First-night effect means trouble sleeping for manybut experts say there are ways to improve rest

The first night in a new place is always the same for Robinson Leoni: He takes longer to fall asleep, wakes up more often during the night and gets less sleep overall.At home he averages seven hours.The first night away — with or without earplugs and regardless of the bed’s quality — his smartwatch tells him he gets about five.“I feel normal, you know, no stress, nothing, but it’s just I notice I wake up continuously,” said Leoni, a sales director for a tech company who travels once or twice a month for work.He is a victim of what sleep specialists call the first-night effect.

The phenomenon has been confirmed by dozens of studies and is believed to have evolutionary roots, said Anna Wick, a senior sleep researcher at the University of Freiburg in Switzerland.“It’s assumed to be an adaptation response that the sleeping brain remains vigilant in this unfamiliar environment,” Wick said.Ahmad Mayeli, a psychiatry professor and sleep researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, said most people experience it, and even those who may not notice it probably do on a small level.On average, people sleep about 20 to 30 minutes less in a new environment.His research found that the frontal lobe, an area associated with the deepest stage of sleep, was more active, indicating a sense of alertness.

In other words, not only do people sleep less, but also less deeply.“They are saying that, like in dolphins, part of the brain is awake when you are sleeping,” Mayeli said.“It’s not exactly like dolphins, but still, studies show part of the brain is sleeping less.”He noted that age makes a difference.

The effect is more pronounced in children, adolescents and older adults, and it typically worsens with age.Those in their 20s are the least affected.“Maybe it’s the sweet spot,” he said.Mayeli suspects that the brain may be wired to be wary of new places because, historically, they were the most dangerous to rest.“It doesn’t matter if it’s a M...