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7 Tips for better sleep on the road

7 Tips for better sleep on the road

If there’s one thing planners need, it’s a good night’s sleep. But it’s not always easy to do when there are hundreds of event details swirling through your brain at 2 a.m.

Head out on the road, add an unfamiliar bed, a few time zone changes and an over-stuffed schedule, and sleep can become even more elusive. So what’s the solution?

Plan to sleep, as in, put the pieces in place, prep your mind and body and set the stage for sleep success, no matter where in the world you lay your head. Here’s how:

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1. Pick your room wisely

Ask for a room that’s a long way from typical hotel noise-makers like guest elevators, room service/housekeeping elevators, ice machines, vending machines or laundry areas. Also steer clear of guestrooms near function rooms, lobby bars or outdoor pools, particularly in ‘party towns’ like Miami, New Orleans, Vegas, etc., where events can be loud, long and impossible to sleep through. In bustling cities, rooms on higher floors will put a bit more distance between you and the din of nearby highways and early morning garbage truck pickups.

2. Embrace the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign – and the security latch

Whether you’re dealing with jet-lag or just need a 20-minute nap, you’ll sleep a lot better if you embrace the power of the Do Not Disturb sign – it’s your first line of defense against the well-intentioned but sleep-disruptive knocks from hotel staff. The second line of defense: flipping the door lock and security latch to prevent intrusions.

3. Wear your sunglasses…at night?

Though it may sound a bit strange, and look a bit odd to the room service guy, wearing ‘blue blockers’ or a pair of sunglasses with amber lenses at night can help you fall asleep more easily, particularly if you go to bed clutching a smartphone or tablet. Why? Because screens blast blue light into your eyes, which the brain interprets as daylight. All that light suppresses the release of our fall-asleep chemicals and triggers the release of daytime-alertness-chemicals, right at the time when we’re trying to drift off.

Don’t have amber shades? Then improvise with your usual sunglasses to reduce the ‘screen-shine’ and always remember to dim screen(s) to the max to prevent those middle of the night texts from lighting up your room and waking your brain.

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4. Put the brakes on your brain

You’ll sleep better if you put the brakes on the brainwave activity that can keep you over-revved at night. Start by shutting down the laptop, TV and smartphone at least an hour before you plan to go to sleep. Next, strap on the headphones and tune into a sleep-inducing play list  or guided meditation to help you drift off.

You can also try Brainwave Power Music  which utilizes ‘binaural beats,’ a therapeutic collection of meditative sound patterns designed to help encourage deep, restful sleep.

5. Wind down your body

The simplest way to prep your body for sleep is with a hot bath. Some tub time will help open the blood vessels and relax muscles, making sleep come more easily. To boost the sleep-promoting effects, some lavender essential oil added to the bath or spritzed around the room can help cut anxiety and insomnia according to a recent British study from the University of Southampton.

6. Deprive your senses

When you’re sleepless in Seattle or wide-awake in Wellington, black-out curtains, earplugs and eyeshades are essential to getting a good night’s rest. Forget to pack the plugs and shades? Then improvise. Try sleeping with a hand towel or spare t-shirt across your eyes to block out light and put bed pillows over your ears to tamp down extraneous noise.

Also—never sleep with the TV on. The constantly flickering light, subtle as it may seem when your eyes are closed, will trick your brain into thinking it’s daytime, making falling asleep and staying asleep more difficult.

7. Ring them bells

When you have an early event to manage or a pre-dawn flight to catch, concerns about sleeping through the alarm can keep you awake and undermine the quality of your sleep once you do finally drift off. Instead of tossing and turning, my strategy is to make it virtually impossible to oversleep – thus the multiple alarm technique, no ‘snooze’ button necessary:
·      Start by setting the alarm on your iPhone and your iPad, placing both well out of arm’s reach.
·      Add to that a wake up call, plus a follow-up call.
·      Top it off with a scheduled-the-night-before room service breakfast delivery, and you’ll be ready for action.
·      Need a bit more backup? Then re-purpose your old, decommissioned Blackberry and use it as an alarm clock. It’s loud, can go for days without charging and never fails.

What makes a good conference venue?

What makes a good conference venue?

The choice of venue will clearly depend on the kind of event you are hosting, but there are certain variables that are always considered before a decision is made.
Establishing the size of the conference will be the starting point when choosing a venue. The size and accompanying needs of different conferences need to be dealt with in a bespoke manner.
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Another key variable for a good conference venue is location: a venue that can cater for an international as well as national and regional audience is becoming a key priority for some organisers.
A conference venue that is easily accessible and in a prime location can often be a deciding factor, so good transport links are a necessity.
To add to this, a venue needs to set the right tone for a conference to ensure that delegates leave with the right impression about the host.
An extra component that it is becoming increasingly essential for a good conference venue is technology.
With the rise of the mobile workforce and the need to stay connected while on the move, the technology requirements for events and meetings have evolved.
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Video conferencing facilities and social media packages will most likely become a pre-requisite for organisers looking to extend the reach of their event to a wider audience.
Coupled with this, robust WiFi throughout the venue can bolster this kind of offering.
While each of these factors holds significant standalone importance, feedback from our own customers suggests that what really makes a difference is the service they receive from the moment of enquiry to the post–event follow up.
In this fast-paced business environment, venues need to be able to provide for the extensive needs of organisers.
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By working in collaboration with the client at every stage, venues can match and exceed expectations down to every last detail, whether this be by creating a unique menu that matches dietary requirements; correct room specifications or a team of specialists to help with AV equipment.
To add to this, a good conference venue will be flexible when it comes to service and transparent when it comes to price. A friendly team adds immense value to a venue as does a dedicated event manager who is aware of all that is required.
Coupled with this, the reassurance that there will not be any hidden costs when it comes to making that final payment is key.
Who do you meet at conferences? [Infographic]

Who do you meet at conferences? [Infographic]

Where there is a weekend, conferences and networking events are sure to follow.

These gatherings can provide an ample opportunity to listen in on hot topics that can better your business, gain sage advice from those folks that have been there done that and participate in discussion on subjects close to your heart. Still, networking tends to be the number one reason to attend these often overpriced events.

Since you’ll want to get the most bang for your buck, learn who to seek out and those you should avoid. Between the must-meet founders and keynote speakers, there will be some people you’ll want to meet. Others, who include the “stressed-out guy” and the “sales person,” may be good candidates to avoid.

Want to know more people you should rub shoulders with at conferences? In the infographic from mobile-networking app Bizzabo (below), check out the 10 different types of people you’ll likely meet at a conference:

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