The sleepover scaries are real and the “first-night” effect is an experience we’ve all had in one variation or another. After staying over a night somewhere, you feel drained, uncomfortable and antsy to go home. The question is why? Why do we feel the need to clean every crevice of our body in the shower after simply staying at a friend’s house we’ve been to so many times?
Don’t worry, VALLEY is ready to debunk this unconventional yet universal experience.
Crack of Dawn
It’s the morning of a sleepover and of course, you just so happen to be the first one up. You have yourself lying awake at the ceiling hastily waiting for the others to wake up. You close your eyes wishing you could brush your teeth in your own bathroom and be in your nice comfy bed.
The incessant feeling of “wanting to go home,” could be due to the lack of freedom you have when you’re in a bedroom that’s not yours. Not to mention living out of a suitcase or bag for a long period of time is no fun.
Unfamiliarity
Sleeping in a “foreign” place causes our brain to attach to the unfamiliarity of the environment. It seems like every time you have a sleepover, you come home and take the “greatest” nap of your life. Regardless of what you slept on or how many hours of sleep you got, you still feel tired. This is synonymous with the trouble many have when sleeping in a hotel the first night.
A study held by researchers at Brown University states that it’s harder to sleep in a new environment as opposed to our regular place of sleep.
“People who go to bed wary of potential danger sometimes pledge to sleep ‘with one eye open.’ On the first night in a new place, the research suggests, one brain hemisphere remains more awake than the other during deep sleep, apparently in a state of readiness for trouble.”
Humans are habitual, when our regular sleep cycle is disrupted our rest certainly feels those effects.
Your Environment
Author Yuka Sasaki of Brown University’s article “When we’re asleep somewhere new, one brain hemisphere keeps watch,” told CBS News about how our environment affects sleep.
“Part of our brain wants to keep watch when we’re in a new environment, resulting in one half of the brain staying awake while the other half sleeps,” says Sasaki.
Everyone is drawn to comfort and prefers to reside in a place that feels like home. This can be the explanation behind the uneasy feeling of “grossness” that arises when we venture from our homes for too long.
It’s safe to say this experience is hard to explain. Although we’re just as clean as yesterday and look the same as we did last night, we still feel like an absolute home wreck the next morning.
Have you ever felt this way after a sleepover? Let us know by tagging @VALLEYmag on Instagram or Twitter!
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