How to get beauty sleep while travelling by air

Experts have provided a five step guide to helping business travellers get some decent sleep while flying amidst all the clutter of murmuring passengers, crying children and noisy engines.

It starts by taking control – passengers are powerless when it comes to controlling the noise and temperature of a plane but there are a few ways of creating a more comfortable environment that could enable a better sleeping standard.

"Wear suitable clothes. Too many people dress inappropriately for a flight," CNN quoted Sammy Margo, sleep expert at the Physiotherapy and Pilates Practice in London, as saying.

"If you're too warm and you can't get cool, you're not going to be able to get any rest," Margo said.

Even tough it is tempting to drown out the noise of a screaming child or snoring neighbour by watching a film or television program, it is not a good idea.

"Audio is a million times better than video. The blue lights of a TV can affect the quality of sleep and are really unhelpful," Margo said.

"It's best to listen to an audio book or a radio program. It keeps your mind off things and will help you to relax," Margo said.

Secondly, lean forwards not back – sleeping while sitting upright is a difficult task, and the taller you are the more difficult it can be to stretch out and find the ideal position. It's therefore important to make the most of the space around you.

Most passengers think the best way of doing this is to recline their seat and lie back. But Bobby Laurie, a flight attendant with a major US carrier, has another suggestion.

"If for unforeseen circumstances you end up in the middle seat, it makes getting comfortable really difficult with your arms in an awkward position," Laurie said.

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