No matter how great of a sleeper you are, we can all agree that red-eye flights are not for the faint of heart. But, there’s hope! After taking multiple red-eyes during my gap year and even more now as a bicoastal college student, my ultimate goal throughout the last few years has been to find a flight routine that leaves my eyes the least red possible. As a self-proclaimed seasoned red-eye flier, I have compiled a list of five tried and true recommendations to help you make the best of your next flight:
- get ready for bed
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I recently came across a TikTok video about a girl’s affinity for overnight flights, and while at first I thought she was being ironic, it turns out she was telling the truth and that it’s made possible by her red-eye routine. One of the tips that I wanted to try out was getting completely ready for bed before going to the airport. She takes a long shower, does her skincare routine, brushes her teeth, and puts on comfortable clothes, which tricks her brain into thinking she’s about to go to sleep. So, I put my skepticism aside and tried out her trick; I found that I genuinely felt much more relaxed and pleasantly lethargic throughout the entire preflight processes, which normally leave me feeling wide-awake after being on airport high-alert. By the time I boarded the flight, I wasn’t the slightest bit anxious about whether I’d be able to fall asleep, which is usually the only thing that keeps me from sleeping. From now on, I’ll definitely be adding this as a permanent step in my red-eye routine!
- take melatonin or limit caffeine intake
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Since I usually take melatonin every night before bed, I try to keep that routine as consistent as possible by bringing some to the airport with me. However, if you don’t typically take melatonin, I highly recommend limiting your caffeine intake throughout the day leading up to your flight. The quality of my sleep is very sensitive to caffeine, and in the past, I would have a coffee later in the afternoon to be more energized for the airport journey. Red-eyes inherently entail a long day, which justifies the afternoon caffeine, but I found that this would make it so much more difficult to wind down later on. For my last red-eye, I limited myself to one coffee in the morning and decaffeinated tea in the afternoon as a placebo, which was the perfect combination.
- wear a sleep eye mask
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Before I was gifted a satin sleep eye mask for graduation, I would have never bought one for myself, but now it’s become a crucial part of my sleep routine on flights and sometimes just in general! If you’ve ever been on an overnight flight or even a late-night / early-morning flight, you know what it feels like to be woken up and then briefly blinded by the harsh overhead lights. Instead of the lights fragmenting your sleep multiple times throughout the flight, sleep eye masks help you fall asleep and stay asleep. Every additional minute of sleep counts, especially for red-eyes. My mask is from Slip, but you can also find them on Amazon, Kitsch, and Brooklinen.
- invest in a 2-in-1 pillow blanket
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As a chronic overpacker, out of every unnecessary travel object that I’ve lugged around thousands of miles, a 2-in-1 pillow blanket has proved to be the most worth it. I had no idea that these existed until my mom bought me one to take on my three month long trip abroad, and I’ve taken it on every single long distance flight since. At first glance it looks like a basic travel pillow, but if you unzip the pillow case there is a blanket that fits inside of it, this way you can choose whether you want to use it as a pillow or a blanket depending on the occasion. The blanket feature has saved me on countless occasions when the airplane AC creates those practically Arctic level temperatures, and trying to sleep under those conditions is hopeless. You can find these all over Amazon and also most likely at your local travel store!
- bring noise canceling headphones
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I asked for noise canceling headphones for Christmas last year specifically for studying purposes, but they have also proved to be incredibly helpful for flights. A pair of headphones in combination with the sleep eye mask creates the perfect sensory deprivation experience for quality sleep. With the noise canceling setting on, I also like to play soft music or brown noise, which all help to tune out the many distracting plane noises. If you don’t own a pair, I personally think they’re a great investment or you can also see if someone will lend you a pair for your trip! I got mine on sale at JBL, but there are countless brands that make them for a wide range of prices.
I can attest to the combined power of these five recommendations, as I followed every single one of them for my Thanksgiving 2023 red-eye flight and slept peacefully the entire time. As we enter the season of holiday travel, hopefully this routine will help you arrive at your destination feeling rested and refreshed. Happy holidays and safe travels!