6 Tips for Sleeping on Planes and A Playlist to Help

I used to only be able to fall asleep listening to music. Starting my senior year of high school I would play Dylan Leblanc’s album Paupers Field every single night and fall asleep listening to his melodic voice and dreary lyrics. When I started college I was worried that my roommate would have a problem with bedtime playlist routine, but luckily she was open to to the idea and didn’t mind me playing a different variation of the same 10 or so songs every night.

At least for her sake I branched out beyond my one bedtime album and had a handful of artists to sing us to sleep. Or I guess I should say me, since I would go to bed around 9 most nights and she was free to stop my music as soon as I was snoozing. To this day if either of us hear the songs on my bedtime playlists we both start to get sleepy. Fast forward to 4 years later, I usually just fall asleep to the sound of whatever show my boyfriend is playing but if I am alone or out of my element I always go back to the familiar feeling that those sounds bring in helping me get to sleep.

This week I left Hawaii on a red-eye flight leaving round 9:15 pm Hawaii time and getting back into Los Angeles a bit before 5:30 in the morning. My mom and I boarded the plane and were quickly surrounded by people coughing, snoring, clearing their throats and completely grossing us out. I was so uncomfortable in the crowded plane and knew that I wasn’t going to be getting much sleep, so I went back to some of my sleepy time playlists to get me into a relaxed mood in hopes of catching some ZZzz’s.

Whether you have a long flight coming up or are looking for a relaxing way to get to sleep without the damaging effects of screen light, check out my “Sleepy Sounds” playlist on Spotify and below, as well as some other tips for getting to sleep on a plane.

1. Try to recreate parts of your bedtime routine onboard. I usually wash my face before bed so I used a makeup removing wipe and was able to at least feel clean as I tried to get comfortable.
2. Dress comfortably and bring some cozy socks. I find that when I change into some thick and comfortable socks as soon as I am on the plane I am much more comfortable for the rest of the flight and don’t need to worry about my feet swelling in shoes or my toes getting cold if I am wearing sandals.
3. Roll some lavender oil on your wrists. This was something I only tried on my way back from Hawaii. The night before my mom and I left we were walking through a boutique and saw a “Rest” oil blend for sale. The main oil in it was lavender and rolling it on my wrists and smelling it when I was on the plane helped me relax in a sea of coughing and sniffling passengers. Lavender also has cleansing properties.
4. Braid your hair (if you have long hair). There have been many times where I am trying to fall asleep on a plane and toss and turn my head against the flat pillow trying to get comfortable. When I was up and attempt to run my fingers through my hair I am met with a huge matted nest in the back of my head. Having to brush it out is bad enough but the anticipation of getting the massive knots out of my hair while I am still on a plane makes it worse. So I always put my hair in a loose braid to mitigate the knotting process.
5. Take a sleeping aid, once you KNOW you are taking off. I am not a big fan of this but sometimes it is your only option. If you have sleeping trouble and are already prescribed something then you know to just bring one of those to pop once you’re on board and about to leave. If not, you can try a couple Tylenol PM or Nyquil to help get to bed. It might sound obvious, but only take it once you know your plane is for sure taking off. You don’t want to take it before the flight leaves, get delayed for an hour or two and wake up ahead of your anticipated sleeping time. Or worse, you wouldn’t want to take it and the flight have to deboard and get woken up all groggy having to get off a plane and wait for more info about an actual departure.
6. Listen to a relaxing playlist instead of watching TV. If you can shut your eyes, you are already halfway there. Listening to music instead of watching a movie helps you get to bed quicker because your eyes aren’t being stimulated by light and movement and you can just get lost in a relaxing playlist instead of keeping up with the action on a screen.

What are some of your tips for getting to sleep on a plane?