Many of us have experienced the nightmare of a long flight, a full schedule upon arrival at our destination, and no ability to get any sleep on the airplane. A full day at our destination with no rest makes for a miserable day. Let’s face it, an airplane is not the best place to get your z’s. These secrets will help you get better sleep and fight jet lag or even avoid jet lag.
There are several things that you can do to help yourself. Most just take a small plotting and forethought because once you are on the plane, it is nearly too late to implement these things. These small secrets will make a huge difference in your ability to sleep on the airplane, and will make for a much more pleasant experience.
Window Seats
When making reservations, make sure you reserve a window seat. This gives you a nice wall to lean against, and provides you with a small more privacy. After all, it is much more comfortable to lean against the wall, than wake up and find you are napping on the shoulder of a weirder.
Neck Pillows
At first glance it may seem a bit corny, but neck pillows are a wonderful thought. Airplane seats are not designed for comfortable sleep. Having your head bob up and down as you drift off does not make for excellent rest. Nearly any airport shop sells neck pillows. They are not expensive, grab one. It will be a fantastic investment.
A Excellent Meal
Get yourself a excellent meal a few hours before take off. It is much simpler to sleep on a full stomach and you won’t need to eat any of those airline snacks. Hopefully, while everyone else is munching on those wonderful pretzels, you will be comfortably dreaming.
Avoid Caffeine
Stay away from caffeine for obvious reasons. You are plotting to sleep, so don’t counter that by putting a stimulant into your system. Remember that caffeine not only comes in coffee, but in most soft drinks as well. If you are thirsty drink water, it is the best choice as it hydrates you (which is vital on flights). Colas really act as a diuretic which causes you to make more frequent trips to the bathroom, and dehydrates your body (causing headaches, jet lag, muscle cramps, etc.).
Sensory Blockers
Two essential items for sleeping on an airplane are eye masks and noise cancelling headphones. Even on nighttime flights, you can count on someone sitting next to you that keeps the light on to read, talks to someone across the aisle the whole flight, or worse – engages you in conversation about world politics, their award winning rose, or their newest grandchild. Eye masks block out the light, and noise cancelling earphones do a wonderful job of providing you with astonishing silent. Besides, it sends a fantastic message to the person next to you that you are to be left to your sleep.
These five secrets will allow you to arrive at your destination well rested, and in many cases will even help you avoid jet lag or at least fight jet lag.
