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Sleeping on Aeroplanes.


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I really struggle to sleep on aeroplanes. My friend, Caleb, must be similarly effected. He drew this diagram en route home to Australia from his holiday in Norway. 

DF280E55-28AB-4E48-9558-61B173624214.jpeg

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I always had trouble sleeping on airplanes and would just read, until I flew non-stop to London. I ended up so tired that I slept on and off for most of the second part of the journey. Just a neck pillow and the confines of cattle class 😴 

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5 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I really struggle to sleep on aeroplanes. My friend, Caleb, must be similarly effected. He drew this diagram en route home to Australia from his holiday in Norway. 

DF280E55-28AB-4E48-9558-61B173624214.jpeg

Very funny 😁

in our later years if it’s long haul, we book premium economy and request upgrade to business for the biggest leg of the flight with points. Scored at least half the time.

otherwise frank has his own method, even in short haul, before the plane has left the runway, he’s in sleep mode!

 

 

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26 minutes ago, Sparky74 said:

I really struggle to sleep on aeroplanes but when I sit in the lounge in front of the TV…

Hahaha, I too can relate to that  😴 

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3 minutes ago, Jean C said:

Hahaha, I too can relate to that  😴 

I think my problem is that I’ve had too many birthdays! 
Although my mother-in-law reckons that it’s been proved "scientifically" that birthdays are good for you. 
Apparently, the more birthdays you have, the longer you live. 

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Just now, Sparky74 said:

I think my problem is that I’ve had too many birthdays! 
Although my mother-in-law reckons that it’s been proved "scientifically" that birthdays are good for you. 
Apparently, the more birthdays you have, the longer you live. 

Well there you go, learn something new everyday 🤣

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I made the mistake of booking a window seat on my 14hr flight Syd - Vancouver.  The  two people in the seats next to me slept VERY well.  Let me tell you that it made needing a toilet break very difficult.

 

And because I don’t sleep on planes - I caught up on ALL the movies I hadn’t seen in the 28hrs total of flying time.

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11 minutes ago, yarramar said:

It depends on HOW you travel.

Etihad-first-class-suite-resized.jpg

 

That's how we always travel overseas. Singapore Airlines newer A380s were configured with a double bed separate to our seats in our suites. It's worth saving up all your money for.

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On 7/20/2024 at 7:10 AM, Sparky74 said:

I really struggle to sleep on aeroplanes. My friend, Caleb, must be similarly effected. He drew this diagram en route home to Australia from his holiday in Norway. 

DF280E55-28AB-4E48-9558-61B173624214.jpeg

Lol, the irony is no adult sleeps on a plane without some sort of medication.

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On 7/20/2024 at 5:48 PM, colourbird said:

 

That's how we always travel overseas. Singapore Airlines newer A380s were configured with a double bed separate to our seats in our suites. It's worth saving up all your money for.

I wouldn't get any sleep anyway, too many clubs to join.:classic_laugh:

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28 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Lol, the irony is no adult sleeps on a plane without some sort of medication.

Well, Caleb who drew the diagram is married to a doctor…

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2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I wouldn't get any sleep anyway, too many clubs to join.:classic_laugh:

 

Even with the beds, it is still almost impossible to sleep for any decent length of time if you do actually fall asleep.

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The most comfortable economy flights I ever did were on Emirates in 2017 with the aid of these items:

- a light tote bag (see photo below)

- an inflatable footrest

- an inflatable neck pillow

- noise cancelling headphones

- a white noise app on my phone

- a sleep mask

 

Before boarding the plane I put everything I would need on the flight into the tote bag and put that in the top of my carry-on.

 

Once at my seat I'd take the tote bag out of my carry-on and put my handbag in the carry-on and lock it, then it went on the luggage bin.

 

Once settled in my seat I'd take the headphones out of their carry-case, plus phone, kindle, charging cables etc, . Then I'd inflate the footrest to 1/2- 2/3, put it on top of anything else left in the tote bag, slide it under the seat in front and put my feet on top. 

 

When it was time to sleep, I'd inflate the neck pillow, switch to my white noise app, recline my seat, take my sleeping tablet, and put on my sleep mask. Because of the foot rest I ended up being able to stretch right out, at a slope of course, but it meant my knee wasn't locked in a sitting position so didn't seize up on me and I slept for several hours between Sydney and Dubai. That was almost a miracle! In fact I slept better on that economy flight than I did in Singapore Airlines business class last year as my legs were straight not bent.

 

GO travel folding tote bag

 

Screenshot_20240721_112056_SamsungInternet.thumb.jpg.b438145588e260194e07b5e584dccf56.jpg

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Just now, MicCanberra said:

Sleeping tablet is what did it, the others just help to doze.

No, even with sleeping tablets I don't sleep well if I'm not comfortable, and I still wake up if my knee starts acting up. 

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14 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

Lol, the irony is no adult sleeps on a plane without some sort of medication.

 

I do.

 

If I can lie down, I sleep.  The one time  I took business class flight to UK, I slept really well - also the one time I took a half full plane to Dubai and could lie down on empty seats. Was wonderful.

 

Unfortunately my budget doesn't stretch to business class again and Ive never since been on a flight with empty seats.

 

Even without lying down, I can sleep intermittently on  long flight, say, an hour here or there - neck pillow, earphones with relaxing music.

 

Have never taken sleeping medication in my life.

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The other option is not to try too hard. Good if you are able to switch your body clock to the time zone of the destination, but otherwise just try to relax and go with the flow.

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I find it difficult to sleep because I normally sleep on my side and you can't do that in an economy seat.  Too many people loosen or remove their seat belts so they can get more comfortable. Big mistake!

Have you considered the safety implications of taking a sleeping tablet on a flight?  How alert would you be if there was a flight emergency?  

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42 minutes ago, cruiser3775 said:

 Too many people loosen or remove their seat belts so they can get more comfortable. Big mistake!

 

 

Yes I do that.

 

If there is turbulence or something they will tell you if you have to have them on.

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Ì may loosen the belt slightly so I can manoeuvre a better angle but the belt always stays on., turbulence can happen anytime and as happened recently, people didn't have time even though alerted.

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The 3.3.3 seat configuration is just horrid on long haul flights and I don't think I could book one again.  We flew between Hong Kong/Melbourne in a 2.3.2 configuration and it was much easier to take - ok the flight is not as long and only half way to Europe.  Post covid, we purchased seats offering extra leg room by the emergency exit door and it was much better, even being a 3.3.3 configuration.  We are retirees and I once had a long look from a flight attendant .. so I wonder if we will be stopped as an age thing (in future) ...i.e. being able to push open the emergency exit door should a crash occur.  It costs extra, but we may have to think about Premium Economy seats for the next couple of long haul flights.

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