Sleeping on planes-how?!

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We're flying properly longhaul to New Zealand soon and now I'm wondering about sleep.

How do people sleep on a plane?! We will really need to as it's not a case when we cna just sleep when we get there (over a day later😳)

So if you're in economy class. Kids next to you (but old enough not to need you) how on earth do you sleep?

Do we all need travel pillows? Do any of them work? Does the plane provide blankets?

Thankyou :)

I've flown to and from Australia loads of times and have never once managed to sleep on the plane.

I just feel like shit for a day or two when I arrive!

😬. That's what I'm now worried about!

I thought I'd get lots of lovely hints and tips on how to sleep 😂

I think you're either one of those people who can sleep on planes or you aren't.

I find accepting I won't sleep much easier than trying to sleep and getting frustrated.

I just put the inflight entertainment on and tune out. Sometimes I might doze off for an hour or two but it's never proper sleep and I always feel like shit when we land either way 😂

I'm just at the airport for a flight to Gran Canaria. Took two Sturgeron for travel sickness and will be asleep in an hour 😁

To be fair, that is something of a shorter run though.

You’ve had lots of hints, but you’re ignoring them because you’re stressing. Buy travel pillows and eye masks from one of the many suggestions here. Download a sleep hypnotherapy session from YouTube. Accept you’ll be tired.

Not exactly comparable to a 23 hour flight to New Zealand including a stop over though 😉

Of course not. But they might buy you a couple of hours.

No I'm not ignoring them! I've been googling travel pillows and eye masks that's not really a biggy but that was established fairly early on. Did you notice why I am "stressing" as you put it? It will be hard for me to "accept no sleep" for 40 hours as I get migraines and was hopping to explore in Singapore a bit. I don't think that's unreasonable or odd to try and prepare and plan as much as possible to avoid. We are not going to NZ for long and if I lose 2 mights sleep and have migraines then that's going to effect the whole families enjoyment.

I'm sure for many people on this thread they can na just shake off staying awake for 40 hours. Maybe they're younger than me. Maybe they don't have a disability. Who knows. But no need to put me down for being prepared and wanting to try and get the best chance of sleeping!

I've had to brush over the stop over/window seat suggestions as not applicable.

And yes enjoyed reading all the anecdotes of how some people can manage no sleep!(!) and how others manage with drugs and alcohol and what people do do. Hence starting this thread. I've really appreciated peoples experiences even if they're different to mine.

No need to accuse me of ignoring or minimising my experience.

And my comment (if you saw the laughing smile - maybe it doesn't show up on all screens?) was that I just thought I'd get a handful of tips and hadn't quite been prepared for the barrage of people saying it was impossible/they don't sleep. Not that I've ignored people ffs.

Thankyou to several of you who posted timings about the flight that helps me get it in my head (haven't tagged you all).

And yes stocking up on supplies this weekend. I'm still so excited to be going. Obviously this thread was just about one aspect!

Travel pillow, warm enough, very comfortable clothes, inc. socks, (I take my shoes off), blanket, a G&T and wine with dinner. Maybe an eye mask.

I've got a trtl pillow and think people either love or hate them. I'm in the latter category as I find it a bit too rigid, very hot and difficult/impossible to wear my headphones/ear buds with it.

Going back to the OP, I think being able to sleep on planes is something you just can or can't do, like rolling your tongue I can't, DH can, 2 DC can, 1 can't. The only time I've ever slept on a plane is flying business. Lying flat, took my own pillow, slept all night. Sorry OP, that's probably not what you want to hear.

Just going back to travel sickness tablets, not all are anti histamine, that includes some of the most well known brands - Kwells, Joy Rides and Boots Travel Calm, they are hyoscine. They may make you sleepy (they make me feel more spaced out and dopey rather than sleepy) but can also give you a really dry mouth which can be unpleasant. If you do go down that route, maybe go for a different medication.

Sadly I never sleep on a plane and I've flown to Australia multiple times .....

My plan when I do long haul flights is to "rest" rather than "sleep". So I get myself as comfy as possible with travel pillow, blanket & scarf, put on an eye mask and noise cancelling headphones and put on some music that I know really well so I can enjoy it but am not actively listen to it. Then I do some basic mindfulness stuff and see what happens.
I also make sure I have plenty of snacks & drinks so I don't have to stay awake for the plane food or be woken up for it.
DC have everything they need and know not to disturb me if my eye mask is on unless there's a real problem. They are told to disturb DH instead as even though he may be snoring, he'll be back asleep within minutes

I wasn’t criticising you, I was saying you’re stressed about it. I get stressed if I don’t sleep, but that only makes it worse. All you can do is take as many precautions as you can and hope for the best.

What's your layover like on the way back? If you really want to see Changi you could plan to do that on the way back when it won't matter so much that you're a wreck because you're just going home. Then plan to get a good few hours during your layover on the way to NZ.

The idea with booking window and aisle is that if the plane isn't full then noone will be sat in the middle. If the plane is full and there's someone supposed to sit in the middle you ask if they'd like to swap to aisle/window instead, most would say yes to that without any hesitation.

I regularly don't sleep on the way back from Aus
Even with a layover. Every time my head drops a cm I jerk awake. I truly hate those people who nod off immediately after dinner!

Way back is only 3 hours as we thought we'd just want to get home!

Ah well.

May start a thread about changi/jewel in a bit but may have to manage expectations about what we do in the time if we haven't slept/feel ill.

Thanks everyone :)

goes back to googling travel pillows. My kids had lovely "travel pet" pillows when we last flew about 12 years ago that they kept in the car for ages!

I couldn't get on with the Trtl pillow, I ordered an inflatable footrest which oddly really helped. Eye mask, keep hydrated. Something to listen to and try not to stress about it. You will sleep it just might not be on the flight.

You could download some 'Nothing Much Happens' podcasts. Maybe use them at bedtime at home first. That might help you doze, but even if you don't fall asleep, they are so relaxing to listen to.

So I now have a neck cushion for each of us.

I've checked the suitcases and we have 2 big and 2 small ones (hope that's enough!) . Got back packs each to take on board (and one carry on suitcase we'll put on in for extra bits)

Sleep. We will hope for the best! I so want to enjoy Changi ( started a separate thread) I'm not so fussed for the way back.

We have a flight booked 11.30pm ish that will arrive in the early morning in Singapore. We could move that one to 6.30pm but I still think "resting" at night time with the original flight might be better than arriving at Changi at 1.30am and having to get out again by 9.30. I think...

OP, a little tip. If your head keeps dropping as you sleep, put your neck cushion on the other way round. The head rest will support the back of your head anyway. You’ll get some strange looks, but for those in the know, it can work.

Have a lovely time.

Ooh that's a good idea!

I’ve done the flights to NZ (and back sadly!) twice. I am quite prone to falling asleep in cars etc though not deeply. I do find I get some patchy sleep on long haul flights through sheer exhaustion. I do everything others say and the most important thing is being warm and it being dark. Cosy socks, loose warm clothing, eye mask and earplugs.

I wouldn’t drink - I had a nasty experience where I feel asleep after a large white wine (a nice sauv blanc) and then there was turbulence and it set off travel sickness.

If you do get travel sickness ginger is your friend. I take those chewy ginger sweets

I hope you have a fantastic trip. Just do all you can to prepare and then try not to obsess about sleeping, as that won’t help.