How many times have you said to yourself, or your travel partner, “I can sleep on the plane.”  Yea, right.  Admit it.  We all have done it, but who can sleep in a cramped, canned air, baby crying, bumpy catastrophe of a ride? I always assume that no matter how tired I am, I can get a few winks of sleep once the flight is airborne.

Now, I know why.  The video below shows 24 hours of airline travel across the world. No wonder no one can sleep on a plane.  Look how busy it is!  With all that light in the sky, no wonder I can’t sleep!

In all seriousness, I have had little success trying all the tricks to sleep on the plane.  Even on a 14 hour flight from JFK to Mumbai, India, I was awake during both flights even though we left late in the evening.

So, I did a little research to help not only me, but any of you who may have problems sleeping on a plane.  Travel experts say that not drinking caffeine or any alcohol for four hours prior to your flight will help in relaxing and catching a nap.  Sitting next to the window so you can lean against the wall is also a big tip.  Wearing noise canceling headphones (which I love), a sleep mask, taking a blanket and pillow, a neck pillow, and wearing comfortable clothes can help you arrive at the completely comfortable state to get some rest.  Ok, all those sound good to me until the guy in the seat in front of me pushes his seat all the way back and I feel trapped, and all the preparation to snooze is now on the wing of the plane with that gremlin from the Twilight Zone.  (Do you remember that episode?  I still expect to see a gremlin if I look out the window.)

But, have no fear.  There are many more tips to help you gain those lost hours of sleep.  Sit up toward the front of the plane.  It is more quite if you sit in front of the engines and there is less traffic for the rest rooms.  I have to agree with those tips, but they still don’t help me catnap.

I’ve given up on sleeping on a plane. I’d rather write, read, or watch a movie on my computer.  What I do is try to get a great night’s sleep before I fly by using a ParkSleepFly.com hotel near my airport.  Depending on my flights, I may choose to stay before, after, or on both ends of my trip.  I get a comfortable room at an airport hotel, parking for the duration of my trip and rides to and from the airport.  This really leaves me relaxed and ready to tackle a long flight with chatty seat neighbors, kids that stare at you for the entire flight, or just plugging in my noise-canceling headphones and reading for a while.  I’ll make the most of it, as my traveling partner is settling in for a nap.  Sigh…..

If you have any great tips for others to get some decent shut-eye on a flight, let me know.  I’m getting tired just thinking about it.

Related articles

• Tips To Make It Through That Long Flight (parksleepfly.com)
• 10 Sleep Hacks for the Avid Traveler (bestonlinecolleges.com)