What to take on a plane to sleep. How to fall asleep on an airplane: effective methods, review of drugs, reviews

If you like to cross your legs while sitting, give up this habit. This position interferes with normal blood circulation in the legs and does not allow the body to relax. It is best when they are straight and only slightly bent at the knees. Increase the angle of the bend when this pose begins to bother, and after a while, straighten your legs back.

2. Move the seat back

Prolonged sitting with a straight back creates a load on the lower back. To lower it, tilt the chair back and lie on your back. Alternatively, you can purchase a lumbar pillow and take it with you on flights.

3. Choose a window seat

If possible, choose a window seat to have the side of the plane at your side. In this case, you will have one more comfortable position for sleeping in stock: you can rest, leaning to one side, without disturbing your neighbor. If you didn’t get a seat in advance and you didn’t get a seat by the window, ask the flight attendant if it’s possible to transfer to another seat.

4. Avoid contact with displays before bed

Try not to use the screens of your gadgets for an hour before bedtime, be it tablets, laptops or smartphones. The light they emit suppresses the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.

5. Put unnecessary things on the shelf

Put clothes, bags and other unnecessary things in the luggage rack. If you leave one of them with you, you will have to put it next to a chair or hold it in your hands. Such objects will certainly create discomfort during sleep.

6. Watch your diet

Do not eat within two hours before bed. And don't overeat on the day of the flight. Filling your stomach with more food will force your heart to work harder to support digestion. This will prevent you from relaxing.

7. Comfortable clothes

During a long flight, you are unlikely to be comfortable sitting in tight jeans. Put on, for example, soft, not tight pants - they will be much more comfortable. Consider in advance what your clothes are best for the plane.

8. Bring your sleeping supplies

During the flight, you may need earplugs, a pillow and an eye mask. The absence of light and unwanted sounds is what you need for a sound sleep, as well as increased convenience. You can also take a small blanket with you if you like to cover your legs.

9. Try to sleep less before your flight

Alternatively, you can limit your sleep the night before your flight. Having exhausted yourself, you will sleep like a baby on the plane. But if the flight will be short, then it is better not to bother yourself with this trick. Otherwise, you will not have time to restore strength and after landing you will feel tired.

10. Take sleeping pills

If there is a long flight ahead and nothing helps with insomnia, the last option left is to take sleeping pills. For such situations, preparations based on melatonin are suitable. But before choosing a sleeping pill, be sure to consult a doctor.

The reader of my blog might think that my life consists solely of trips to different countries. Actually it is not. . So every hour of vacation is on my account, and I simply cannot spend several days getting used to the new (or old) time zone. Therefore, it is very important for me to be able to sleep on airplanes.

This skill did not come to me immediately, but having perfected it, I suddenly realized that the whole world was open before me.

Now I can plan trips that would seem absurd to many. Drive? No problem! Or ? ? ? Pro . All this is possible if you learn to sleep on board an airplane!

Today I will share with you my methods. Maybe someone will come in handy. The longer the flight, the easier it is to oversleep some part of it. For example, it took 18 hours to fly to Singapore, I managed to sleep twice. But if you really need it, you can sleep on a four-hour flight. Less than that doesn't make much sense.

There are two very important components to the success of air sleep: need and possibility. Need is how much you want to sleep, and opportunity is how comfortable you are to sleep in the place where you are flying. Of course, they are interconnected: if you really want to sleep, then you can fall asleep even in the cramped and uncomfortable chair.

This is how I sleep in economy seats. Therefore, I never take a seat in the front row, or immediately after the wall, which my knees cannot reach. (It is also because they force all hand luggage to be removed on the mezzanine.) It is not convenient for me to sleep sitting, stretching out my legs, I always have to rest against something. Sometimes I even open the table and put my legs right on it - but otherwise my posture is stable:

This hood is no coincidence either. It can be pulled over the eyes, and the light will not interfere when the neighbor decides to solve Sudoku in the middle of the night. (But I don't like eye masks.)

I know that there are people who, on the contrary, like to lean their heads on the table (I sometimes do this myself, but I can’t stand it for a long time, it’s not very convenient for me). If you sit by the window, you can also lean on the wall. And some just simply sitting stretch their legs and sleep - with a pillow that is worn around the neck. Be that as it may, everyone has their own way of sleeping in economy.

But the maximum opportunity to sleep, of course, is for business class passengers, one in which the chair turns into a bed. Here you can fall asleep even with the minimum need for that. (I recently described five ways the average person can fly business class.)

