When to Sleep on a Plane to Avoid Jet Lag (With Timing Tables)

Sleep on a plane when it's nighttime at your destination, and stay awake when it's daytime there. That one rule decides whether in-flight sleep helps or worsens jet lag. Then make that sleep easier with a window seat, an eye mask and earplugs, no caffeine in the hours before, and little or no alcohol.

Getting the timing right matters more than any pillow, because in-flight sleep is your first step in shifting your body clock. The jet lag calculator gives you a sleep and light plan for your exact route, and the sections below cover the flight itself.

When should you sleep on a plane to avoid jet lag?

Set your watch to destination time as soon as you board, and sleep during the hours that are night there. That way the flight starts your adjustment instead of fighting it. Jet lag happens because your body clock is still on home time, and research reviews on jet lag recommend timing sleep and light to the new time zone.

Here's how that looks on three common routes. Times are typical schedules with mid-October time differences.

A few rules fall out of this:

• Overnight eastbound flights: skip the full meal service if it eats into your sleep window. Eat before you board, and sleep as soon as you can.
• Daytime westbound flights: stay up, get light from the window, and save your sleep for a normal bedtime after you land. A nap under about 30 minutes is fine if you're fading.
• Very long flights: split the flight into a sleep block and an awake block based on destination night.

If you're going east, as from the US to Europe, it helps to move your bedtime earlier for a few days before the trip. The US to Europe jet lag plan shows the day-by-day version, and why east is harder than west explains the difference.

When should you stop caffeine before a flight?

Skip caffeine for several hours before you plan to sleep on the plane. At an average 5-hour half-life, an 8 oz coffee with about 95 mg still leaves about 72 mg in you two hours later, and about 55 mg after four hours. The airport coffee before an overnight flight is still very much in your system at lights out.

It takes about 9 hours 38 minutes for that cup to fall below 25 mg. For a 7 PM departure where you want to sleep by 8 PM, that means finishing coffee by around 10:20 AM, or switching to decaf by lunch. The caffeine calculator does this for any drink and time. On a daytime flight you're trying to stay awake through, caffeine is fine early in the flight.

Does alcohol help you sleep on a plane?

Alcohol can make you drowsy, but it tends to make the second half of your sleep worse. A research review on alcohol and sleep found it shortens the time to fall asleep but disrupts sleep later in the night. On a plane, where sleep is already light and broken, that trade rarely pays off.

Alcohol also worsens breathing during sleep, which matters a lot if you snore or have sleep apnea. If you do have a drink, have it early and drink water with it. For timing at home, see when to stop drinking alcohol before bed.

How do you sleep on a plane in economy?

In economy, build a small sleep kit and use the seat to support your head and lower back. You can't lie flat, so the goal is to stop your head from dropping and block out light and noise.

• Eye mask and earplugs or noise-canceling headphones. Cabin lights and announcements are the main sleep breakers.
• A neck pillow, worn so it stops your head from falling forward, not only sideways.
• A rolled sweater or small cushion behind your lower back to fill the gap the seat leaves.
• Recline when you can, and keep your feet flat or slightly raised on a bag under the seat in front.
• Layers and socks. Cabins swing between warm and cold.
• Fasten your seatbelt over your blanket so crew can see it without waking you.
• Bathroom and water before you settle, so you aren't woken an hour in.

Is a window or aisle seat better for sleeping?

For sleep, a window seat is usually better: you can lean against the wall, control the shade and nobody climbs over you. An aisle seat is better if you need to get up often, want more room for one leg, or are on a long daytime leg where moving around helps.

If you end up on the aisle, try sleeping leaning forward onto a pillow on the tray table, if your airline allows it, rather than toward the aisle where carts and elbows will wake you. Ask your row-mates to wake you if they need out, so you're not jolted awake by someone climbing over.

Whatever your seat, get up and walk now and then on long flights when it's safe, especially if your doctor has told you you're at higher risk of blood clots.

Can you take medication to sleep on a plane?

Talk to your doctor before taking any sleep medication on a flight, including over-the-counter sleep aids. Sedating medicines can leave you groggy on landing, and deep, immobile sleep in a cramped seat isn't risk free. They can also be dangerous for people with sleep apnea.

Melatonin is different: it's mainly a timing signal, not a sedative. A Cochrane review found that melatonin taken close to the target bedtime at the destination reduced jet lag in most trials of flights crossing five or more time zones, with less benefit flying west. The same review warned that taking it at the wrong time can cause sleepiness and slow adjustment, and that people with epilepsy or taking warfarin may come to harm. Ask your doctor or pharmacist whether it suits you before you use it.

How do you sleep on a plane with sleep apnea?

If you have sleep apnea, bring your CPAP and talk to your doctor before a long flight. Avoid alcohol and sedating medicines on board, since both can make breathing during sleep worse.

• Pack the CPAP in your carry-on, so it can't be lost with checked bags.
• Ask your airline in advance if you want to use it on board. Airlines set their own rules on which devices you can use and what battery power they accept, and seat power isn't guaranteed.
• If you can't use it on board, your doctor may suggest staying awake on shorter flights, or other options.
• Use it every night of the trip, including the first night after landing, when jet lag can make sleep messy.

If you snore loudly, gasp at night or feel exhausted during the day and haven't been tested, see a doctor. Those can be signs of sleep apnea.

What should you do after you land?

Get daylight at your destination and stay up until a reasonable local bedtime, around 10 PM. A short nap under 30 minutes is fine if you're struggling, but a long afternoon nap makes the first night harder. Plug your flight into the jet lag calculator for exact light, nap and bedtime targets for the next few days.