How to Sleep Better in Your RV

Your RV comes with a mattress, but mass-produced RV mattresses are not durable or of high quality. They are, more often than not, thin, unsupportive and made from cheap materials. Is it fine if you just need something temporarily. But for sustainable, quality sleep long-term, upgrade your mattress as soon as possible.

In many cases, you can choose a mattress as you would for a traditional home. You can also check out a local camping store or see if you can get a custom-made mattress if you have specific measurement needs.

Choose your campground or parking spot for the night wisely. You should feel like it’s a place that won’t have a ton of parties, crowds or potential for danger. Try reserving camp spots ahead of time and request the quietest spot. Usually this will be a place that is far away from the bathroom, pools, dumpsters and high traffic areas so you don’t hear doors slamming or see flashlights beaming.

Alternatively, RV Trip Wizard is a useful tool to help sift through reviews that can give you more clarity on campgrounds based on feedback from people like you. A little planning goes a long way to getting the best sleep!

This might seem counterintuitive to why you chose to hit the road in the first place. But even as you might enjoy this freeing lifestyle, incorporating some small sense of routine will help to keep your life (and sleep cycle) feeling balanced. Try your best to keep up with some sense of routine in the time you go to bed and wake up, so your body’s internal clock is primed for sleep at the right times.

Whether you’re parked at a campsite or a Wal-mart parking lot, there’s a high chance that light will easily come through into your RV. Unfortunately, this can interrupt your slumber. Darkness is an essential ingredient to a good night’s sleep in order to produce more melatonin and signal to the body that it’s time for rest. But if light is consistently flooding in from headlights or parking lot lights, this isn’t possible. Invest in black out curtains to cover any windows in your RV.

In a similar manner to the above mentioned tip, noise is something that you’re undoubtedly going to be affected by while living out of an RV. You’re more exposed to external sounds outside of your control. Imagine horns honking around you, loud trucks or just rowdy people—it’s all not quite ideal for a peaceful, sleep environment. Not to mention, the walls of an RV are pretty thin.

So it’s up to you to take matters into your own hands. Using an ambient noise machine to block out noise or sound from outside your RV will help you get uninterrupted sleep.

Create your own “Sleep kit” accessible in your RV and pack it with earplugs, a sleep mask and soothing essential oils. It may also be worthwhile to have some melatonin or other sleep supplements handy in the case that you need some extra support falling asleep in your RV.

This tip is a standard good sleep hygiene tip across the board. It doesn’t matter where you live, avoiding bright screens at night will help prepare your brain for sleep. But when you’re settled in your RV for the night, in lieu of limited options, it’s tempting to pick up your phone and scroll through social media. Instead, read a book, color or play a game if you live with a partner.

This will also be entirely dependent on the climate you are traveling in, but RVs are not necessarily known for having good insulation. Make sure you have warm bedding for when it’s cold out. And have a cooling fan or air conditioning to maintain airflow inside the RV when it’s hot and humid outside.