But just because you're flying in economy class, that doesn't mean you can't take it easy. It happens that in the economy you can grab a whole row and raise the seat handles. Then sleeping is almost as comfortable as in an expensive business, you can stretch out to your full height. (This is another reason not to sit in the front row - there the arms of the chairs do not rise, because tables and monitors are hidden in them.

In principle, in order to fall asleep, two places are enough, you just have to curl up. It's amazing what acrobatic tricks adults, it would seem, people who want to fall asleep, are capable of.

As for the need to sleep, there are only two ways to increase it: not getting enough sleep, or taking sleeping pills. For a special thermonuclear effect, I advise you to use both.

With "lack of sleep" everything is clear. If the flight is in the evening, you can only sleep a few hours the night before. If the flight is in the morning, then you can not go to bed at night before it. At the same time, you will have a lot of time to pack your suitcase / backpack.

As for sleeping pills, you have to be careful here - usually it's for a good eight hours, so on shorter flights it may not be the best option. But on the other hand, on long ones it helps a lot, especially in order to adjust sleep to the time zone of the destination (this The best way overcome jetlag).

Personally, I use NyQuil tablets - they are actually for flu and colds, but contain sleeping pills (originally, they appeared in the 1960s so that the patient could sleep well). These pills are sold in America without a prescription, they are beautiful Green colour and are easily swallowed. One tablet is enough for me, which I drink with some alcohol to heighten the effect. After half an hour - forty minutes sleep is guaranteed. (Yes, I know that drinking with sleeping pills is generally not recommended.)

In my opinion, NyQuil is not sold in Russia, but a similar sleeping pill is contained in a medicine called Donormil. So check with your pharmacy.

Well, perhaps that's all. The main thing to remember the formula:

Successful Sleep(on the plane) = Possibility + Need

So forward to a brighter future! The whole world is yours.

PS: If you have your own special methods, please share!

Good news: you bought your plane tickets and are looking forward to your dream trip. Bad news: the flight is long, or overnight, or super-early, and you are not one of the lucky ones who fall asleep sweetly, as soon as the plane takes off from the ground. You probably already know all these “life hacks”, they say, buy earplugs and a mask, take a pillow, or better, book a seat in business class, where the seats are more comfortable. Thank you, cap, we have a couple of more relevant tips.

Remember how you sleep and buy the appropriate seat. Even if you fly with Ryanair, save a few euros to. When unsure, rely on Seatguru . If at home you sleep on your right side, take chairs on the right side and vice versa. No need to chase places at the very beginning - a mother with a small child will be put there with a 100% probability, which usually does not contribute to sound sleep. The armchair by the window is the most trump card - you can lean against the wall and close the porthole shutter so that there is less light.

Choose the right position. It is best to recline the seat all the way back (no wonder it was placed at an angle of 135 degrees) to normalize the pressure on the spinal discs. The second place in the ranking of the best sleeping positions is sitting up straight with your back at an angle of 90 degrees (have pity on the neighbor in the back!). The only point: if you have a weak abs, your lower back will not receive any support - and you will wake up with pain in the very bottom of your back. To avoid this, ask the flight attendant for a blanket and put it under your back in the lumbar region. Please don't cross your legs.

Flip your pillow. Rotate the inflatable pillow so that it is between your chin and chest, and your neck is snug against the chair. Usually it is already ergonomic enough to sleep without an extra pillow. The fixed chin will save you from sudden awakenings when the plane enters the turbulence zone.

power off. Tablets in armchairs, mobile phones, tablets - try to get rid of all the blue screens that keep your brain and eyes in suspense and prevent you from falling asleep. Leave only the player, where you first download some sounds of the forest or “white noise”.

Do what you normally do before bed. Brush your teeth, think about how your day went, read a book or scroll through a Facebook feed carefully saved in advance like Pocket. Change into comfortable clothes, take off your shoes. Just please, take care of the psyche of others and do not put on pajamas.

Don't overeat. We know it's difficult, especially if food is included in the ticket price, but it's best to eat a hearty meal at least two hours before bedtime.

Instead of alcohol - herbal tea. And although you already know how to drink properly, try not to do this, because in this case you will not be able to fall asleep quickly. Limit yourself to something soothing like herbal tea.

