Your Sleep Retreat Island Style

Plumeria Tree – Aztec Gold – Sweet Exotic Scent

I don’t know about you, but I never sleep well the first night in a strange place. And if a time zone change is involved, forget it!

Here are some tips from the experts and yours truly on how to turn your vacation rental bedroom or hotel room into your own personal sleep retreat when visiting Kauai.

1.  Keep the room dark and cool

Start by dimming the lights (if possible) to encourage your body to ease into nighttime. Stop using electronics at least 30-minutes before bedtime. Keep the room cool; 65 degrees is considered to be the ideal temperature for sleep. In the winter months, the mean temperature is 65 degrees at night on island; however, you may need to “trick” your body into thinking it is this cool in the summer months by running the ceiling and/or portable fans if you are not staying in a home or hotel with air conditioned bedrooms.

2.  Keep the room quiet

If you can hear roosters crowing, try adding so-called white noise to the bedroom environment. White noise creates a constant ambient noise that will block out the occasional outside noises that can disturb our sleep. While you can run a white noise app on your smart phone, I think that rather defeats the purpose of being on island. The aforementioned fans may just do the trick! Or, roosters or no roosters, open a window and allow the calming sound of the ocean surf to take you to dreamland.

3.  Keep the room calm

While the wall colors and decor in the guest rooms at The Dolphin Hale are intended to be restful, you can take each to the next level with some kind of aroma therapy. Aroma plays a large part in helping you relax and stay asleep. Didn’t pack your essential oils? No problem, a fragrant plumeria flower or two floated in a small dish on the nightstand can be a good substitute. Plumeria oil promotes peace, tranquility and relaxation–and the flower itself found on our grounds has a beautiful tropical fragrance. Note: Research shows that the scent of lavender eases anxiety and insomnia. Unfortunately, the closest lavender fields are on Maui!

The bottom line is that your sleeping environment can play a huge part in how well you sleep. And by taking some simple steps, you can enhance yours, especially in a vacation rental or hotel. After all, isn’t rejuvenation one of the goals for taking a vacation in the first place?

With Aloha ~ Aunty Tammy