Sleep Secrets from a Pro

I have always prided myself in being a superb sleeper on planes.  And this skill is super important as I - like my mother - absolutely NEED my sleep.  You do not want to be around me when I haven't had my daily 8.    

My talent to sleep on planes began to bud when I had just graduated from school and was a Bostonian but dating a San Franciscian.  As often as I could afford, I'd take the Friday afternoon flight, get into SF that night in time for dinner, and then take the red-eye back on Sunday heading straight to the office Monday morning.  Given the unpredictable nature of my job (and the large prevalence of late nights at the office), not sleeping on the plane Sunday was NOT an option.

I quickly learned the tools I'd need to make that evening a successful one:

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Once I honed in on my proficiency to sleep on any plane ride, I did what I always do when I am good at something - I told everyone about it.  If you know me, you've probably heard me brag about my plane sleeping craft - if you haven't, ask me about, I'd love to tell you.  When I entered into a San Francisco Geneva long-distance relationship about a year ago, I really took pleasure in my ability to fly all night and hop off the plane on Swiss time not skipping a beat. 

My aptitude to beat the jet lag with my Olympic-qualifying plane sleeping made me decide to try a 3-day trip to Switzerland to go skiing in Verbier for my birthday.  Given that the days would be jam-packed hitting the slopes, I couldn't afford to fall victim to the typical adverse consequences of tranferring time zones.  My uber generous parents gifted me a plane ticket and then sent me a little extra something for my ride:



Yep - you know what that is.  It's the outrageous blow-up pillow you saw when you were super bored and decided to flip though the Sky Mall catalog on your last plane ride. 

You know how you saw it and asked yourself, "Who in their right mind would buy that and actually use it?"  Well, that person is me.

The Sky Rest has served me well for many trips. 

Recently, however, I was asked to make a business trip to London.  (In fact, I am in London writing you right now - and as one reader noted - my busier schedule and, therefore lack of proper time to craft these posts, has really taken a toll on the quality of my stories.  I hope you'll stick around despite this temporary dip in my blogging rigor.) 

Anywho, the trip has been quick - I took a red-eye Tuesday night, arrived 7am Wednesday, headed to meetings all day and then a dinner until 11pm that night, had meetings all day yesterday, and am about to fly home today.  While many noted beforehand that my red-eye Tuesday would leave me in poor shape for my meetings, I obviously boasted about my superior sleeping expertise.  PLUS, I was flying business class with seats that fold back into a completely flat bed.  I knew I already had it in the bag.

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Before arriving at the airport, I had my whole 10 hour flight schedule planned out:

12:35pm: Board, take my luxurious seat, sip a glass of complimentary champagne
12:55pm: Take-off while gazing out my window and thinking about how lucky I am
1:15pm: Finish reading my work documents while snacking on some warm nuts and complimentary Pinot Noir
2:00pm: Enjoy my three-course meal with a side of Advil PM
2:30pm: Recline my seat into a bed, pop on my Meditation Podcast, and head to dream heaven
12am SF time, 8am London time: Wake-up, land, and skip off to my first meeting
(after a quick shower, brush of the teeth, and change in the Arrivals lounge of course)

Only something went wrong at around 5:30pm.  I woke up.  And I didn't just wake up - I woke up FULLY alert and ready to go.  I tried to get back to sleep - tossing and turning every which way - but nothing worked.  I resigned myself to being awake and switched on my personal TV.

Thankfully, a well-stocked bar of coffee and Diet Coke has gotten me through the past two days, but I've kept playing the plane sleeping situation over and over in my head.  What had I done wrong?  Which of my ingredients had I missed? 

And then it hit me:

 had been left at home. 

Unfortunately, given that I in London and my partner in crime is back in SF, I won't be flying with this buddy of mine today.  Hopefully, they've got some good movies on the plane.

xoxo
KK