How to have sweet dreams in a not-so-sweet bed.

I recently wrote about luggage and backpacks. Today I am going to discuss a different kind of bag that you might find useful in your travels, especially if you are not in the habit of staying in five-star hotels with freshly laundered 1500 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets. The bag I refer to is actually a sleep sack (or bag liner or travel sheet). As a traveler who has stayed in some not-so-nice digs, I can say that this is a very good thing to bring with you. Maybe I am just picky – I mean I do think I have a particularly high aversion to funky sheets. I would prefer to sleep on the ground, in the actual dirt to be very honest, than on sheets that have been sweat upon (or worse) by a stranger. But I think most people prefer clean linens, especially you ladies out there.

Here is my sleep sack, in its bag.
It says, "for Youth Hostels
or as a Sleeping Bag Liner with
pocket for pillow." 

After I graduated from college, I took a whirlwind trip around Europe with some other college students and a couple of professors. The itinerary was planned by a college in the U.S. and our accommodations varied from country to country. We stayed in a bare bones hostel with bunk beds in Amsterdam, and a lovely boutique hotel in Munich with fluffy duvets. We never knew what we were going to get. The hostel we stayed at in Paris was a unique building, very gothic looking if I remember correctly. Our room was fairly huge, with very high ceilings, and even had stairs leading up to another level. Although unique, it certainly wasn’t fancy. And the human hairball I found in the bed, on the not-clean sheets really grossed me out. I ended up sleeping on my coat, curled up like an uncomfortable cat for the three nights we were there. Even at 23 years of age, that was not good for my back.

Years later, traveling through Panama with my boyfriend at the time, we also came across some interesting accommodations. One place in particular was a pension and the rooms were behind a little cafe that seemed to be stuck in the 1950s ... and not in a charming way. In a creepy, forgotten, Twilight Zone way. As we walked through the building to get to our room in back, we passed elderly people who seemed to be wandering around aimlessly, but more like zombies than cute senior citizens. It was weird, okay? So we were a little disturbed with all of that. And then our bed was so obviously not freshly made with nice, clean sheets, which bothered my boyfriend as much as it did me. Luckily, I had brought a sheet, and I think he had, too. So we managed to find a way to sleep on a not-so-clean bed.

You can see how compact this
particular sleep sack is. It even
fits in the water bottle side
pocket of a daypack.

I know there are tough, strong, resilient travelers out there who can sleep wherever, and endure whatever conditions they encounter. They don’t care about dirty anything. (In my experience, most of these people are young men, who also think bad body odor and public flatulence are perfectly fine; the guys who say things like, “Hey dude, I can’t even afford this tortilla, man. And you expect me to buy a bar of soap? Yo, I’m not rich, man.”) So kudos to them.

But even though there are a lot of things I can put up with on the road, nasty bed sheets are not one of them. So recently I found a sleep sack, which doesn’t take up much room in a pack or suitcase, but can be used to guard one from such unappealing circumstances. It is basically a light-weight sleeping bag. You can also use it as a liner in your sleeping bag, giving you a little added warmth. In warm climates, it can be used alone. Mine is sewn along one side and has velcro openings on the other side, where you can get into it. It also has a pocket where you can put a pillow, should you want that to be covered as well. If you’re handy/crafty, you can sew your own from a sheet or two. I used to carry a sheet (just a sheet, no sewing) wherever I went, just in case. That works just fine, but I like the sack that has some “closure” to it because I feel more protected. It is less likely that one of my feet is going to escape during the night, only to get tangled up in a hairball.

   That is so disgusting.

Anyway, I am suggesting this sleep sack/bag liner/travel sheet to those of you who need a good night’s sleep, but will not get one if you are potentially sleeping in a not-so-clean bed. I could get more descriptive about possible uncomfortable sleeping situations, perhaps stimulate your gag reflex in the process, but I will spare you. If you stay in nice, clean places all the time, then don’t worry about it. But if you think you might need a back-up plan, then this is the way to go. No sense losing sleep over dirty sheets.