I’m a travel writer with insomnia. Here are the 6 things I pack to sleep well on every trip.

Struggle to sleep well while traveling? You’re not alone. As a frequent traveler who has insomnia, I’m all too familiar with tossing and turning all night long in hotel rooms. The temperature is never quite right, the pillows are too fluffy, and the noise from the kids next door carries through the thin walls. It can be a nightmare trying to catch some Zzz’s on a trip.

A night or two of this is bad enough, but since I spend an average of 7 nights per month in hotel rooms, I’ve made it my mission to pack my suitcase full of things that can help me sleep better while traveling. Here’s what’s in my travel sleep kit and the products I recommend for travelers in need of sound slumber away from home.

Black electrical tape

When you flick the lights off in a hotel room, you expect to get the total darkness that the CDC says is ideal for sleep, but that’s rarely the case. Everything from the phone and TV to the thermostat and smoke detector seems to have an LED light flashing all night long. At best, it’s annoying, but for me, those lights are a total sleep disrupter, so I always keep a roll of black electrical tape in my travel sleep kit. When I turn off the lights, I tear off strips of the tape to place over any LED I see. It makes for a much darker room and much higher chances of sleeping well while traveling.

Getty

Black electrical tape can be used to cover LED lights in hotel rooms and get better sleep.

$4 at Amazon

Silk sleep mask

After recently staying in a hotel that had light glaring in from the window all night long, I was so grateful that I packed a sleep mask in my bag. It gave me the darkness I needed to get quality sleep on my bike-packing trip and the silky fabric felt super cozy against my skin. This eye mask from EASTEER comes with the added advantage of contoured cups for the eyes and an adjustable band to get the perfect fit.

EASTEER

Get better sleep while traveling with this silk eye mask. It features soft material, an adjustable band, and contoured eye cups for comfort.

$22 at Amazon

Loop Switch Earplugs

After trying tons of earplugs, from the kind you find in the pharmacy to those bright orange foamy ones construction workers use, I’ve found that the Loop Switch Earplugs have become a mainstay in my travel sleep kit. They have three noise reduction modes. A flick of the dial allows me to get just the right amount of quiet, whether I’m looking to silence noisy neighbors in my hotel room or get a bit of hush in the back of an airplane without blocking out important announcements. Most importantly, these earplugs are supremely comfortable. I barely notice them in my ears as I rest my head on the pillow.

Loop

Loop Switch Earplugs are essential for a travel sleep kit. These ultra-comfortable earplugs feature three levels of noise reduction. Use the dial to adjust the amount of noise you hear.

$65 at Amazon

Melatonin sleep supplements

When my travels take me across multiple time zones, I always toss a bottle of melatonin in my travel sleep kit to take the edge off jet lag. According to the Mayo Clinic, this sleep aid acts like a darkness signal for your body, helping it to reset to your current time zone and get to sleep at the proper time—just what you need to hit the ground running at your destination. Ritual Sleep BioSeries Melatonin takes things one step further with its three-in-one tablets. They contain 1 mg of instant release melatonin to help you fall asleep, 3 mg of extended-release melatonin to support restful sleep, and a 1 mg dose of melatonin that tapers off before your wake-up call.

Ritual

Ritual Sleep BioSeries Melatonin contains 5 mg of melatonin. The three-in-one tablet in capsule technology ensures a steady infusion of melatonin, enhancing your sleep quality. The perfect supplement for a travel sleep kit.

$25 at Amazon

Self-warming eye masks

Here’s the ultimate hack for great sleep while traveling: self-warming eye masks from PopMask. These soft, disposable eye masks heat up the moment you pull them out of the package and stay warm for up to 20 minutes—just enough time to drift off to sleep. When I pop one on after settling into my airplane seat, the soothing warmth puts me to sleep before we even take off (and even helps relieve dry eyes!). It’s blissful. I also like to use them when I sneak back to my hotel room for a quick catnap on a day of sightseeing. They’re like taking the express lane to dreamland.

PopMask

PopMask Jet Setter Self Warming Steam Eye Mask heat up automatically. The soothing sensation can help travelers drift off to sleep on planes and in hotel rooms.

$36 at Amazon

Calm app subscription

After years of dealing with insomnia—both while traveling and at ome—one of the most reliable tools I’ve found for sleeping well is listening to a bedtime story. Hence why I always keep the Calm app downloaded on my phone. You might already know it for its guided meditations, but this app also has a well-stocked library of relaxing sleep stories narrated by soothing voices. They provide just enough of a distraction to keep my mind from ruminating on stress (like catching an early flight the next day) without being too interesting to prevent me from sleeping. I usually fall asleep within 3 minutes of hitting ‘play.’

Calm

The meditation app Calm features bedtime stories to help travelers sleep well.

$70 at Calm

Joni Sweet is a seasoned travel writer who covers adventure and wellness experiences around the world.