neck pillow, eye mask, noise-cancelling headphones, and not comfortably
Add some alcohol to that list and you've got my regular routine
I use ear plugs then put on nose cancelling headphones.
Complete silence. I didn't hear the crying baby that was screaming for the 10 hour flight until the last hour lol.
I am gonna be honest with you here. Some of us born with a gift, given directly from god. They can sleep, without thinking embarrassing memories, without using any medicine, without finding comfort itself. But you and I... and many others... we are not welcomed to this dream world of easy sleepers. We are not gifted.
While many times it is a gift it is a curse if we suppose to be with someone. We go on a road trip? You barely close the door I am asleep. We ride buss I am asleep as soon as I sit down. Air plane I wake up 8 hours later. Hang out in bed I am gone.
I have to fight to stay awake but that is in vain. I will lose the fight five minutes later.
I usually have trouble falling asleep and can't just take a nap in the afternoon - never could.
But on a plane I'll be asleep minutes after the engines started and I'll happily sleep for hours through an entire flight. Something about the engine noise and movement of the cabin is very soothing to me. Same for trains, busses, cars.
And yet I'll regularly lie in my bed awake desperately trying to fall asleep..
Drugs
I am not sure if this is a joke, but many people take something that makes them sleepy. I can’t do it.
Because your doc won’t prescribe you anything? Not sure what you mean by “can’t” do it?
Pure exhaustion from all the "hurry up and wait" of airport bullshit.
By the time I've gotten out of bed, gotten ready, travelled to the airport, dragged all my shit through the airport, unpacked and repacked half of it through security, boarded the plane ... my body just kinda gives up on being awake.
Like a baby. Just like a baby.
I've actually slept through a complete landing, disembarkation of half the plane, then taking off. Woke up completely unaware we did our stopoff already.
I may have been recovering from a hangover, but whatevs.
Like a baby. Just like a baby.
Waking up crying every 2 hours? I guarantee that whoever came up with that saying to mean sleeping well never had kids.
I struggled to sleep on planes even before I had an energetic little kid to keep under control. I don't like sleeping while sitting up so I only ever manage to sleep lightly for a couple of hours at most.
Noise cancelling headphones and the antihistamine tablets that say “will cause drowsiness do not operate machinery or drive” washed down with a pint of beer. Sleep for 6 hours no problems.
No idea but as SOON as we start to taxi I am out like a light...
I also fall asleep at the dentist so maybe it's just me?
Hot? I'm usually cold on airplanes. That would definitely make a difference for me.
Neck pillow for the neck kinks. I don't like the horseshoe shaped ones though, I like the trtl brand style. Expensive, but it became worth it when I took a job requiring a couple flights per month minimum.
White noise. The white noise knocks me out almost immediately.
Only time I could ever sleep on a plane was after a business trip were I worked 18 hours days for almost 2 weeks. I was so tired I fell asleep right after boarding and buckling in. Not even takeoff and landing woke me up. Flight attendant shook me awake. LOL
If it's hot in the plane, that might be blocking you from sleeping. Personally I'm always cold in planes and fall asleep relatively easily both on planes and elsewhere.
It also helps to be jet-lagged. Knocks you out right quick :P Only applies to return trips though.
Sensory reduction (earplugs, facemask) and some benadryl.
First you find a comfortable position. Sometimes a pillow helps. Then close your eyes.
The clouds are pretty. But speaking from experience, connecting flights/long flights will just let you drop in and out due to exhaustion. You will randomly wake up because of the weird positioning of your neck like 5 times. Heaphones help a lot to sleep. But I conclude, quality sleep can be found on airport floors(not joking).
There's definitely a lot to be said about the exhaustion from long flights. I used to travel often between east Asia and the States, so I had to get used to sleeping on planes out of necessity. I'd always try to get a long layover in either Seoul or Beijing because their airports allowed for sleep. Seoul had a layover area where there were reclining lounges that were really comfortable to sleep on, and Beijing has a hotel in the airport where you can get a single room with a bed. It also has a shower, which is awesome when you're getting off of a 10+ hour flight.
