Are you struggling to sleep with the excitement of festival season?
The smell of the burger vans and the joys of a pint in the sun can make it hard to sleep (not to mention Blink 182, Lana Del Rey, & Liam Gallagher!!), but there are proactive steps you can take.
Leading sleep expert MattressNextDay has created The Sleep Routine Calculator, to help you get a perfect night’s sleep. By selecting an emotion such as excited, guilty, romantic, anxious, sad, angry, and scared, you can create the optimum bedtime routine for whatever emotion you are feeling.
Alongside each emotion, you will find expert tips on how to settle down and get sleep-ready with expert tips from MattressNextDay’s CEO and sleep expert, Martin Seeley.
Here are 7 of Martin’s tips for those of you who are excited to be in the fields…
Seven tips for winding down while excited
- Stop caffeine 6 hours before your bedtime
We all love a coffee, but caffeine is a stimulant that raises cortisol levels and wakes you up in the morning. As you rise, so do your cortisol levels. When you get ready to sleep, melatonin levels increase. So, drinking caffeine before bed is the opposite of what you need as it makes you even more excited (As if Fred Again wasn’t exciting enough already). If you have exciting plans, stop caffeine consumption six hours before bed and replace it with decaffeinated drinks until you wake.
- Write out your plans or make arrangements for the next day at least three hours before bed
When you’re planning for a festival, it is especially important to organise your schedule at least three hours before bedtime. Festivals often come with a flurry of excitement and the stresses of choosing which artist to see when there’s that dreaded clash! However, by writing out your plans for the day well in advance, you can signal to your brain that you have already considered all the necessary details, and allow your brain to focus on self-care.
- Treat it like every other night
Easier said than done, we know – but you should treat the night before the festival like any other night. It might be tempting to stay up late, but this is actually counterproductive. Go to sleep at the same time and follow the same routine as usual, whether that be a bit of reading before bed or exercise. Maintaining consistency in your routine helps signal to your body that it’s time to sleep.
To help ease those late nights once at the festival, try keeping your sleep environment as synonymous to home as possible, try taking your usual pillow, reading before bed, and maintaining your usual sleep schedule.
- Meditate for 5 minutes
If all else fails, try meditation. Doing so for as little as five minutes can reduce stress – one of the biggest enemies of sleep. Meditation can help reduce stress for those who have excitement or anxiety ahead of a festival, and it has also been proven to help with insomnia. Apps like Calm or Apple Fitness offer guided meditations that are perfect for beginners. A short session can ease your anxiety about the festival and help you fall asleep more easily.

- Keep the room dark
Your sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm, is influenced by light. In the morning, your cortisol levels begin to rise alongside the daylight and, at night, your melatonin levels increase, encouraging you to sleep. Studies show that to ensure a good night’s sleep, keep your room as dark as possible. This means turning off all battery lights, torches, and, electronic devices, ensuring that your brain is free from any ambient light, that often signals your brain to wake up.
Keeping your room dark should be much easier at the festival than in your home environment, due to much less distraction from electronic devices.
- Wear an eye mask
If there is light in your tent or your camping partner has a different bedtime to yours, opt for a sleep mask to eliminate any light. Tents let in a lot more light than blackout curtains, so it’s important to wear an eye mask to keep your sleep from being disturbed.
If you do get an eye mask, choose a satin one as any other material could cause skin irritation due to the friction from your face against the pillow.
This is especially helpful for light sleepers who are more sensitive to changes in light (we’re looking at you – early morning DJ sets).
- Listen to pink noise
If you’re struggling to sleep due to the sound of your favourite band in your mind, try listening to pink noise. Unlike white noise, pink noise induces deeper, more soothing sounds that can help you reach deeper stages of sleep. This can be particularly beneficial if you are a light sleeper or if you find it hard to relax before a big event.