Putting your inner baby to sleep on the airplane
April 17, 2022 10:53 AM Subscribe
Are you the kind of person who, when they take a long flight, take care to bring an assortment of pillows that will allow them to achieve long periods of uninterrupted sleep? If so which pillows are you using? Do you have links?
If I don't take care to keep myself supported just right, the whole experience is a miserable, eternal hell on earth for me the whole time I'm in transit. So I have to take care of myself like a delicate child. If you know what I mean, please could you share with me your ways.
Specifically I have found that having the right pillows to keep my head perfectly still & supported is critical but I don't think i've ever used any pillow that actually seemed to work either at all or without a huge amount of fussing. Except I think the MUJI beanbag style. But I'm not sure. That's why I thought I'd better ask.
I also need to have another pillow to sit on and one for my lower back. I just get whatever children's travel pillows are in the gift shop for this & never have gotten a special gel seat pillow or anything like that. Should I?
In order to board the plane I put all of my pillows into their own bag inside my "under seat" bag.
Other things I always try to remember to do - is there anything I'm missing?:
- get a large, filling smoothy in the terminal & that way I stay full & hydrated (this works for me, I know that YMMV)
- get my own water & snacks in the terminal so I can sleep through the service times
- make sure I have my items for keeping my phone powered easy to find (in seat power/battery pack)
- go to the bathroom
- change into pajamas in the bathroom (this was pre-pandemic; i will be walking in the door wearing pajamas)
- light-down parka, sunglasses
- take something to help me sleep
- listen to something complicated but if I wake up after missing a bunch I can still basically follow it (like, the diary of samuel pepys worked because I find sam's antics amusing and the entries are not that long so if i keep waking up it's always a new episode and not one long story that builds on itself. I would love suggestions along these lines.)
- and, now masks will become a question. It's hard to figure out what kind to buy because you can't really know if it was working until you find out it didn't work. It's asking for a huge amount of trust in brands I have never heard of before. How do you decide? Which ones did you decide on? Are they comfortable for sleeping?
If I don't take care to keep myself supported just right, the whole experience is a miserable, eternal hell on earth for me the whole time I'm in transit. So I have to take care of myself like a delicate child. If you know what I mean, please could you share with me your ways.
Specifically I have found that having the right pillows to keep my head perfectly still & supported is critical but I don't think i've ever used any pillow that actually seemed to work either at all or without a huge amount of fussing. Except I think the MUJI beanbag style. But I'm not sure. That's why I thought I'd better ask.
I also need to have another pillow to sit on and one for my lower back. I just get whatever children's travel pillows are in the gift shop for this & never have gotten a special gel seat pillow or anything like that. Should I?
In order to board the plane I put all of my pillows into their own bag inside my "under seat" bag.
Other things I always try to remember to do - is there anything I'm missing?:
- get a large, filling smoothy in the terminal & that way I stay full & hydrated (this works for me, I know that YMMV)
- get my own water & snacks in the terminal so I can sleep through the service times
- make sure I have my items for keeping my phone powered easy to find (in seat power/battery pack)
- go to the bathroom
- change into pajamas in the bathroom (this was pre-pandemic; i will be walking in the door wearing pajamas)
- light-down parka, sunglasses
- take something to help me sleep
- listen to something complicated but if I wake up after missing a bunch I can still basically follow it (like, the diary of samuel pepys worked because I find sam's antics amusing and the entries are not that long so if i keep waking up it's always a new episode and not one long story that builds on itself. I would love suggestions along these lines.)
- and, now masks will become a question. It's hard to figure out what kind to buy because you can't really know if it was working until you find out it didn't work. It's asking for a huge amount of trust in brands I have never heard of before. How do you decide? Which ones did you decide on? Are they comfortable for sleeping?
I can't speak to all of this, but I can speak to the pillow and mask things.
