Once more I beat the sunrise...
I love camping, but my biggest issue has always been that I can't sleep in. By "sleep in," I mean I would just like to sleep til 6:30 or 7 instead of 4:30 AM waking with the birds. I am not asking for much. But alas, I have this "thing" about seeing the sunlight. Once I see it, I am up. Regardless of how little sleep I got or the fact that I have zero to do on a summer break morning, my body and brain see the sunlight and immediately switch into gear. Falling back asleep is very rarely a possibility, it's like seeing a double rainbow. Napping is futile, I am horrible at it - so no chance of catching some zzz's later in the day.
Morning comes so easy sharing stories and forgetting time...
My friends know that if I am up hanging out after a show or if we are having a girls' night out in Denver (inevitably wearing wigs and belting out 90's tunes) that I must, absolutely must, go to sleep before the sun comes up. This sometimes means me with my sleep mask and earplugs, sans wig, willing myself to sleep before the sun rises while my girlfriends continue the 90's ballads. Back in the day, before I had mom responsibilities, if I didn't go to sleep before sunrise after a Panic show or at a festival I would just play it through and keep going. But let's face it, when you're straight momming, not getting sleep is just not an option. I need my sleep.
On top of me needing sleep, my mini-me son happens to have the same early riser syndrome. This kid. Doesn't matter how late he stays up, he is still up every morning by 6 AM and often earlier. I try to wake up before him to get in meditation and yoga, but most mornings it's like he has some mom radar and suddenly he's up and at 'em. So put us both in a tent, and can you guess what happens?
Ahhhh. Nature. We love camping! We love being outdoors, underneath the stars, the smell of pine trees, all of it! Well, all of it except the crack of dawn wakeup.
Picture this. Super cozy in the tent, had no trouble falling asleep, all set for a perfect night's rest. No reason to get up and going tomorrow.
In fact, it will be super chilly in the morning so we would prefer to just sleep in. But then, it happens. It starts getting lighter in the tent. Then the birds start chirping. Soon it's bright in the tent - and you know what that means - we are AWAKE. Even with my sincere love of camping, mama gets crabby when sleep is lacking, and the kid gets crazy. Unfortunately, due to this sleep situation, our family campouts have been two nights max, because me and the little guy just can't hang with the even-earlier-than-early wake-ups and the aftermath.
However, I am here to report that we have just shattered our camping sleep record. That's right, I just got back from a three-night camping trip in Telluride - and I got a full night's sleep each night!
So let me get to the point and tell you about my amazing camping hacks for a better night's sleep.
Even if you aren't a super early riser, who doesn't want to sleep in when camping?
When I tell people I am tent camping, six times this summer, the responses I hear most often are, "I can't do tents." Or, "I'm just too cold." Or, "I can't sleep on the ground." Now, no one seems to mention the sunlight being a problem, but I am telling you it is. Do you have kids? Did you buy the blackout shades and top them with blackout curtains in hopes they would nap in broad daylight? Light matters.
So I came prepared for this camping trip in Telluride, and pulled out all the stops, and miraculously my whole family not only slept well all night but "slept in" til nearly 7 AM. This is absolutely unheard of for my seven-year-old who normally wakes up before 6 AM, and especially on a camping trip where he has always woken with the birds. I feel like I achieved triple rainbow status and I have to share this secret recipe with you!
Camping Hacks for a Better Night's Sleep
1. Don't sleep on the ground.
When people use this as a reason for abstaining from tent camping, I am always puzzled. Why on earth would you sleep on the ground, unless you are backpacking and need to be traveling light?!? In the case of camping, it's not the only way to fly. If I am camping for more than one night, I am bringing a good bed. So camping hack number one is to bring yourself a bed! We love our Coleman camping cot. It is a queen size cot, and even comes with little side tables if you want to use them. There are two main benefits to using this cot in your tent. First, it gets your air mattress up off the ground, which is good because the ground is cold. Putting distance between yourself and the cold ground is a good thing. Secondly, underneath the cot becomes the perfect place to store your clothing and other things. We like to use our packing cubes to pack our clothes for any trip, and they work especially well for camping because they act like drawers that you put underneath the cot. We each have our own set in a different color which makes it easier to organize. I'll have to do a whole other post about all my other camping organization hacks but let's get back to sleep. This Coleman cot comes with an air mattress and we used that one for several years but I was not getting great sleep so I decided to switch it out. We went with an Enerplex queen size, which is super cool because it comes with a pump that has a 120V car camping cord in addition to an A/C cord for home. This is a much higher quality air mattress and totally worth it, IMO. But what really made the difference this trip was that we brought a legit air mattress for my son, too. Previously he was using two sleeping pads layered up. It seemed fine since he's just a little guy, but man what a difference this trip on his own air mattress. He slept so good! So, with a good base, the next thing to consider was warmth.
