Just a few weeks ago, I had a long-haul flight to Europe from the East Coast. As I packed and prepared, excited about what was planned, I also wondered and worried: How the heck was I going to sleep on this eight-hour flight, so I wasn’t sleepwalking through sightseeing the next day?
It’s a conundrum many of us have faced. There are TikTok videos, articles, products, and advice galore about how to meet the challenge. But what exactly does the science say? What’s the best way to sleep on a plane?
Popular Science went to the experts. Here’s why it’s so difficult to get sleep on a plane, and how to set yourself up for the best chance of getting some shut eye up in the air.
Why it’s so hard to sleep on planes
Nearly every environmental cue is working against us on planes, making it near impossible to get to sleep. The human body evolved to sleep in dark and quiet spaces, explains clinical psychologist and sleep scientist Dr. Joseph Dzierzewski, senior vice president of research and scientific affairs at the National Sleep Foundation.
A circadian rhythm—our body’s internal clock—guides us. It helps regulate our cycles of sleep and wakefulness and is largely set by our exposure to the sun, he says.
Inside an airplane, we get the opposite. Not only are we sitting upright—or only slightly reclined in smaller and smaller airplane seats—but light and noise are unpredictable and largely outside our control on a flight. A seatmate may decide to turn on their reading light all night—or the guy in the row behind you keeps calling the flight attendants for one more cup of water.
Cabin conditions and timing add to the challenge. The air on planes is dry, which can contribute to dehydration, and long-haul flight schedules often don’t line up with our normal sleep window.
And, when we attempt to force sleep at the wrong time for our body clock, we can get frustrated and anxious, Dzierzewski says. That can lead to a kind of performance anxiety about sleep itself that only makes it harder to drift off as we start worrying about being too tired for the next day’s business meeting or sightseeing excursion.
Even that much-touted in-flight drink can backfire. Alcohol contributes to dehydration and can also mean more overnight bathroom trips, sleep and health experts say.
Beware of TikTok advice
It’s also important to be cautious of advice from TikTok or Instagram influencers without a background in sleep science and plane safety.
“Just because we all sleep does not make everyone a sleep expert,” Dzierzewski says. “Sleep is a science. You should want to consume sleep information from people with advanced degrees who are credible, trustworthy, independent, and perhaps not mainstream influencers.”
Viral TikTok travel hack is actually a really bad idea
For instance, a viral TikTok travel hack claims to help you get better shut-eye in the air with a sleep position best suited for a contortionist. In the videos, travelers put their knees up against their chest and strap the seatbelt around their ankles or legs to keep them in place, which they claim allows them to rest more easily.
Don’t do it, say doctors and experts. Strapping the seatbelt around your legs poses serious safety risks if you encounter turbulence or another emergency while in the air. The posture could also set you up for a potentially fatal blood clot.
The position impedes blood in the veins in your lower extremities from getting back to your heart, says Dr. Marc J. Kahn, chief of hematology at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who spoke with Popular Science.
That creates stasis, or sluggish, pooled blood, which increases your risk for a blood clot in an environment that’s already conducive to clotting, Kahn says. When you sit for long periods, blood flow in the legs slows down.
How to actually sleep on a plane
Unfortunately, there is no single miracle hack to ensure you get a few hours of sleep on a plane, especially for those of us confined to seats that don’t convert into beds—something I experienced firsthand on my own red-eye flight to Europe. But, experts say, there are some practical strategies to improve your odds of getting some sleep on a plane.
Control light and noise
You can’t control what your seatmate—or the guy behind you—does when the cabin lights dim, but you can take some control of your personal environment. Pack an eye mask to create darkness, and earplugs or noise-canceling headphones to blunt the roar of engines or the endless chatter of the person in front of you. Some travelers love a neck pillow, but it’s not for everyone.
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“You want to create a more welcoming environment for yourself when you’re on the plane as much as possible,” says Erin Clifford, a licensed professional counselor, who works with professionals about maintaining wellness routines while traveling, and author of Wellness Reimagined.
“When we zone everyone around us out, it can help a little bit with our sleep.”
Prepare before you board
Good in-flight sleep starts on the ground, Clifford says. Before a long flight, avoid heavy meals and caffeine and stay hydrated. Some travelers may benefit from carefully timed melatonin, a sleep-promoting hormone, under medical guidance, or apps that gradually shift sleep schedules toward the destination time zone.
To wear yourself out—don’t skip your workout that day, Clifford says. “When we exert ourselves, it makes us want to sleep more.”
Create a familiar, soothing routine
To work with your body clock, replicate home sleep cues in the air. Wear comfortable clothing and swap your screen for a book, podcast, or audiobook as “lights out” approaches, experts recommend. Tune into a white noise app through your headphones or slather on some favorite lotion if that’s something you do at home.
“If you’re a person who always does A, B, and C before bed, and you have a night flight and you want to try to sleep on this flight, if you can translate any of those behaviors or activities to the plane, go for it,” Dzierzewski says. “It’ll help serve as a cue that this is a safe place and it’s time for me to prepare for bed.”
Adjust your expectations
Even with perfect preparation, be realistic. Few people get a great night’s sleep on an airplane. Control what you can, and accept that some variables—from chatty seatmates to turbulence—will always be out of your control.
“Effort is the enemy of sleep,” Dzierzewski says. “The harder you try to do it, the more arousing you become, the more anxiety, the more frustrated, and all those emotions are incompatible with sleep.”
Exhausted enough
During my overnight flight to Frankfurt, I did what the sleep and travel experts I’d interviewed recommended. The screen on the back of my seat froze—mid-movie—so I ended my screen time early for the evening. I donned an eye mask and earplugs and tried to get cozy with the airplane-provided blanket and pillow. Earlier in the day, I made sure to make time for my usual exercise routine and walked up and down the terminal for an hour before we boarded.
Sleep came, but fitfully and sporadically. Later that morning, on my two-hour connecting flight, however, something different happened. Without all those extras, my eyes barely stayed open for takeoff. I slept for nearly the entire flight. Not even the noise of the drink and snack service jostled me awake. My eyes opened as we landed and, ultimately, the first day of my long-awaited vacation was everything I hoped it would be.
So, perhaps, the moral of the story is this: Sometimes, to sleep on a plane, you just need to be exhausted enough.
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