in circles about what I need to buy first with my limited income but then it focuses on SLEEP.  I plan to "practice" sleeping out in the van like at local Walmart and then perhaps a State campground that's in a good area.  But I just wonder what all the other ladies did.

The first night out?  How did those who go full time or extended time deal with nervousness and not sleeping on the road?

 

[Queen]

I always sleep like crap the first night away, different sounds and not my cloud bed like at home. But earplugs help me a lot, and making my traveling bed as comfy as possible. I find I'm basically happy if I have a comfy bed and a decnt place to sit.

 

[RV-Hopeful]

Thanks Queen! Yes, I have used earplugs off and on over the years. I have a hard time sleeping in my apartment not from fear but from health issues I guess. I don't usually fear things but then again all the camping I've done has been with at least 1 other person. I'm sure, as suggested in other posts I can find a group to camp near perhaps, but on those times when no one is around. I wonder how I'll sleep. Not that I'm going to let it discourage me from heading out. I guess I'll have to stop reading those serial killer books I usually read. Chuckle. So many of them center around the woods ... ekk!

 

[Queen]

A lot of people don't like earplugs since they cut down on your awareness of potential threats, but when I'm ready to sleep I just don't care, I want to sleep!  

 

[DuneElliot]

I have a comfortable bed in the camper...memory foam topper really helps...just as comfortable as my bed in the house I just got rid off, just not quite as big.

I have a bed in my truck's back seat I use when I don't have the RV...it takes me a couple of nights to get used to that as it is a lot narrower than is generally comfortable for me, but I get used to it as the foam mattress and real sheets make a big difference to comfort for me.

 

[Queen]

I have a comfortable bed in the camper...memory foam topper really helps...just as comfortable as my bed in the house I just got rid off, just not quite as big.

I have a bed in my truck's back seat I use when I don't have the RV...it takes me a couple of nights to get used to that as it is a lot narrower than is generally comfortable for me, but I get used to it as the foam mattress and real sheets make a big difference to comfort for me.

Only time I envy my better halfs tiny stature, when trying to sleep in our truck!  Much easier at 5' tall and a hundred pounds than my 5'10" more hefty carcass.

 

[DuneElliot]

Yeah, any taller or wider and I wouldn't fit. 5'4" is about the limit on lying comfortably back there. My truck isn't even four doors...it's only got the itty bitty back seat area that's about 2ft deep

 

[Almost There]

Ha, I sleep anywhere I lay my head...nost comfortably in my own bed but that's having a comfy bed...

My ability to stay asleep is only hampered by the noise of the city right now where I'm staying and sometimes by my own inability to turn off a busy mind. It is never however busy thinking about what's outside. 

If I hear an unknown noise outside while I'm semi awake, it's a matter of identifying it then rolling over and ignoring it..it's sometimes an annoying noise like road noise if I'm in a truck stop but never a frightening noise.

 

[Queen]

Yeah, any taller or wider and I wouldn't fit. 5'4" is about the limit on lying comfortably back there. My truck isn't even four doors...it's only got the itty bitty back seat area that's about 2ft deep

When we had a full sized Ram quad cab for about a minute, she slept in the back like she was sleeping in a palatial bed!  But that truck was so big that when she tried to help with the driving she had to choose between reaching the pedals and seeing over the hood.  LOL!

 

[TrainChaser]

When you first go out, everything is new. Once you feel like you're at home, you'll settle in better.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

Since the 70s, I've never had any problem sleeping while "out", either in a van or tent camping, or just sleeping at large, even in bear country. But then again, I sleep with an air horn and my friend, Mrs.Glock. I didn't start with those two items until I got older and felt more vulnerable. I can't beat someone over their head with my cane enough to make a difference.

I have to amend the above: mosquito whining can make me nuts.
Ted

 

[Queen]

I envy those of you who can sleep anywhere, my wife was like that when we first met, I used to joke you could hang her from a coat hook and she could sleep. I've never been a good sleeper until more recently, now I can lay down and crash for almost eight hours most nights, it's heavenly!

One big thing I've found helps when camping/traveling (besides ear plugs) is going that extra mile to make sure where you sleep is as comfy as possible, I like my nest to be super comfy. I don't consider an awesome mattress and smooth soft sheets a luxury, they help me settle in and stay rested so I can enjoy all the adventures!!

 

[Gypsy Clipper]

My ex-husband was such a heavy sleeper I used to tell everyone I could vacuum his hair while he slept and he would know it.
I am an insomniac so I am just thrilled with any sleep I can get.
To help me sleep I wear foam ear plugs and sleep with a light weight black nylon running shirt over my eyes. My current neighbors insist on coming home at all hours on four wheelers with LED lights on. Their driveway us about 100 feet away from me.
I sleep with my doors and windows open and I don't ever wake up. I originally "trained myself" using the additional help if two glasses of wine and up to four benadryl. Granted that left me with horrible reflux and a bit of a hangover[emoji6] .

Now I don't need either.

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[TrainChaser]

I had a neighbor who came home near midnight from the local casino, and hit the loud lock/alarm button on her key fob and woke me up. And once I was awake, I was awake for the next two or three hours. I wish I could turn off my brain.

 

[Gypsy Clipper]

You are just like me. I think I have been up since 330 or so. Nothing wakes me up except my brain and then I can't shut it off.
If I do want to go back to sleep I take four benadryl caplets and break them in half. I then get the box if chillable red wine from the fridge. Fill up the glass rake one half benadryl. Drink a few sips if wine. Then I repeat until I am sleepy.
Depending on how much I have on my mind I usually fall asleep before I have drank two glasses of wine and two benadryl. I wake up the next day and put my "insomnia supplies" away
If I have it really bad I can drink four glasses if wine and take all four benadryl. Also by then normally I get hungry and get out of bed to cook something. When I go in for coffee in the morning I am pleasantly surprised by whatever yummy thing I made during the night. Sometimes i find surprises like roasted veggies in the bread maker or fried potatoes and eggs in the skillet.[emoji6]

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[mert6706]

I'm not out there yet, just wishful thinking at this point, but I see a potential problem I hadn't considered. My normal sleeping hours are early evening until somewhere around 3:00 AM. What do you do if you live in a car and are wide awake 3 hours before everybody else? In places like Quartzite are folks parked far enough apart so I wouldn't be bothering neighbors with lights, car doors, dog walking etc? Thanks..

 

[Almost There]

Mert - at the RTR you'll probably find someone else up at that time of night...some of them stay up all night and then there's the ones that are used to working midnights.

Out in the desert you should be far enough away from people unless you're slamming vehicle doors and hollering at the dog...  

The only time lights bothered me was one of my close neighbors had outside spot lights mounted on his van that were motion activated. Every time the wind blew hard or an animal ran past, the #$%^ lights came on!

 

[bigsallysmom]

Because of an issue we must be in a campground in our little travel trailer. The sound of the piece of equipment actually helps me because it overshadows my tinnitus. I take 1/4 of a sleeping pill the first couple of nights and I still wake to a lot of sounds. After I identify the sound, I can go back to sleep. After that I'm fine and can do without if I've had an active day. When at home I don't use a pill. I will admit to the pill being a life saver when I was in the middle of menopause and woke up multiple times each night.

 

[TrainChaser]

Mert, what about changing your sleep pattern gradually, maybe half an hour at a time?

 

[OregonMs]

I always sleep like a baby when I'm on the road. Well, unless I'm in a noisy truck stop or something.