{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"Words: Hannah Ralph | Illustrations: Shreya Gupta","standfirst":"We head into the forest with Scout Adventurer and wild camping expert Phoebe Smith, to learn why getting a good night\u2019s sleep should be your next big adventure.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003ESleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care,\u2019 toils Shakespeare\u2019s Macbeth, \u2018Chief nourisher in life\u2019s feast.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs it turns out, a good snooze was just as important back in 1601 as it is now, but somehow we\u2019re getting less sleep than ever before \u2013 and the nourishment, when it comes, isn\u2019t lasting long. Swap your bed for a sleeping bag and, suddenly, things start to sound a whole lot trickier.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAnd while camping remains for many one of life\u2019s most nostalgic, detoxifying pleasures, we\u2019ve all been there: teeth chatteringly cold, canvas beating against midnight winds\u2026 Yet, for those who get it right, there\u2019s no greater joy than sleeping beneath the stars. Surrounded by nothing but pines, your alarm clock genteel birdsong, wild camping is a powerful addiction for those who\u2019ve known its charms. That\u2019s how, to fully understand these not-so-snoozy thrills, I found myself tucking up with one of wild camping\u2019s staunchest advocates, and all-round adventure guru, Phoebe Smith \u2013 your new Scout Adventurer.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018You won\u2019t fall out, I promise,\u2019 Phoebe assures me, pulling each side of the hammock up into a caterpillar\u2019s cocoon. I, on the other hand, was certain that falling out of this hammock was my destiny, slipping and sliding under the silk sleeping bag liner as punishment for its lavishness.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut, like with everything Phoebe puts her mind to, success was on the horizon, and it lasted all the way until 6am, when the tweeting birds nudged me awake to the sight of an ethereal, fog-slicked forest, and one teeny, tawny rabbit, hopping out of sight.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s all so natural,\u2019 Phoebe mused the previous night, as we fried doughy bread over the Kelly Kettle. \u2018First you\u2019re rocked to sleep by the breeze, then you wake up to the sunrise. It\u2019s about disconnecting \u2013 leaving social media, emails and deadlines behind \u2013 and reconnecting with the natural world. It\u2019s about remembering that the best things in life aren\u2019t things at all.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/3170/2.jpg","width":496,"height":279,"altText":"Illustration of boy wrapped in sleeping bag drinking hot tea outside in the cold","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe science of sleep\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EA recent study at the University of Geneva showed rocking to sleep not only meant a shorter time drifting off, but a deeper sleep. Now, you could buy a specifically designed \u2018rocking bed\u2019 \u2013 popular ones will set you back \u00A32,000 \u2013 or, you could sling up your hammock for a fraction of the price.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, at the University of Colorado, physiology professor Kenneth Wright has proven that sleeping outside is an easy way to regain your body\u2019s natural circadian rhythm (the sleep/wake cycle that works best for your body). This is largely due to the lack of tech, as fluorescent screen lighting continues to wreak havoc on body clocks.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe campers in the experiment, quickly in touch with the natural cycle of the sun, demonstrated newly balanced sleep cycles, fewer cases of the \u2018morning grumpies\u2019 (a scientific term, if you\u2019d believe it), increased melatonin levels (the king of sleep hormones) and an overall more restful sleep. So, what are you waiting for?\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWell, a few guiding principles may help. Luckily, Phoebe\u2019s 12\u002B years of wild camping in just about every hidden corner of the UK (not to mention the books she\u2019s written on the subject), means there\u2019s no one better clued up. \u2018Pitch late and leave early is the big one, but there are lots of tips to make sure you\u2019re warm, safe and following the rules while wild camping.\u2019 The first? Phoebe\u2019s favourite: enjoy not endure. \u2018You have to have kit confidence, but then it\u2019s about the little bonuses \u2013 like my extra-warm, down-filled sleeping bag and inflatable pillow. I like both to get a really good night\u2019s sleep outdoors.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENext up: the recce. \u2018For your first few wild camps, go somewhere you know well. And visit in the daytime, because everything looks so different in the dark.\u2019 Last but not least: don\u2019t underestimate the niceties. \u2018I spoke to a girl once who said she\u2019d had an awful wild camp experience. Turns out, she\u2019d only packed a salad. Wild camping is the time for hot chocolates and bowlfuls of hot food. And just because you\u2019re outdoors doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t enjoy a hot water bottle. It\u2019s probably my biggest essential.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJust before bed, Phoebe fills a Sigg bottle with boiling water from our little stove, pops it in a sock, and hands it to me. It\u2019s deliciously warm. \u2018In the morning,\u2019 she says with a grin, \u2018we can use that water for breakfast.