Why your dreams are weirder on holiday, according to science
It’s a fact that travel and sleep aren’t natural partners.
Whether that’s being too tall to sleep in economy seats and staying awake for the entire flight to Australia, or getting so jet-lagged that you end up snooozing at a Las Vegas blackjack table.
While some travellers are itinerary-mad planners, and others prefer to go with the flow, the one thing that nobody can predict on holiday is often what happens when your head hits the pillow, with unusual dreams very much par for the course.
We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Soaking up the sun and tucking into the local grub and a few glasses of vino before settling down to sleep in your nice, clean, air-conditioned hotel room. You feel at ease, perfectly relaxed and content, then slowly nod off, before WHAM! You’re headfirst into an unusually vivid, extraordinarily weird and sometimes terrifying dream.
Is it something you might have eaten or drunk, is it the tanning too long on the beach or the tiredness of a long hike? Well, now, thanks to scientists, we have a better grasp on what could be impacting our sleep when in a foreign land.
Reasons why holiday dreams are so weird:
Sensory overload
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know one of the key reasons your brain is experiencing sensory overload.
Whether it’s trekking through Nepal or an eight-day bender in one of the Balearic Islands, your holiday has dropped you into a new environment, which means you have to process everything that you encounter. You’re taking in new sights and trying to understand them and relate them to what you have experienced before. Your brain is trying to understand how the pyramids were built, like a stoned Joe Rogan. You’re taking in new sounds, and they stick with you.
Trust me, anyone who has been to Hong Kong and heard the traffic crossing sounds will understand this; it simply won’t ever leave your head again. Then you’re smelling new things, the aroma of local cuisine or the local wildlife and plants, even the trash. If your brain is a computer, then think of a holiday like trying to work with 100 tabs open. A lot of processing power is being used constantly to solve problems and form a map of relatability based on your surroundings. Thus, when you hit the hay, your brain is trying to process your day at such speeds that you end up with vivid dreams.
A new environment
Whenever you’re somewhere new, it results in putting your brain on edge, even if you don’t always feel it. It’s most likely an evolutionary throwback in which you’re constantly scanning new places for potential threats, or alternatively for food sources. Your prehistoric brain hasn’t caught up with the fact that you could easily pick up a Fanta Limón at the offy next to the hotel, or that your only threat is not being able to get 5G.
Your brain wants to slow down and rest, but is working at 200 miles per hour just to ensure that you’re safe to close your eyes in your new environment. Yes, this is a hotel room, but to your brain, it might as well be the plains of the Serengeti.
Stress
This can include the stresses of being in a new environment, but there’s so much more that can keep your mind whirring. If you’re prone to anxiety, questions like whether you left the light on at home, what time you will need to check in for the flights, who’ll pick up any deliveries you might get during your time away: there are a million different things that can create a thought spiral.
Having these thoughts on your mind can cause your brain to spike with adrenaline, leading to uneasy sleep clouded by dreams of things you have no control over.
Lack of routine
We don’t really want to admit this because we would rather picture ourselves as free-thinkers who can flourish outside the social construct, but let’s be honest here, we need routine. We’re creatures of habit, and having structure to our lives is a great benefit.
The first few days of being on holiday, much like being between jobs, can be quite novel, but after a while, you can long to have the structure of life again. Being without your regular routine can leave you feeling a tad out of control, which can lead to an increase in weird dreams; it’s one of the reasons why you’ll see some people not giving up on their gym routines even on holiday.
Drugs/Booze
You knew it was going to get a mention at some point, but it goes without saying that any extracurriculars will impact your sleep quality. It’s something that every weekend warrior can attest to, as they gobble down bananas in an attempt to replenish the serotonin they used up in the rave. Booze is no different, and whether it’s the steins of German pilsner or the fact you were strolling home down the Bergmannstraße at eight in the morning, the quality of your sleep will have a knock-on effect on how you dream.
Alcohol disrupts sleep by minimising the amount of important REM sleep, meaning that when the plonk and sambuca wears off, your sleep will be even deeper, which could mean more weird dreaming. A lack of good quality sleep can often do the same thing, so get ready for the REM rebound when you get back into bed.
