Should I Sleep or Stay Awake in Transit? How to Decide and Successfully Do Either

There is a subtle art to beating jetlag.

Knowing when to sleep and when to be awake on a journey can be a little confusing- especially when you’re crossing several time zones or departing at odd hours for a particularly long journey.

If you’ve set your watch to destination time and determined that you need to be awake for a while but find yourself being lulled to slumber by the smooth vibrations of the plane, train, or bus engines, try a few of my tactics to stay awake until your determined ‘sleep time:’

–Watch an exciting movie– especially one you’ve been wanting to see! The blue light from the in-seat entertainment screen, your iPad, or your phone will help to tell your brain to stay awake. Make sure you don’t watch anything boring or super soothing- that could have the opposite effect and lull you into a snooze!

–I don’t recommend reading– usually, reading fatigues the eyes, making it more likely that you’ll doze off- especially if you’re pushing yourself to stay awake for a few more hours. Try doing a crossword puzzle or something similarly mind-activating if you’re not into digital entertainment.

–Go easy on caffeine–  Having a coffee to stay awake seems logical, but the caffeine will stay in your system long after you want it to be there, making it hard to get real rest when the right time arrives. Try crunching on ice water or a crunchy snack to rattle yourself awake instead.  

–Stay hydrated– I can’t stress that enough. Having to get up to pee reasonably frequently will keep you awake too! 

–Get up and move around the cabin even if you don’t have to pee- This is important for SO many reasons I’ve discussed before, but it can also be a great way to pass some time if you need to stay awake. 

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On the converse, if you need to try to get some shut-eye but can’t quite get your mind to calm down, try a few of these:

–Noise Canceling headphones. Between the ding ding ding of the attendant call buttons, the slightly-too-loud conversation of the people sitting behind you, and the collection of screaming babies that always seem to be present on long journeys, noise-canceling headphones can be a lifesaver. 

These are the noise-canceling headphones I use. I actually use them even when I’m not traveling. I use these bad boys almost every day at home to cancel equipment sounds from the lawn crew outside, my partner’s phone calls in our shared office, or just having some quiet ‘me time’ to listen to music (the sound quality is magnificent). They provide the option of wireless BlueTooth connectivity or a wired connection, so it’s easy to go from wireless listening on your phone to a wired connection for in-flight seatback entertainment, etc.

I like them A LOT for flying because they fit OVER/AROUND the ear rather than sitting ON the ear, which can cause some real discomfort after a few hours (learned that one the hard way!). I also find them reasonably easy to sleep in if I’m upright and leaning against the fuselage or my neck pillow. The earpads are super cushy and easy to rest on.

They’re also super chic, which we love.

If you don’t like the full over-ear headphone look/feel, the in-ear bud type (I have these) are also good and definitely more compact for carrying around, though they are slightly less effective at canceling noise.

Couple these with some of your favorite chill music or white noise, a movie you’ve seen 1000 times or a few chapters in a book and you may find yourself dozing off sooner than you thought. 

*Note: the Bose noise-canceling earphones I like are BlueTooth enabled but they still come with a detachable 3.5mm headphone jack cord.  Make sure you bring the included cord with you for use with the in-flight entertainment system or anywhere else not Bluetooth-enabled.  You can remove the cord and use the BlueTooth function when you’re just using it with your phone/tablet/computer. (also remember the charger, though they do last like 20 hours on one charge!)

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*QUICK DIGRESSION FOR iPHONE USERS: Don’t forget an adapter if you have an iPhone and want to be able to use your headphones with your phone- like walking through the terminal- and also on the plane or anywhere else with a standard 3.5mm headphone jack.

Though I’m an iPhone person, I don’t usually buy the built-in Apple Lighting cord option for any headphones that I’ll be using when I travel. I just make sure to bring an adapter with my headphones so I can swap back and forth. (Andriod users are good to go without an adapter!) This one is cheap and small and works very well.

HOT TIP: Outside the airplane situation, having the standard jack on my headphones (not iPhone’s Lightning connection) has also come in handy for me in places like museums or tour busses that have an audio tour with the ability to use your own headphones if you brought them. I love using my own comfortable headset in these situations rather than the creepy crappy ones they loan you (and literally everyone else) to use. Audio tour devices I’ve seen almost always require a standard 3.5 mm headphone jack. Just keep the little adapter in your bag to switch back to your Apple products any time.

(This one is also brilliant if you need to charge and listen at the same time, though it’s a bit less compact for carrying around. I have both!)

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Now back to sleeping tips:

-Get cozy. Get yourself into a position in your seat where you aren’t going to have a foot falling asleep or a crazy neck cramp when you wake up. I’m very specific on how I do this. Your version might look a little different, but my method works for me.

–Go easy on the alcohol.– it can be tempting to drown yourself in a wine-induced sleep if you need to get some shut-eye. The truth is, it may make you drowsy for a bit, but you’ll just further dehydrate your body and likely land with a weird hangover- making it harder to conquer the jetlag. If you must imbibe (and yes, I must), just have one glass of wine/beer/liquor with your in-flight meal, follow it with some water and call it done. That should give you a nice relaxed state of mind without too much damage done. 

 –Do some kind of a little nighttime routine in your seat. For me, it’s as easy as brushing my teeth a bit, wiping the travel sweat and grime off of my face, moisturizing (<this one is SO good for in-flight), and dabbing a bit of lavender oil behind my ears or under my nose.  This will give your brain signals that you’re winding down and also help keep you slightly more fresh for arrival. 

*HOT TIP: I’ll keep all of my little night routine items in this single small bag (I really love the Navy!) for easy one-spot access in my carry-on. The little bag also keeps these items together and safely tucked out of the way for the rest of the journey. To avoid having to remember each of these items for each trip, I leave these in-flight-night-routine items packed in the little bag to throw into my carry-on whenever I’m packing for a trip.

*NOTE: Be careful with sleeping pills and potions. 

Read all of the labels and check the amount of time your specific pill is meant to make you drowsy. 

If you’ve only got a 6-hour flight ahead, taking a 10-12 hour sleeping pill will likely turn deplaning and making it to your hotel or connecting flight into a journey fraught with mistakes, forgetfulness, and confusion- not to mention the discomfort that comes with being turned into a total zombie.

When at all possible, I try to doze off naturally.  Using lavender oils, chamomile tea (just ask the attendant for hot water), and a few sleep-inducing tricks like those I’ve listed in this post will usually do the trick for me.

On occasion- when I’m headed into a SUPER long flight on which I really should try to sleep for 8-10 hours, just a single Advil PM or melatonin supplement works wonders. It’s strong enough to lull me to sleep, but not so strong that I can’t flush it out of my body quickly.

I never take prescription sleeping pills while traveling (ESPECIALLY alone).  The effects on the mind are just too great when I need to be alert and/or enjoying the view!

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