How to Sleep on Long Flights
It can be very difficult to get enough sleep on a long flight, which poses long-term problems. Days after the flight is over, you might still be on a business trip in a strange time zone, suffering the mid-day crash effects of untreated jet lag.
Here are a few ways to think about sleep on your next plane flight.
Recently, Lifehacker discussed a few ways to get a good sleep on long (especially international) plane flights. Here are some of the most interesting observations:
Plan your sleep based on the destination. You're probably changing time zones, so do the math and figure out when during the flight you should sleep to avoid jetlag. You might need to stay awake through the first half of the flight, or you might need to "shortchange" yourself the night before. Either way, keep the prize in sight: Avoiding a week of exhausting jetlag after the flight is over.
Leave some legroom. It can be challenging, but try to pack lightly enough that you can stretch your legs under the seat in front of you, rather than packing that space with luggage. You won't sleep well if you are scrunched up like a ball.
Pick a Sleep-Friendly Seat. There's no two ways around this: If you don't have a window seat, you will inevitably be disturbed by passengers who need to get up to go to the bathroom or stretch their legs.
Photo by oddharmonic
