The truth is that most people have trouble sleeping in the wild the first time; there is a lot of life happening all around you, and lots of wildlife will make noise. The crickets, owls, birds and lots of other animals will communicate during the night, and you might hear a scary noise or two (fun fact: fox screams sound eerily human-like).
It’s not easy to fall asleep in a new environment. Some people swear that they instantly fall asleep in their sleeping bag as soon as they lie down. If you’re not one of the lucky few and you have trouble falling asleep, try these outdoor sleeping tips.
Outdoor Sleeping Tips
1. Pick a good tent spot
Setting up a camping tent on uneven, soft ground full of various debris and undergrowth is a surefire way to spend a miserable night.
2. Store the food and scented items away from the tent
Wildlife is curious and hungry, and if you have food or scented items like wet wipes, spices or soap in your tent, you’ll invite small (and big) critters to come check it out. More hikers have trouble with mice and squirrels than with bears, but it’s still a good idea to keep food out of your tent. Bear canisters are a great choice, they work against mice, bears and anything in between.
3. Wear sleepwear or at least dry clothing
Change your outdoors clothes that are caked with mud, sweat, dust and debris and slip into something more clean and comfortable. And keep your boots outside of your tent. Of course, a good sleeping pad, or a cot, and a comfortable sleeping bag are also essential.
4. Pee before you go to bed
This will hopefully keep you from getting up in the middle of the night. If you’re someone that has to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night at home, chances are you’ll have to get up in and do your business in the wild too.
5. Keep a light nearby
The wilderness is very dark in the night, so keep a light nearby. You might have to take a restroom break during the night, and it’s practically impossible to do that safely without a light source.
6. Keep a water bottle in your tent
A water bottle will help you if you get thirsty in the middle of the night. While it’s unsavory and unhygienic, a lot of campers have a “pee bottle” as well, so that they don’t have to leave the warm tent in the middle of the night.
7. Ignore the night noises
Horror movies are really popular, and scary stories around the campfire are a time-honored tradition for all the campers that ever camped outside. Naturally, the unknown, dark wilderness makes a person’s imagination run wild and is a somewhat scary experience for newcomers to the camping hobby.
In real life, the wilderness doesn’t mean you any harm as long as you don’t mean it any harm. Humans are taller, bigger and heavier than most of the animals you might come in contact with, and most wildlife is scared of us. However, you might want to keep your hunting knives close to you.
They don’t want to risk bothering us, but they’ll go about their day/night and do their usual business. Animals make a lot of noise to communicate with one another, and most people don’t know these natural noises. Something that sounds scary might just be a fox or a deer yelling, a dog barking, or a bird fighting another bird.
Hedgehogs and turtles make a lot of noise because they believe predators will leave them alone; this is a spooky thing to hear in the middle of the night because it sounds like a big human is thrashing through the dried leaves. Don’t let your imagination run wild, as the outdoors are a very safe space for millions and millions of campers every year.
8. A sleeping mask and ear plugs help
If you can’t ignore the wild life and the natural lights, cover it up. While most outdoors camp sites are very dark unless there’s a full moon outside, some northern camps have to put up with the beautiful but very bright Aurora Borealis, or polar lights.
So don’t be afraid to cover up and have a good night’s rest, because you’ll need it.
