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I’ve talked before about how night lights can be a game-changer for travelers but I’ve also shared my gripes about them. Whether they’re helpful or annoying really depends on the situation, which I’ll get to in a moment.
What inspired this post was something my buddy and tech expert Rich DeMuro recently wrote. He tested a simple motion-activated night light and highlighted how useful it can be when you’re on the road:
Rich says: “It’s already tough to get a good night’s sleep while traveling, and the last thing you want to do is turn on bright lights if you wake up in the middle of the night. But if you don’t, you risk tripping over something in an unfamiliar space. I ordered a set of these night lights, and they worked perfectly—just enough light to guide the way without being so bright that it wakes you up completely. A night light for the bathroom has always been a must-have in my Dopp kit, but this takes things to the next level. My only complaint? It still uses Micro-USB instead of USB-C. But at least it comes with a cable.”
Rich is right. Having a night light can be crucial. When I used to travel with my late father in his seventies, eighties and nineties, I almost always packed a night light. It helped him safely make his (frequent) nightly trips to the bathroom without risking a fall, and leaving the room’s main light on would have made it nearly impossible to sleep. This was before I discovered the LitBear Sleep Mask, which now allows me to sleep anytime, anywhere, especially when paired with earplugs.
I’ll never forget the time I wished I had a night light for myself. I was staying in a luxury hotel and, thanks to an upgrade, found myself in a suite with a glass coffee table in the middle of the room. In the pitch dark, I tripped over it, hard. I was incredibly lucky it didn’t break because that could have been a disaster.
Since then, I’m extra cautious when making my way from the bed to the bathroom at night. While I prefer sleeping in a completely dark room (and avoid using a sleep mask when I can), I always pack mini rolls of gaffer tape. It’s perfect for covering up any annoying blinking lights from smoke detectors, TVs or even recessed night lights like the one on Princess Cruises’ Enchanted Princess (see photo below).
On that cruise, the motion activated night light was so bright that if my wife or I got up in the middle of the night, it felt like the room was lit up by a police searchlight. Thankfully, gaffer tape dimmed the light without leaving any marks or residue, unlike duct tape.
So, whether you’re traveling with loved ones who need extra safety measures or just want to avoid midnight mishaps yourself, a good night light like this one can make all the difference. It is portable, has an adhesive back to stick to surfaces and a motion ‘dusk to dawn’ sensor with adjustable brightness.
If you love handy travel and tech tips like these, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter and check out Rich on Tech as well while you’re at it.
KEEP READING
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–The sleep hack every traveler needs to know
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