2. Stay warm in your tent.
When I was considering what kept me up all night while camping, I'd have to agree with the critics that tent camping can be really cold. Camping hack number two is to be warm! I was waking up many times in the night just freezing, and this was with my long underwear, ski socks, hat, and a hoodie, inside my sleeping bag. So this time we added two things that made a HUGE difference. First, we got sleeping bag liners that add up to 22 degrees of warmth to your bag. These worked so well we just ordered one more for the kid. They not only add extra warmth to the bag, but they have a soft and silky texture that feels good on your skin. Bonus, these can be used as an ultralight sleeping bag if you camp somewhere hot, and they can also be used as a personal sheet when sleeping at a hotel or hostel where you just aren't sure about the sheets. A definite keeper.
Second, we got a tent heater which is a game-changer for tent camping. We got the Little Buddy heater last year so we have some experience with how best to use it. It runs on a cylinder of propane, and sadly, the one cylinder will not last the entire night. I think it lasted about 6-7 hours at most. So when we first tried it my husband was waking in the middle of the night to change the propane. This time around, because our sleeping bag liners worked so well, we decided that instead of trying to run it all night we would just use it for the coldest part of the trip, the very early morning hours. So, instead of having to switch it out, using one and a half cylinders, we would just turn it on when the cold woke us up or when one of us had to brave the cold to relieve a bladder, which always happens no matter how we try to avoid it. My husband has no problem falling back asleep, so turning on the heater is his job. Just be sure your tent is properly ventilated and read all the instructions before using your little buddy heater. Safety first.
We love this little heater and it works very well to keep us cozy on cold mornings!
Side note, our son's sleeping bag has a better temperature rating than our double sleeping bag, so before we spent money on a third liner we decided to give him the extra layer of my favorite camping blanket, which worked well for him this trip.
We all concurred that being warm is what made us really get the best rest on this trip - we slept comfortably all night!
For our next trip, my son is getting his own liner and I'm getting a second camping blanket for myself, for warmth but also because my son keeps hogging it and it's the best for keeping cozy on a camping chair or in a hammock when you're chillin' at the site.
3. Get a Dark Rest tent.
This next discovery is the best one. Last year when I was searching for a larger family tent, I stumbled upon something called a Dark Rest tent. Apparently, this is a bigger thing over in Europe so there were not a lot of options last year, but according to this year's Amazon search for a dark rest tent, it's catching on in the U.S. We ordered two dark rest tents last season and set them up in the backyard. First, a Coleman, which I liked but once we got the queen bed in there it was an awkward size for us.
The second one was the keeper, the Ozark Trail Dark Rest Tent. This is a big tent, but SO easy to set up! The poles are already incorporated and the tent walls easily clip on from the outside. This tent has an easier setup than any I have ever owned. I actually just ordered a smaller version for the quick camping trips or trips when it is just me and my son (yay, summer break for life as a teacher!) Oh - and I must not forget - these dark rest tents have a rain fly with skylight openings, which means you can stargaze from the comfort of your tent! The way the dark rest tent works is that it has a dark liner on the interior that blocks the light from coming in. Not only does this mean it keeps it darker in the early mornings, but it also stays cooler in the hottest part of the day by blocking out the sun. My son even took a nap mid-day last year! All the dark rest panels zip up from the inside, making it easy to close the skylight or windows. We like the large size for multi-night trips because there is room for our queen cot, the single air mattress, and then plenty of extra space which comes in handy if it rains. We can move our Kelty Lowdown camping chairs and camping table inside for some Qwirkle or Rummikub fun.
Qwirkle and Rummikub are the best camping games, by the way - they won't blow away and won't get ruined in a surprise downpour. Never played Qwirkle? It is THE BEST family game that is easy enough for a 4-5-year-old but still fun for adults, and perfect for taking with you to a brewery or anywhere you want to go! On this last trip, we took our Qwirkle game up the mountain and had some chill time up top.
4. Silence those birdies.
Not in a cruel way, their birdsongs are beautiful, just not at 5 AM. So I found these amazing rechargeable white noise machines that really do the trick! The white noise effectively blocked out the birdies (and the movie festival that seemed to happen on cue when we decided to go to sleep? Seriously, right when we laid down!?!) I got two of these white noise machines and put one by me and one by my son because we are the light sleepers. Best of all, these can last 6-7 nights on ONE charge! Forget the batteries! These will be coming with me on every trip or overnight from now on. Pictured here with one of the machines is my favorite eye mask, which I also bring on every overnight trip. It blocks light super effectively yet puts no pressure on your eyes - a must have!
5. Get the best night's sleep and enjoy your camping trip!
It really is that simple! We all got a great night's sleep and even the child slept in 'til almost seven, which is a perfectly acceptable time for me to wake up and make my camp coffee. We also camped three nights, which is a new record with the little guy.
Honestly, I could have stayed a week! We were so well rested that we had the perfect time in Telluride.
We hiked to waterfalls, rode the gondola, hung out downtown, and chilled with drinks at our campsite by the creek! It was so dreamy.
We cannot wait for our next camping trip now that we have the camping hacks for a better night's sleep.
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