Sleeping in cattle class is something many people wish they could do, but fail miserably at.
It’s not surprising why. You’ve got seatmates clambering over you to relieve themselves, turbulence, little room to recline and – often – the person behind’s knees digging into your back.
Welcome to economy.
You’ve also got such challenges as being too hot, being too cold, and wondering how many people before you used your blanket and headphones. It’s a minefield.
There are some ways to make it more pleasant though. Speaking of which, former flight attendant Kat Kamalani recently took to TikTok to share her top tips for sleeping on a red-eye flight.
“I was a flight attendant for 6 years and these are the things I wish I knew before flying in the middle of the night that would make my travel so much easier,” she said.
“Depending on what kind of flight attendant you get, the lights are either going to be on or off.”
For this reason, Kat recommends you get comfortable by bringing a mask, ear plugs, comfy clothes, essential oils, a blanket and a pillow.
“This is going to tell your body it’s time to go to sleep.”
Particularly important is to wear comfy clothes. Why? “No one’s looking at you and they don’t care,” Kat explained.
So far so standard advice.
Then, however, Kat shared another slightly less common piece of advice: rather than suffer in silence if you are uncomfortable with the temperature (as most of us do), don’t be afraid to ask the flight attendants for a blanket or to turn the temperature up or down in the cabin.
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Oh, and if you have kids, Kat recommends you don’t let them use screens, as this will help them to sleep better (and not annoy you or other passengers so much).
In the comments, TikTok users shared their own advice, too, such as “always pick a window seat.” Some also said to “be careful with essential oils” due to allergies other passengers might have.
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