How to Sleep on a Red-Eye Flight: A Plan From Gate to Landing

Pick the right seat

Seat choice matters more on a red-eye than on any other flight. Use your own habits to decide:

If you...	Choose	Why
Sleep leaning on something	Window	A wall to lean on, and no one climbs over you
Get up at night	Aisle	You won't wake your row, and walking is easy
Are tall	Aisle or a paid extra-legroom seat	Room to shift your legs
Are light-sensitive	Window (shade under your control)	You decide when it opens
Are traveling with a partner	Window plus middle	You only disturb each other

Being able to move matters on long flights. CDC says anyone traveling more than 4 hours can be at risk for blood clots and recommends moving your legs often and exercising your calf muscles (CDC). If you have clot risk factors, ask your doctor before the trip; CDC notes some people may benefit from graduated compression stockings.

What to pack in your personal item

Keep everything for sleeping in the bag under the seat in front of you, not in the overhead bin:

• Eye mask and earplugs. The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research tips in the CDC chapter suggest both for sleeping during a flight.
• Noise-canceling headphones if you have them.
• A layer or travel blanket. Cabin temperature varies.
• Neck pillow if you sleep sitting up.
• An empty water bottle to fill after security. At the checkpoint, liquids must be in containers of 3.4 ounces (100 milliliters) or less in one quart-size bag (TSA).
• Toothbrush and face wipes for a quick bedtime routine and a fresher landing.

Before you board

1. Don't board on a sleep debt. It's tempting to stay up late so you crash on the plane. Henry Ford Health sleep specialist Virginia Skiba, M.D., advises against flying on a sleep debt and suggests banking extra sleep in the few nights before you leave (Henry Ford Health). If you're flying east, CDC notes that shifting your bedtime about 1 hour earlier per day for 2 to 3 days before the trip may shorten the adjustment (CDC Yellow Book).
2. Eat at the airport, a couple of hours before the flight. Dr. Skiba recommends this so you have time to digest before you try to sleep, and suggests something low in salt (Henry Ford Health). You also won't be waiting on in-flight food service when you'd rather be asleep.
3. Stop caffeine early. CDC notes caffeine's half-life is about 5 hours and advises avoiding stimulants in the hours before bed. The Walter Reed schedule in the same chapter suggests no caffeine after 4 p.m.
4. Change into comfortable layers and shoes you can loosen.
5. Do your bedtime routine in the terminal restroom: brush your teeth, wash your face. It's a cue that the day is over.

After takeoff

• Keep your seat belt fastened and visible. FAA rules require passengers to keep seat belts fastened whenever the seat belt sign is lit, and the FAA recommends keeping your belt buckled at all times while seated because turbulence can come without warning (FAA). Fasten it over your blanket so a flight attendant checking belts can see it without waking you.
• Recline once you're allowed, and settle in early, before the cabin lights dim.
• Skip the drink. CDC says alcohol tends to help you fall asleep faster but makes sleep more fragmented, and both alcohol and caffeine can dehydrate you, which can make jet lag feel worse.
• Drink water, but not so much that you're up every hour.
• Turn screens down or off. If you can't sleep, an audiobook or podcast with your eyes closed is still rest.

About sleep aids

CDC's jet lag chapter advises avoiding sedative medications with long half-lives during flights, and notes that melatonin isn't regulated by the FDA, so the amount in a product may differ from the label (CDC Yellow Book). Over-the-counter options carry the same problem. Dr. Skiba notes that most are sedating antihistamines that stay in your system for at least eight hours, so on a short overnight flight you may land groggy (Henry Ford Health). Compare that with your scheduled flight time. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before using any sleep aid, and never try one for the first time on a plane.

Which "night" to sleep on

A red-eye leaves late and lands early, but what matters is the time where you're going. CDC recommends timing sleep, meals and light to the destination time zone. On a typical U.S. West Coast to East Coast red-eye, the flight runs through the destination's early-morning hours, so sleeping right after takeoff lines up with night there. Crossing more time zones? CDC also notes that for trips shorter than about 2 days, it's often better to stay on your home schedule.

The morning you land

You'll probably be short on sleep. The Walter Reed tips in the CDC chapter suggest:

• Get daylight at your destination.
• Keep naps short, about 20 minutes, to help alertness without ruining the next night.
• Use caffeine for the day, not the evening. The tips suggest stopping caffeine 6 hours before bedtime.
• Stay up until local bedtime. CDC explains that staying awake through the local day builds up your drive to sleep, which helps you sleep that night, while long daytime naps can get in the way (CDC Yellow Book).

If you fly the other way on the return trip, our guide on jet lag after flying west covers why westward trips are easier and how to adjust.