Even if you don’t go to a new time zone, sleep doctor Daniel I. Rifkin, MD, explained that travel can affect your sleep which is known as first night effect or FNE.
Physicians first came up with the idea when studying clinical data from polysomnography (sleep studies). They noted that the first night’s sleep was not necessarily indicative of a person’s true sleep habits. It took patients at least one night to get comfortable with their new sleep setup.
Rifkin says the idea could be applied outside of the slip lab. Whenever you are sleeping in a new or unfamiliar environment, it is safe to say that your sleep time will be longer — for example, it will take you longer to fall asleep. “In many cases you will also miss your first rapid eye movement (REM) period,” he added.
This disruption occurs because our brains are busy taking stock of any potential threat to our new environment এমনকি even if we are not consciously aware of it. “Our subconscious mind knows it’s not our normal place, so there’s probably some higher awareness,” Rifkin said.
In an interesting 2016 study from Brown University, researchers found that the hemisphere of the left brain is more alert than the right hemisphere whenever we sleep in a new environment. (This brain division is something that many animals do, but it first appeared in humans!) The greater the difference between these two hemispheres, the longer it will take you to fall asleep.
Although Brown’s study found that the brain usually adjusts to a new environment after the first night, you’ll find that it will take you some more time to get back on track – especially if you travel somewhere with an uncomfortable bed, a noisy room, or other Any one of the many sleep disruptors.
Since first-night effects can keep you awake for long periods of time and eat into your REM sleep cycle – which is essential for memory consolidation – you may feel a bit foggy in your first few mornings at your destination.