The Evidence: Sleeping on A Boat
Guests have private cabins, but at some point on every cruise, we're pretty much guaranteed to catch ALL of them napping at the same time. Some like to sleep on the back deck.
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While others prefer to stretch out on the mid-deck sun beds.
The crew aren't immune to the sleep-inducing rocking motion either - and can occasionally be caught napping during their down-times!
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For obvious reasons, Captain Oktay doesn't nap when the boat is moving. (Plus someone needs to stay away to take embarrassing photos of everyone else!) But he often heads to the cabin to catch forty winks before we start dinner preparations each evening.
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The Science: Sleeping at Sea
Falling asleep the first night in a new location is a common problem - but not related to the boat or sleeping at sea. There's actually research showing that people unlikely to sleep well their first night in a new location.
"When we're sleeping in a new environment and we don't know how many predators are around," it says, "it would make sense to keep half the brain more alert and more responsive to bumps in the night."
There aren't any predators onboard Arkadaslik, but it's possible that your brain won't believe this until you've settled into your new surroundings.
If your brain refuses to settle while you're on a cruise, take a look at how your bed / sleeping position is oriented on the boat. Are you positioned to be rocked like a baby in a cradle? Or are your head and feet being tilted and tipped up and down? If you're positioned one way, try the other to see if the alignment is at fault. Maybe like James Bond, you prefer to be shaken, not stirred ;-)
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