I’ve seen many blog posts and videos about this. Surprisingly nobody mentioned all this stuff that I had to figure out on my own. Now I can proudly say that I can fall asleep on almost every long haul flight. Over time I have established this routine that works perfectly for me.

Before you board

Make sure you are wearing comfortable clothes like a pair of leggings and an oversized tee. Tie your hair up in a bun. Bring a carry on item that you can store under the seat. (A rucksack would be great, I wouldn’t recommend a handbag)

Why? Because you don’t want to get up everything you have to get something, I find that can get a bit claustrophobic even.

So what shall you bring then?

Firstly, a pair of cozy socks or slippers. This avoids your feet from swelling.

A sweater jacket. You don’t want to catch a cold.

Electronics. Make sure they’re all in a smaller bag so you don’t have to dig around. Bring your phone (download lots of music and Netflix episodes), charger, powerbank, headphones etc.

sleeping masks and lavender oil help you sleep like a baby.

Liquids like facial cream, handcream, handsanatizer, toothpaste, deodorant

Toothbrush in case they don’t give you one on the plane.

Books, Paper and Pens cause duhhh. In addition to that you also have to fill out immigration papers so a pen really is useful. Consider making a travel journal so you can look back on all of the lovely memories.

On the plane

Congrats! You made it. You had to run before the gate closed but hey! You didn’t miss your flight.

First things first, look for your seat and place your items e.g. book in front pocket

Then go use the restroom so you don’t have to later. This is also an opportunity to freshen up a bit.

The next step that I would personally do is select a movie and wait for the first meal. Make sure to drink enough water to avoid dehydration and swelling. Please stay away from soda.

Now that your stomach is full get in your comfortable sleeping position (I lean my upper body to one side, lower to the other, feet on the seat.)

And this my friends is how I can sleep for HOURS.