Pillows: if you prefer firm-ish pillows at home, you may prefer an inflatable hiking/camping pillow while traveling, because you can inflate it as firmly as you like without adding to the weight of your gear much. I really like this one, the Nemo Fillo. When it's deflated, you can slide the whole cover off and wash it with your clothes in a washing machine. The cover has a "top" side that's soft like a cotton sheet, and a "bottom" side that's a little bit grippy, so it stays in place on a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, chair, or window.
Masks: Based on this comment in another AskMeFi thread, I upgraded from surgical + cloth masks to these Honeywell N95's back in January, and they're great. It felt physically obvious to me that the N95's have a much, much tighter seal, both from the way the actual material moves more when I breathe hard and the way condensation builds up inside, especially walking around in very cool, dry environments. They are trickier to take on and off than KN95's or other ear-loop masks, but I find them a lot more comfortable and a lot easier to forget I still have them on. I haven't had a reason to sleep in one yet, but I probably could.
posted by All Might Be Well at 11:51 AM on April 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
Pillows: if you prefer firm-ish pillows at home, you may prefer an inflatable hiking/camping pillow while traveling, because you can inflate it as firmly as you like without adding to the weight of your gear much. I really like this one, the Nemo Fillo. When it's deflated, you can slide the whole cover off and wash it with your clothes in a washing machine. The cover has a "top" side that's soft like a cotton sheet, and a "bottom" side that's a little bit grippy, so it stays in place on a sleeping bag, sleeping pad, chair, or window.
Masks: Based on this comment in another AskMeFi thread, I upgraded from surgical + cloth masks to these Honeywell N95's back in January, and they're great. It felt physically obvious to me that the N95's have a much, much tighter seal, both from the way the actual material moves more when I breathe hard and the way condensation builds up inside, especially walking around in very cool, dry environments. They are trickier to take on and off than KN95's or other ear-loop masks, but I find them a lot more comfortable and a lot easier to forget I still have them on. I haven't had a reason to sleep in one yet, but I probably could.
posted by All Might Be Well at 11:51 AM on April 17, 2022 [3 favorites]
Having a window seat is the only thing that does it for me - pillow against the wall/window and fall asleep leaning on it. No configuration of pillows will lure my body to sleep just sitting upright.
posted by penguin pie at 12:13 PM on April 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by penguin pie at 12:13 PM on April 17, 2022 [1 favorite]
I agree with goodbyewaffles that the Turtl is great. It's not a pillow, but it will keep your head still and supported.
posted by wryly at 7:03 PM on April 17, 2022
posted by wryly at 7:03 PM on April 17, 2022
Best answer: Some people just can't sleep on planes, my spouse has been in a lie-flat seat during normal bedtime and unable to sleep a wink. No point in beating yourself up about it if that's the case. I'm not sure I have listed my simple 12-point plan for beating jetlag, but here it is. Sometimes it's not possible or desirable to do all of them, but when I have, I have gone 9 time zones and been basically OK.
1. Schedule your flight during a time that will be night during your destination and reserve a window seat.
2. Two days before your flight, get up an an hour early. The day before, two hours, and the last day, three hours. So if you're normally up at 6:30, get up at 3:30. I am aware this is quite early.
3. Departure day, get up and right away eat breakfast in a brightly lit place. Most towns have a place that's open 24 hours for the night shift and drunks. Have a huge meal, even if you're not hungry. Plenty of water. After this meal, eat nothing else until morning at your destination. The stomach has as many nerves as the brain of a cat, it is very important to get it onboard. Pack something calorie dense with a low glycemic index, like nuts, if you get ravenous.
4. When you arrive at the airport, drink a liter of water. Pee before you get on the plane. Nothing to drink after this, if you can swing it. Definitely no alcohol.
5. Change into comfortable sleep clothes before you get on, especially comfortable socks. You can put your street shoes back on over them for boarding, but I recommend slippers since the flight is cold. Some people claim socks on a plane are smelly and disgusting, I think they don't scrub between their toes.
