Travel Zzzzss
Airplane Snoozes
If you are flying overnight, make sure that you book business class or first class seating, if you can afford it. It is important to sleep lying down when sleeping overnight. Most coach class seats do not allow much reclining and trying to sleep in them overnight can lead to significant neck pain.
Sleeping Comfortably on Flights
You can use an inflatable neck pillow for shorter flights. It comes in the shape of a capital C and can be used to prevent your head and neck from bending to the side too much. You can inflate it and put it around the back of your neck. You can also use the small airplane pillow behind your low back. Use earplugs to decrease the plane noise and an eye shade for your eyes. It is difficult to sleep with too much light.
What Time is It?
Forget about your time zone at home for the time being. Make sure to adjust your watch to your destination’s new time zone while you are on the plane and start doing things in that new time. Try to adapt quickly to the new time so that you can coordinate your routines of eating, exercise and sleeping according to the new time.
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Sleeping in Hotels
Most hotels use pillows that are too short and too thin. Relying on only one of them under your neck may leave you with neck pain in the morning. You can position yourself in bed with four to five pillows. Try sleeping with two under your neck if they are the thin type. You can position a pillow between your knees and one under your arm. Make sure that you close the windows to decrease the noise and close the shades to decrease the light. Also, have a black sock ready to put over your eyes to block out the morning light.
Try sleeping on the same side of the bed that you do at home.
When picking out a room, ask for a quiet room and one that is away from the elevator, ice machines, stairwells or busy roads. You can ask for a top floor to decrease the annoying sounds of noise from floors about you.
What about Melatonin?
Melatonin can be helpful for jet lag if your have travelled a few time zones and need to adjust your circadian rhythms. Consider taking one to three milligrams one hour before bed and do this for two to four nights on the trip.
