Redeye flight question

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Business class lay down seat is the best option.

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I'm a cheap arse and bought economy.

Is 5'10" short?

My buddy uses this....it is crazy but he leans forward like over the tray and somehow gets decent sleep. He essentially hugs it and puts his face there. It is inflatable.

And I know people will boo hoo this sometimes, but dont drink alcohol...not worth it for sleep or when you land.

Good luck

Fly in a day earlier. Why you guys let your companies do this to you is odd.

Find the seat with the most amount of pitch you can afford. It's not the leg room, for me, that is an issue; it's the inability to recline. That being said, I do keep the area in front of the seat ahead of me empty so no personal item and a carry-on in the overhead bin only.

The week before you leave try, nightly, to adapt more and more to the time where you're going to land, waking up earlier and earlier a little each day.

Comfortable over the ear noice cancelling headphone with white noise help keep my head upright between the seat headrest cradle (when available), a neck pillow and eye mask.

Other than that, a few drinks in the lounge before takeoff, pop a melatonin just before takeoff, wait to eat dinner on the plane and I can normally get a couple hours. Not a full night sleep but enough to function when I land.

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a few drinks in the lounge

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Terrible idea as it ruins sleep quality.

Really depends what direction you are going, and what time you leave and land. If you are flying south or east, you can sleep as much as you want. If you are flying west, you need to sleep on local time. I just flew DFW-PVG. It was 10am in Dallas and 11pm in Shanghai when we took off.

For an 8am arrival, I assume you are flying to South America, or Western Europe. DFW-GRU is right around 10 hours.

Either way, adjust to the local time as soon as you are on the flight. Avoid alcohol, drink plenty of water the day before and leading up to the flight.

I hate neck pillows, but have a regular pillow that rolls up into a bag when not being used. If I am not in business, I always take a window so I can lean against it. I have a nice sleep mask, and apart from noise cancelling headphones, I bring old fashioned in ear plugs.

Always have a snack or two in your bag.

I use melatonin 30 minutes before I want to try to sleep, and for longer flights, I might take half a dose halfway through the flight.

Last thing - I always put a pair of pajamas in my backpack and change once we are airborne. Being in some nice comfortable pants and a hoodie is 100s better than jeans, a button up, and jacket.

Some people swear by compression socks, I don't bother.

Bonus: Might sound goofy, but I got introduced to this in China, and you slap this bad boy under your sleep mask and it is amazing. Steam Eye Mask

TL;DR - Just stay awake at your destination, drink a coffee, sleep however you can on the plane, and you will be fine.

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Alcohol does have an initial sedative affect but it does suppress REM sleep which is why I add a delayed release melatonin. Unless you're in business / first, REM sleep is going to be difficult due to numerous factors but two - three cocktails pales in comparison to most of the other factors that affect trying to sleep on a long haul flight.

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Might work for you. I don't think this is true for the median flyer. Alcohol can also just suppress sleep continuity as well, not just REM (and deep, which is what I'm most concerned about).

Which way are you flying? And when you say hit the ground running do you mean for work, pleasure, physical exertion?

I know people who swear by the app that preps you for several days in advance on avoiding light at certain times, etc.

I recently flew business class to Europe and was able to get six solid hours with war plugs, eye mask, pillow and CPAP. Felt great when I landed. Pretty dang tired by the end of the day.