6. As soon as the flight pushes back from the gate, take a melatonin or other sleep aid. (Make sure it is USP, melatonin can also be sold as a "dietary supplement" with zero guarantee about the dose, could be crazy high or zero.) You don't want to be knocked out, which is unsafe for evacuation and Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) reasons, just a bit groggy. Check with your doctor.
7. Get out your pillow. I have bought a bunch, the one I like best is a simple neck pillow from IKEA that cost like $4. The key is a soft cover. Personally I wouldn't consider anything that's not inflatable.
8. Put on your earplugs and sleep mask. I have fancy noise cancelling earbuds but they don't work as well as good foam earplugs. Ditto the mask, get something soft that covers your eyes and the space around your nose, but it doesn't need to be fancy.
9. Put your seatbelt on over your blanket, if any, so you're not awakened for seatbelt checks.
10. Set an alarm for "morning" at your destination. If you wake up more than several hours before the alarm, take a half a sleep aid and go back to sleep or rest.
11. When the alarm goes off, make every effort to get up. Don't open the shade (the less fortunate are still sleeping), but turn your phone brightness all the way up even though your eyes are screaming. Have a substantial meal.
12. At your destination, head into the bathroom before customs. Change back into your street clothes, put on some deodorant, I like to wash my face or even shave. Makes it feel like a wake-up. Then, crucially, stay outside all day. A nap for 45 minutes is fine, but shades open, lights on.
posted by wnissen at 10:57 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
1. Schedule your flight during a time that will be night during your destination and reserve a window seat.
2. Two days before your flight, get up an an hour early. The day before, two hours, and the last day, three hours. So if you're normally up at 6:30, get up at 3:30. I am aware this is quite early.
3. Departure day, get up and right away eat breakfast in a brightly lit place. Most towns have a place that's open 24 hours for the night shift and drunks. Have a huge meal, even if you're not hungry. Plenty of water. After this meal, eat nothing else until morning at your destination. The stomach has as many nerves as the brain of a cat, it is very important to get it onboard. Pack something calorie dense with a low glycemic index, like nuts, if you get ravenous.
4. When you arrive at the airport, drink a liter of water. Pee before you get on the plane. Nothing to drink after this, if you can swing it. Definitely no alcohol.
5. Change into comfortable sleep clothes before you get on, especially comfortable socks. You can put your street shoes back on over them for boarding, but I recommend slippers since the flight is cold. Some people claim socks on a plane are smelly and disgusting, I think they don't scrub between their toes.
6. As soon as the flight pushes back from the gate, take a melatonin or other sleep aid. (Make sure it is USP, melatonin can also be sold as a "dietary supplement" with zero guarantee about the dose, could be crazy high or zero.) You don't want to be knocked out, which is unsafe for evacuation and Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) reasons, just a bit groggy. Check with your doctor.
7. Get out your pillow. I have bought a bunch, the one I like best is a simple neck pillow from IKEA that cost like $4. The key is a soft cover. Personally I wouldn't consider anything that's not inflatable.
8. Put on your earplugs and sleep mask. I have fancy noise cancelling earbuds but they don't work as well as good foam earplugs. Ditto the mask, get something soft that covers your eyes and the space around your nose, but it doesn't need to be fancy.
9. Put your seatbelt on over your blanket, if any, so you're not awakened for seatbelt checks.
10. Set an alarm for "morning" at your destination. If you wake up more than several hours before the alarm, take a half a sleep aid and go back to sleep or rest.
11. When the alarm goes off, make every effort to get up. Don't open the shade (the less fortunate are still sleeping), but turn your phone brightness all the way up even though your eyes are screaming. Have a substantial meal.
12. At your destination, head into the bathroom before customs. Change back into your street clothes, put on some deodorant, I like to wash my face or even shave. Makes it feel like a wake-up. Then, crucially, stay outside all day. A nap for 45 minutes is fine, but shades open, lights on.
posted by wnissen at 10:57 AM on April 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Do you wear an eye mask or noise-cancelling headphones? Those are helpful for me too, if I really do just want to sleep straight through.
posted by goodbyewaffles at 11:31 AM on April 17, 2022 [4 favorites]