Pillow expert reveals the three ways passengers can sleep comfortably on a long-haul flight

There’s nothing worse than being exhausted on the first day of vacation after sitting in an uncomfortable seat on a long flight.

But James Leinhardt, founder of mattress and pillow brand Levitex, has revealed three tips that could help passengers get some shut-eye on their next plane trip.

The video was posted to the Levitex TikTok page (@levitex) and has been seen by more than 2.7 million people.

With the caption: ‘Comfy in economy? It’s not impossible,” the clip shows James sitting on a chair to demonstrate the best way to close your eyes while in the air.

The expert from Manchester told viewers: ‘How difficult is it to sleep comfortably on a plane is almost impossible, especially on long distances – so here are some practical tips.

1. Recline your seat

The sleep and posture expert’s first tip is controversial and sparked discussion in the comments of the video.

He advised: ‘Make sure you lean your chair back as this will distribute your body weight more evenly, putting less pressure on your bottom’.

However, some users call it “rude” for the person behind you to recline your seat.

Viewers wrote angrily: ‘No, leaning back screws the person behind you’ and ‘don’t recline your chair’.

A third wrote: ‘Leaning your seat back is immediately a sleeping position, with complaints from the passenger in the back, and rightly so.’

On the other side of the discussion, a passenger said: “To all those who think it’s rude to recline your seat, come back to me after you fly from Australia to London.”

Another agreed: “I’m not paying thousands of dollars not to sit back.”

Meanwhile, one user suggested: ‘Long-distance etiquette: Sit back after meal service pick-up. Upright when the next meal service arrives’.

The sleep expert explained: ‘You can just take your old sweater, hang it around your neck and use an old elastic band or a hair bone and support that neck.

2. Support your neck

Moving on, James’ next piece of advice is to support your neck, but not in the way you normally would.

The expert and TikToker explained: ‘Thing two: you need to support your neck, not with those soft memory foam crap things that can make you collapse and fall.

“You can just take your old sweater, hang it around your neck and use an old rubber band or a strand of hair and support that neck.

“If you do that, your head won’t just drop and you’ll get that support.

3. Support your back

Finally, the pillow company founder demonstrated how when we fall asleep, our backs hit the mattress firmly – so we need to recreate this for the best chance of good sleep.

He added: ‘Thing three: just like in sleep we try to bring the bed to the person, the same goes for the chair.

‘We always have a big gap between our back and the chair, so stick a wood roll or a pillow in there and you’ll be much better supported, so you can get some decent sleep.’

Finally, before ending the clip, the posture expert warned about the one way you should never sleep on a plane.

He said, “Please don’t ever do this,” and leaned forward on the tray with his arms crossed and his head resting on it.

One viewer admitted: ”Never do this’ – literally the only way I can sleep on a plane.”

Another wrote: ‘Why would you never lean forward? I always do that, it’s the only way I can sleep.’

Meanwhile, a third admitted: ‘I feel like my real problem is that my body doesn’t feel safe enough to ever fully fall asleep around strangers.’

It comes just after a woman reignited the debate over airplane etiquette after she got into a shouting match with a fellow passenger, accusing them of “repeatedly pushing her seat” when she reclined it.

In an attempt to resolve this argument, an etiquette expert has put forward her thoughts on pressing the recline button in flight, recommending that you forgo it completely for short distances.

Katarina, who lives in Europe, points out in a TikTok that “reclining the chair is not prohibited because the function is there.”

However, she says, “It’s a good practice to always look at the passenger behind us before leaning back.”

The travel professional emphasizes that if someone behind you is “in the middle of a meal with the tray open, or watching a movie on the seat’s screen,” leaning your seat back “may disrupt the seat” and is a would be a ‘negligent’ act. .