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Sleep, shuteye, catching some zzz’s – whatever you call it, it’s hard to come by in Economy Class. Use these tactics to improve your chances of sleeping on your next flight.

The brilliant featured image is by Zach Klein.

An, ahem, sort of health warning: this blog does not address the use of medications as a sleep aid or meditative techniques. Nor does it take in to account matching sleep patterns with destinations times to reduce the effect of jetlag.

We’ve published part 2 of our tips. Have a read.

 

 

BEFORE YOUR FLIGHT

 

Choose your seat wisely at check-in…

  • Research the best seats on your flight using SeatGuru.com
  • Pick a window seat so you’re not disturbed by other passengers heading to the bathroom
  • Having the window seat also give you control of the window shade
  • Avoid bulkhead (exit row) seats as they’re often reserved for families, and we all know how noisy children can be, many don’t recline and, contrary to popular belief, not all have more legroom!
  • Avoid the last row as these often do not recline, you’re close to the bathroom(s), which means doors opening and closing and people congregating nearby and some planes have a galley at the back, and that means crashes and bangs and slaming oven doors.

Come prepared…

  • They’re far from perfect, but those inflatable neck-pillows do a great job of supporting the substantial weight of your head. They’re not always the most soft material (and the joins can cut into your neck) so wrap it in a thin piece of material like a shawl or t-shirt
  • Noise is a big interrupter of sleep, and we all know hoe noisy planes can be – take control by wearing earplugs or splash out on some noise-cancelling headphones. There are pros and cons to noise-cancelling headphones – the main pro being they really are effective at blocking out unwanted sounds, the cons being they are expensive pieces of kit and they get in the way if you like to lean the side of your head on a headrest when sleeping
  • Just like noise, lots of light can make sleeping difficult – the free blindfolds in Economy aren’t the most comfortable, so seek out a more deluxe version that’s padded, has a nice wide adjustable strap and is designed to follow the contours of the face. Have a look at Virgin’s super-luxe version!

Don’t fuel up the wrong way…

• Avoid caffeine and fizzy drinks all day if possible
• While it may assist the onset of sleep, alcohol is also known to disturb sleep too – for some for it will be a useful sleep aid, but for many others it may be best avoided.

 

 


Written by insider city guide series Hg2 | A Hedonist’s guide to…

About the author

Brett AckroydBrett hopes to one day reach the shores of far-flung Tristan da Cunha, the most remote of all the inhabited archipelagos on Earth…as to what he’ll do when he gets there, he hasn’t a clue. Over the last 10 years, London, New York, Cape Town and Pondicherry have all proudly been referred to as home. Now it’s Copenhagen’s turn, where he lends his travel expertise to momondo.com.

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