Sleeping on a plane: when to sleep, when to stay awake, and what to pack
Already booked? Put the trip into the jet lag planner for a bedtime, a wake time and light advice for every night until you've adjusted.
Sleep on the flight, or stay awake?
An overnight flight from New York at 7:00 PM lands in London at 7:00 AM, and the whole flight is London night, so sleep from takeoff. The tables below work it out for flights east and west by departure time.
The NHS puts the rule in one line: “try to sleep if it's night time at your destination” (source). The CDC Yellow Book says the same for everything on board: “Time activities (e.g., meals, sleep, light exposure) based on the destination time zone” (source). So the clock to go by is the one where you are going, however tired you feel at takeoff.
The tables apply that rule to four example routes, each at four departure times. They take your usual night as 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM and count a flight as worth sleeping on when at least one full sleep cycle (90 minutes) of it falls in that night at the destination. A flight that lands in the destination night with more of that night still ahead of you than behind you is the exception: stay awake on board and go to bed when you get there. Times are on the destination clock, except the departure, which is your home time.
Flying east: sleep on the flight or stay awake (destination time, for a usual night of 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM)
| Departs (home time) | 5 zones east, 7 h flight | 8 zones east, 11 h flight |
|---|---|---|
| 2:00 PM | Lands 2:00 AM Stay awake, sleep after landing | Lands 9:00 AM Sleep 8 h from 11:00 PM |
| 5:00 PM | Lands 5:00 AM Sleep 6 h from 11:00 PM | Lands 12:00 PM Sleep 6 h from 1:00 AM |
| 7:00 PM | Lands 7:00 AM Sleep 7 h from 12:00 AM | Lands 2:00 PM Sleep 4 h from 3:00 AM |
| 10:00 PM | Lands 10:00 AM Sleep 4 h from 3:00 AM | Lands 5:00 PM Stay awake |
Flying west: the same question (destination time)
| Departs (home time) | 5 zones west, 8 h flight | 8 zones west, 11 h flight |
|---|---|---|
| 2:00 PM | Lands 5:00 PM Stay awake | Lands 5:00 PM Stay awake |
| 5:00 PM | Lands 8:00 PM Stay awake | Lands 8:00 PM Stay awake |
| 7:00 PM | Lands 10:00 PM Stay awake | Lands 10:00 PM Stay awake |
| 10:00 PM | Lands 1:00 AM Stay awake, sleep after landing | Lands 1:00 AM Stay awake, sleep after landing |
Flight lengths are round examples, not timetables. For your own flight, add the time zones flying east (take them away flying west) to the departure time to get the destination time, then count the hours of the flight that fall between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM there.
A worked trip: overnight from New York to London
New York to London is 5 time zones east for most of the year. Leave at 7:00 PM New York time on a 7-hour flight and you land at 7:00 AM London time. In London it is already 12:00 AM at takeoff, so the whole flight is London night: sleep as soon as you can, for up to 7 hours.
To sleep from takeoff, have your last cup of brewed coffee by 1:00 PM New York time, 6 hours before, by our caffeine cut-off calculator's rule. The Yellow Book also links better sleep on board to less alcohol and less caffeine.
After a night's sleep on board, the NHS advice is to switch to the new time zone as quickly as possible, so aim for bed near your usual time on the London clock. Shift your sleep 1 hour earlier for 3 days before you fly, as the Yellow Book suggests, and the jet lag planner's first London bedtime for a usual 11:00 PM bedtime is 12:00 AM, with 2 nights to reach London time.
Your carry-on sleep checklist
Every line here is something the NHS or the CDC Yellow Book names for the flight itself. It prints on one page.
Lull Plane sleep checklist · instacalc.co
Carry-on sleep checklist
- Your watch on destination time. The Yellow Book's advice is to time meals, sleep and light to the destination time zone during the flight.
