A busy life may sometimes make you want to escape from a noisy city to have some experience living with nature, and camping is not a bad choice.
Nowadays, it has become a popular outdoor activity for families, school students, or just groups of friends wanting to enjoy some nights out in a tent while immersing themselves in the sounds of nature.
This idea seems to be really interesting when it just comes to your mind.
However, for too many people, sleeping in a tent overnight is completely unfamiliar and they always struggle with how to ensure the quality of their sleep during their time at the camping area.
The answer is quite easy. You just need to prepare carefully before the camp.
Make sure to take into account every possible factor that will affect your sleep, then try to avoid them on the trip. Perhaps the below 7 tips would be useful if you are finding solutions for this.
1. Choose a good sleeping bag
Maybe you have never cared about this because normally you will just plan to go camping for a couple of days.
Some people even only prepare an old sleeping bag bought from a random store on the street or online shops.
However, if you want to fully enjoy the camp in a good mood, you should really care about your sleep. And searching for a high-quality sleeping bag is definitely important.
Basically, there are 2 types of bags: camping sleeping bags and backpacking sleeping bags. The difference between these two is quite simple.
Camping bags generally offer more room inside, while backpacking bags are usually lighter and portable. You should consider which kind you’ll bring based on the planned activities, then google for online reviews to see how other people experienced them.
You should also pay attention to the temperature ratings of the bags. The most ideal sleeping bag shall have a lower temperature rating than the lowest nighttime temperature expected at the camping area.
You can look at the following table for a reference of your choice:
| Sleeping Bag type | Temperature rating (F) |
| Summer season | +30 and higher |
| 3 season | +15 to 30 |
| Winter | 15 and lower |
Besides, you can also choose your favorite shapes of sleeping bags. There are rectangular, semi-rectangular, mummy and double bags, and even bags with kid sizes.
Most campers will tend to buy a rectangular bag because it seems to be comfortable enough to stretch your body and roll over inside.
However, you can also search for other shapes. Each of them will bring about a different experience of camping.
2. Warm up your sleeping bag
Sleeping in a cozy corner is always easier than lying in surrounding cold weather. Even during summer periods, the temperature at night will tend to be lower than that in the daytime.
Therefore, if you are planning camping, especially in the winter, don’t forget to prepare a sleeping bag with a suitable warmth level.
If you can’t afford to get a new high-quality bag or you have already possessed one but it’s old and lost its warmth, you can try giving it a good wash.
Over the years, the oil from your skin, the moisture of the atmosphere, and other elements may affect the warmth of the bag. Washing your old sleeping bag can trap more warm air and avoid the person inside from accessing the cold air out.
Another tip is boiling a pot of water about an hour before bedtime. After the water is a bit cooler, pour it into a heat-resistant bottle, cover it tightly, and put it around your sleeping bag.
Besides, you can also consider putting extra things to fill up the empty rooms in your bag, or bring a blanket, a beanie or warm hat, and socks as well.
3. Bring earplugs
You might see romantic and peaceful camping scenes in some movies where the leading characters enjoy nature at night with smooth sounds around them.
But the fact is not like that. The real wild world is much noisier and louder than you expect, and it can make you have a sleepless night without being prepared.
In this case, the best solution is to use earplugs to block out the noise. Or you can also download some favorite light music to hear at night so that you’ll fall asleep more quickly and not be disturbed by other strange sounds from the outside area.
On full moon days, you may have to add an eye mask to your backpack before the camp to prevent the light from affecting your sleep.
4. Prepare to avoid mosquitos and pests
Even when we stay at home, sometimes mosquitos still interrupt our sleep with their irritating sound or create an itch.
This would be much more troublesome when we spend all night out just in a tent, so you must prepare every necessary tool to prevent being bitten by mosquitos or other kinds of pests.
First of all, make sure your tent doesn’t have any holes, even the smallest ones. There would be a lot of mosquitos and pests in an area where trees are grown or forests as well.
They may get inside your tent and make you disgusted. So, check carefully, and if any hole is existing in your tent, cover it up.
Also, don’t forget to bring mosquito netting, sprays, or pest control products, and apply some repellent cream on your skin to protect yourself from different types of pests. You’ll surely go deeper into your sleep if nothing can access your tent.
5. Drink sleepy time teas
There would be several options regarding the beverage you should use before bedtime.
They are caffeine-free and really useful to make your body relaxed, reduce stress and promote sleepiness at the same time.
You can try chamomile, valerian, or lavender teas. They are all very good products for your sleep.
6. Avoid heavy meals in the late evening
Besides drinking sleepytime or bedtime teas, you had better avoid eating too much during a late dinner.
A feeling of a full stomach not only makes you sleepless but is also harmful to your health and your shape if you lie down in such a state.
Therefore, the best recommendation is to have your dinner earlier than 7 pm, and later you can get some fruits as a small snack before bed. They’re all easy to pack.
7. Research carefully before deciding the place to pitch your tent
Last but not least, choosing the wrong campsite may ruin all the plans. You should place your tent in a flat space, without rocks, and located in a grassland if possible. That will minimize the chance of getting pain when lying down to sleep or doing other activities.
Try to stay far from neighbor tents if you’re going to be on a shared campsite, and also avoid places with much noise from nature.
You should also consider pitching your tent near a bathroom in case you need to go to the toilet at midnight. Of course, you can limit this situation by drinking less water before bed.
