How to Sleep on a Plane: Sleep Headphones for Flights and Travel
Long-haul flights from Australia are brutal on sleep. Cabin lights come on at random, the engine drones for fourteen hours, and there is no comfortable way to rest your head. You cannot control the flight, but you can control light, sound and support. That covers most of the problem.
Block the light completely
Cabin lighting, seat-back screens and window shades that neighbours open are the biggest sleep breakers in the air. A blackout mask fixes all of them. Look for a contoured mask that seals around your nose and keeps pressure off your eyes, so you can wear it for hours.
Replace the noise with something you choose
Engine noise is constant and low. Instead of fighting it, cover it with audio you control: a podcast, an audiobook, rain or white noise. Sleep headphones let you do this while leaning against a window or wing of the headrest, which earbuds and bulky over-ears don't handle well.
Wired or Bluetooth for flying?
Wired plugs straight into most in-flight entertainment systems, so you can fall asleep to a movie on the seat-back screen. No battery means no worrying about charge on a long day of travel. Some older aircraft use a two-prong socket, so a cheap airline adapter is worth packing.
Bluetooth is best for your own downloaded content and has no cable to snag on the tray table or a neighbour. Charge it fully before you leave.
If you use wired headphones with your phone, a low-profile L-shaped adapter sits flat and won't catch on the seat.
Support your neck
Most in-flight neck pain comes from your head dropping forward or sideways as you drift off. A memory foam U-shaped travel pillow keeps your head supported so you stay asleep longer.
Time your sleep
Set your watch to your destination time when you board and sleep when it is night there. Download your sleep audio before the flight, and skip the second coffee.
Your in-flight sleep kit
- Blackout sleep headphones: Ascend (wired) or Guardian (Bluetooth)
- A memory foam neck pillow
- Downloaded sleep audio
- Earplugs for when you want pure silence
Sanosis sleep headphones fold into a compact pouch and replace a mask and headphones with one piece. Shop sleep headphones for travel.