Kalinov Yury Dmitrievich

Reading time: 10 minutes

Going on a long plane trip, some passengers experience fear and anxiety, which helps them to cope with a sedative. However, is it safe to take sleeping pills on a plane? Let's find out which Negative consequences may occur after taking such drugs, which drugs are most harmless, and how to take them correctly to avoid problems.

Can you take sleeping pills on an airplane?

With sleep disorders and excessive excitability nervous system some people find it difficult to do without sedatives on an airplane, especially on long journeys. Indeed, in some cases, taking sleeping pills is justified even when taking into account their negative impact on the body.

Restrictions on transporting medicines

Some medications require a permit to be transported. Information about this can be found at the airport.

Important! It is allowed to carry drops and syrups up to 100 ml in the cabin.

There are many restrictions on the transport of medicines in tablets. Some of them need to be declared. In addition, you need to have a receipt and a prescription for English language, which confirms that the passenger cannot do without this drug on the way.

The following medicines are subject to declaration during the flight:

• tranquilizers and many sedative compounds;
• painkillers;
• psychotropic;
• for weight loss.

Before the flight, it is advisable to consult with the representatives of the airline regarding which drugs are allowed to take with you, and which are strictly prohibited.

It is allowed to carry into the cabin of the aircraft:

• medicines that improve digestion;
• antispasmodics;
• antipyretic;
• analgesics;
• nose and throat drops;
• antiallergic agents;
• solutions for the treatment of wounds.

All medicines must be taken in acceptable quantities so that they are not seized during baggage checks. If a required drug is forbidden to be imported into the country, you will have to accept it before air travel.

List of sleeping pills that are allowed to take on a plane

Not all sedatives can be taken with you into the cabin. Only harmless, non-prescription medications are allowed on board. This list includes:

• valerian;
• motherwort;
• "Novopassit";
• DreamZzz and other similar means.

When choosing a sleeping pill, you need to pay attention to the speed of its action, as well as the lack of side effects such as nausea, lethargy, and severe drowsiness upon waking.

Valerian tablets and tincture

The drug has vegetable origin. Well established as a sedative that improves sleep. Accumulates in the body, providing an effect even after excretion. The disadvantage of tincture is a specific smell.

People who can easily fall asleep on an airplane are the lucky ones. Unfortunately, most passengers are not even able to doze off, not only because of the awkward position, but also surrounded by strangers. If you're facing the same problem, try some tips from experienced travelers. It is possible that this time you will be able to fly to your destination well rested.

Choose night time

If possible, take an overnight flight. On the day of your flight, wake up a few hours earlier than usual to help you fall asleep faster on board.

Travel Tuesday and Wednesday

If you do not want to fly in the company a large number noisy passengers who take up all the free space, choose unpopular days. For most airlines, this is Tuesday and Wednesday. The busiest days are usually the days before holidays and Fridays.

Choose a window seat

Try to always choose a place that allows you to lean your head against the wall and not worry about a neighbor who decides to recover in the bathroom.

Do not choose a place near the wall of the compartment. Of course, there is more space, but these places are also preferred by families with babies, whose neighborhood is unlikely to allow you to sleep. A place near the toilet is also not the best option.

Lower the seatback to the maximum

If you want to have a good rest, lower the seat back as far as possible. Of course, it is worth making sure that the person sitting behind you does not mind. If you sit even for one hour at a right angle, it can cause back pain, not to mention long flights. On the other hand, if you sleep with your head on the table or the back of the front seat, it will be bad for your neck and spine.

Warm and comfortable clothing

For a sound sleep on board, wear loose-fitting clothing. If the plane does not provide blankets, bring a warm sweater and socks with you. It is often cold in the cabin, which can interfere with your sleep.

It is better to fasten the seat belt over clothing

This will not make your sleep more comfortable, but in case of turbulence, the flight attendants will not wake you up to make sure you are safe.

Sleep accessories

Light and noise are the main factors that can interfere with your sleep. Therefore, use blindfolds and headphones. In order not to strain your head and neck, use a special pillow, or, alternatively, a rolled scarf.

Put your gadgets away

You should not start watching movies on your phone, because the blue light from the screen wakes up the brain. Take a paper book, and preferably a boring one, in order to fall asleep faster. You can also use an audio file with soothing sounds (birdsong, rain).

Food and drink

If you want to sleep soundly, don't overeat on board. Choose light and healthy food. From drinks it is better to drink tea, for example, herbal, or plain water. Forget about coffee or alcohol: alcohol can calm you down, but it will affect the quality of your sleep.