Headphones in, zone out, drift off, wake up with a crooked neck.
I used to not be able to sleep on airliners, but then I got a job that required I fly on one once a week. By far the best way to make time pass fast.
Flip down the tray table and lay your arms and head on it. That's the only way I can do it
on my first trip to SE Asia I stsyed up overnight and planned to sleep the whole time on the plane. This was advice I was given to help combat jet lag for 12 hour difference of time. Turns out...I can't sleep on planes. I arrived delirious and. borderline hallucinating. I slept like 18 hours once at the hotel. I now power through the whole flight with caffeine and videogames after taking a nap at home as close to flight time as possible.
Worst one for me was a business trip to Asia where I worked Friday, went home for a couple hours and then headed to the airport for a 1AM flight. 13 hours on the flight where I don't sleep at all, landed at my destination at 5AM local time. Had to then kill an entire day and pushed through till 10PM before going to bed. I think it was around 40 hours between beds.
I used to fly a lot. I'm at the point where I board the plane, sit, close my eyes, and wake up when we start pulling into the gate at our destination.
I don't use a neck pillow or anything. Usually just grab a water bottle before boarding, because my mouth gets crazy dry.
At some point, the seats stopped leaning far back enough so that gravity kept my head in decline. That way I could sleep. Now that they don't lean back far enough, my head keeps dropping forward, so I constantly am kept in a state or awake.
The noise of the engines tends to help me. Same with sleeping on a long car journey. They hum or white noise or whatever of the engine and the road really help. Also why I like to sleep with a fan on. Not only to help cool down. But also because the noise really gets me to fall asleep sooner.
So I actually have a lot of trouble sleeping, and have restless legs and periodic limb movement disorder. I also have pretty bad diagnosed ADHD and brown noise absolutely helps calm me down.... So that engine noise? Puts me right to sleep I don't know what it is about it.
Also I usually smoke a bunch of weed before going to the airport so that helps.
Tell you GP that you have anxiety when you fly. They’ll prescribe a benzo.
Enjoy your snooze.
Can you fall asleep in a car? You know those metal cages tearing down roads where more people get killed than in those metal tunbes tearing through the sky...
I couldnt sleep for shit when I took an overnight flight a long time ago. The air pressure messing with my ears made it too uncomfortable to do so.
Idk its pretty easy I'm usually tired and bored as shit
There is a good trick: Business class. As I only fly business class long haul as I only fly for the job.
And luckily I can force my clients to pay for it.
Otherwise, as a rather long and large person, I am fucked.
Diphenhydramine, melatonin, neck pillow, and EYE MASK. Critical to block out light. Bonus for noise cancwlli headphones playing noise.
Badly.
I started wearing ear plugs and an eye mask every day. Eventually I got so used to it to the point that 1) it feels comfortable and 2) my body associates those things with sleep.
When on a plane I just put the ear plugs and eye mask on, and my brain just knows it's sleep time.
Also, not all neck pillows are created equal. I found the biggest factor is the pillow having straps to secure it to the head rest. It will do the work of holding your head and you won't drift sideways as you fall asleep.
The older I get, the easier it is to sleep just about anywhere.
I honestly have never had a problem sleeping on planes. If I'm tired before I get to the airport, I can often sleep through takeoff. On short flights I've only woken up after the plane lands.
For long haul flights I typically look to see what the local time of my destination will be when I arrive. If it's at night, I stay awake for the whole flight so I can crash as soon as I get where I'm going. If morning, I'll sleep the whole way so I can start the day fresh-ish. It really cuts down on jetlag.
For context, I got a remote job in 2016 and went full digital nomad basically until covid hit. I was living out of a single suitcase and flying once a month on average. I genuinely love flying. Pretty over the whole fascination with travel though.. In some ways it kinda ruins you. Now I'll only go somewhere if there are things I know I can only buy in the destination or if I'm going to visit friends or family. I have zero interest left for any tourist destinations, historical sites, museums, etc..
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