- Sleep if it's night where you land. In the NHS's words, “try to sleep if it's night time at your destination”. The guide's tables give the hours.
- Eye mask and earplugs, “if they help you sleep” (NHS).
- Water. The NHS says to drink plenty of it, and the Yellow Book says to stay hydrated, because losing fluid can make jet lag symptoms worse.
- Go easy on alcohol and coffee. The NHS and the Yellow Book both say so. Alcohol breaks up sleep, and the NHS says too much caffeine or alcohol can make jet lag worse.
- Get up and move. The NHS suggests stretching and walking around the cabin regularly.
- Ask before taking sleeping pills. The Yellow Book advises avoiding sedatives that stay in the body a long time. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist first.
Your own flight. Add the time zones to your departure time flying east, or take them away flying west, to get the destination time at takeoff. Add the flight length for the landing time. If at least 90 minutes of the flight fall between 11:00 PM and 7:00 AM at your destination, sleep then. If you land between those times with more of the night still ahead than you spent in it on board, stay awake and sleep when you arrive. Otherwise, stay awake.
Flying west: the long day
Flying west, the destination clock is behind yours, so the day gets longer. Afternoon and early-evening departures land in the afternoon or evening at the destination. A 2:00 PM departure 5 zones west, for example, lands at 5:00 PM. On those flights, stay awake, then go to bed close to your usual time on the local clock. A late departure is different. At 10:00 PM on the same route you land at 1:00 AM, in the destination night, so stay awake on board and sleep when you arrive.
If you can't keep your eyes open on a daytime flight, a short nap is the compromise. The Yellow Book says short naps of 20 to 30 minutes help with alertness during the local day, “while longer daytime naps may interfere with subsequent nighttime sleep” (source).
Once you land
On arrival, the NHS says to switch your sleep schedule to the new time zone as quickly as possible and set an alarm so you don't oversleep. Go outside during the day, and sleep only at night. The jet lag planner turns that advice into a night-by-night plan for your own trip. The east vs west guide shows how many nights each direction takes.
Where the rule breaks
The tables assume one usual night, 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM, round flight lengths and whole time zones. Real flights take time to board, serve meals and land, so the sleep you get is shorter than the window. The rule also leaves out how tired you are and how well you sleep sitting up. And for a trip of 2 to 3 days, the NHS says you could keep your home times instead.
See a doctor before a long flight if you have a health condition or take medicines that affect sleep, and before using sleeping pills or any sleep supplement. This guide is general information, not medical advice: read our disclaimer.
Frequently asked questions
Should I sleep on a plane or stay awake?
Sleep if it's night at your destination and stay awake if it's day there. That is the NHS advice, and the tables on this page work it out for daytime and evening departures, east and west.
How do I sleep on an overnight flight to Europe?
On a 7:00 PM flight from New York to London the whole flight is London night, so sleep from takeoff. Keep coffee to before 1:00 PM by our calculator's rule, go easy on alcohol, and use an eye mask and earplugs if they help (NHS).
Should I sleep on a daytime flight going west?
Usually not. Flying west on a daytime flight, it is still day at the destination when you land, so stay awake and go to bed near your usual time there. If you can't keep your eyes open, the Yellow Book's nap of 20 to 30 minutes is the fallback.
Should I take a sleeping pill on the plane?
Ask a doctor first. The CDC Yellow Book advises avoiding sedatives with long half-lives during the flight.
Sources
- NHS — Jet lag2023 · read on
- CDC Yellow Book — Jet Lag Disorder (2026 edition)2025 · read on
- CDC/NIOSH — Training for Nurses, Module 6: Sleep Aids and Stimulants, Caffeine2020 · read on
- USDA FoodData Central — Beverages, coffee, brewed, prepared with tap water (SR Legacy 171890)2019 · read on
- Drake et al., J Clin Sleep Med — Caffeine effects on sleep taken 0, 3, or 6 hours before going to bed (abstract, PubMed)2013 · read on