How to Sleep on the Plane: Our Best Tips

We’ve written about some of the awkwardness in sleeping in beds not your own before. But planes are a limit case: not only are they not your bed, they’re not even a bed. Still, we’ve learned a few things about how to get at least fifteen of your forty winks on a long-haul plane flight.

First of all, be prepared to sleep. In our post on preparing for a flight, we mentioned getting a window seat. This is the best place to sleep unless you have a business- or first-class seat that reclines fully. You have two surfaces to lean on, and you have control over the window shade. But, here and in the middle seat, reduce trips to the restroom (i.e., drink less and use the toilet before you get on the plane). In that post, we suggested wearing comfortable clothes, and having an eye shade, earplugs, headphones and a good pillow. (We’re intrigued by face cradling pillows, which support your neck from the front.)

If you are often cold, take a blanket or big scarf with you. That said, optimum sleeping temperature is a bit chillier than most people are used to, so you might want to wear layers and/or have only a thin blanket. We also recommend comfy bed socks to make sure your feet stay warm. (Please don’t walk around in them, especially not to the bathroom; flight attendants swear that the bathroom floor is the grossest thing ever. And they see some gross stuff!)

And, to the extent you can, recreate your normal routine: teeth brushing, face washing, prayers, whatever it is. In fact, washing your face or even combing water through your hair can help reduce your temperature if you’re too warm. Because we normally read before bed, we take a boring book on the plane, ideally in paper form (see below).

Have a nice stretch before you try to fall asleep. Even if you remain in your seat, try tensing and easing your muscles in turn. If you are short, consider packing your under-seat item so that it can serve as a footrest (i.e., solid at the bottom and with something squishy on top); your legs will be sore the whole flight if your feet don’t touch the floor. Either way, you’re better off leaving your legs uncrossed and keeping your knees slightly bent (you might put them under your under-seat item to give you a bit more leg-room). Studies also show that using armrests can help ease pressure on your spine. If you have lower back pain, consider bringing a jacket or blanket or pillow to place behind your lower back for support.

We’ve heard that using a lavender balm helps with sleep, but haven’t tried it yet. Occasionally we take melatonin. Very occasionally we take something stronger (usually a night-time cold medicine). If you use one that knocks you out entirely, don’t take it until the plane has actually taken off. Otherwise, you might find yourself half-asleep having to get off the plane.

Instead of listening to music, try white noise or even pink noise, which you can download before a flight. If you’ve forgotten, many airlines have a ‘sleep music’ selection. We’ve learned that if we intend to sleep on a flight, we ought to do this first. Watching a movie or doing anything on a computer makes it harder to transition to sleeping. One more thing: buckle your seatbelt over your blanket. The last thing you need is to be awakened if the flight attendants need to make sure you’re buckled in.