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EBack to basics\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut what if, unlike my instant-snooze in Phoebe\u2019s expertly strung hammock, you just can\u2019t doze off? Naturopath and author of Sleep: The Secrets of Slumber, Lisa Varadi, says the worst thing you can do is wallow. \u2018Whatever you do, don\u2019t lie back and accept fate, spending the night tossing and turning and thinking. Get up, move around, have a snack \u2013 foods high in tryptophan (like pumpkin seeds and almonds) will encourage melatonin production in the body. Temperature, too, is important to sleep, with 16C\u201322C being the optimum heat for those deeper stages. Take a sleeping bag designed for lower temperatures than the ones you\u2019re sleeping in, and curl up \u2013 a fetal position means your body has less contact with the ground.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESuspended in Phoebe\u2019s hammock, marvelling at the nothingness beneath me and faintly exhausted from the day I\u2019d long since forgotten, something clicked. That peculiar thrill. The feeling that I\u2019d taken on the frenetic pace of the outside world, and won. I\u2019d come into nature a tired office worker, and it was sending me back a re-energised spirit, my batteries buzzing. Which is exactly what Phoebe knew would happen. \u2018Doing this, you appreciate everything so much more. You have to source your own water, wait for it to boil, find your head torch. Then suddenly, you\u2019re back in your own home where you flick a switch, and it\u2019s light. You turn on the tap, and it\u2019s hot.\u2019 Out here, she says, we had absolutely no choice but to slow down.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETurning this little patch of earth into a discreet home with nothing but the kit on our backs and our wits to hand, I noticed something else, too, was up for the taking: confidence. \u2018Sleeping wild makes you so much more confident as a person,\u2019 Phoebe admits, \u2018especially if you do it alone. The more I\u2019ve pushed my wild camping, the more successful I\u2019ve become in my life as a professional writer and adventure journalist. It gives you the skills to feel like you can do anything.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAfter all, wasn\u2019t \u2018To sleep: perchance to dream\u2019 one of Shakespeare\u2019s most famous lines? So dream big, wild campers: the great outdoors isn\u2019t here to snatch your eight-hours\u2019 kip, it\u2019s here to make them count.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""},{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/3171/3.jpg","width":496,"height":279,"altText":"Illustration of Pheobe Smith","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPhoebe\u2019s wild camping hotspots\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDartmoor, England\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Beautiful and safe, I love a remote area called Erme Plains, home to the world\u2019s longest stone row, at the end of which is a circle of stones called \u201CThe Dancers\u201D. Legend says a few local girls skipped church on a Sunday to come here and dance, \u003Cbr /\u003Eand were turned into stone.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESnowdonia, Wales\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Snowdonia is a real favourite of mine. I would go to the Carneddau mountains \u2013 usually ignored in favour of Snowdon or the Glyders. There\u2019s a wonderful bothy just by Llyn Dulyn (Black Lake). The unwritten rule is, there\u2019s always room in the bothy, but you could always just camp outside.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESandwood Bay, Scotland\u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u2018I have a soft spot for Sandwood Bay, a beach sleep in the far north of Scotland. It\u2019s a 5k walk from the carpark, so it\u2019s always empty, \u003Cbr /\u003Eand has gorgeous golden sands.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWild camping is legal in Scotland if you follow the \u2018leave-no-trace\u2019 code, but illegal in most of England and Wales. On private property, you need the landowner\u2019s permission. Learn more \u003Ca rel=\u0022noopener\u0022 href=\u0022https://roofbunk.com/blogs/roof-tent-camping-activities/wild-camping-laws-rules-in-the-uk?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=86cd8fd03\u0026amp;_ss=r\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 title=\u0022Wild camping rules and laws\u0022 data-anchor=\u0022?_pos=1\u0026amp;_sid=86cd8fd03\u0026amp;_ss=r\u0022\u003Ehere.\u00A0\u003C/a\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMake sure you don\u2019t forget to pack the home comforts when you go camping. Tasty treats, bowls of steaming food and hot water bottles can all help to make the experience more relaxing and aid a good night\u2019s sleep.\u003C/em\u003E\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"09 September 2019","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":40247,"nodeName":"Wildest dreams","title":"Wildest dreams","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/3172/imagegenashx-2.jpeg?cc=0.27227842586766043,0.17748519612114164,0.27392419768623882,0.36871742743275759\u0026width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd2f96ded0","caption":"Wildest dreams 1","type":"jpeg","size":32635,"width":496,"height":279,"altText":"Illustration of girl sleeping under a leaf"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"Wildest dreams","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80MDI0NyJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2019/september/wildest-dreams/"}