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Posted: Thu, 16 Nov 2017 04:54:04 GMT

Air travel is exhausting, and there’s not that much to do on a plane. Plus, a long snooze makes the trip pass by faster — and it’s a sure-fire way to blissfully ignore annoying passengers.

But sleeping on a plane can also be difficult because there are a lot of things standing in your way.

The seats, for example — they’re not the comfy beds we’re used to at home. Jet lag keeps us awake when we want to be asleep.

And the cabin lighting, the level of humidity and even the altitude can stop us from drifting off for a nice kip.

Airlines are getting better at figuring out what’s preventing passengers from getting proper shut-eye and coming up with ways to combat them.

One of the latest is Cathay Pacific with its newest aircraft, the Airbus 350, which recently began servicing the airline’s daily Perth to Hong Kong route.

The aircraft, which has been dubbed the “hush-liner” due to its quieter cabins, has been decked out with a range of features to optimise sleep, from intelligent mood lighting to improved cabin pressure and humidity levels.

Sleep expert Professor Peter Eastwood, from the University of Western Australia, who has been working with Cathay Pacific to develop a “science of in-flight sleeping” guide, said there were a lot of things to consider if you wanted the best mid-flight shut-eye.

“In order to sleep you need to be relaxed and more often than not, prolonged inactivity such as sitting in a plane seat will result in sore or aching muscles of the back, arms and legs,” the professor of human sciences told news.com.au.

“Stretching exercises such as flexing and extending the ankles regularly while seated, and contracting your calf muscles can relax your legs and increase blood flow to deliver oxygen to their muscles.”

If you’re crossing time zones, Professor Eastwood said it was best to be strategic with your sleep to avoid jet lag.

“Ideally you want to sleep when it is night time at your destination,” he said. “Set your watch to the destination time and try to sleep at the appropriate time for your new location.”

Many aircraft, including Cathay Pacific’s “hush-liner”, use smart lighting to reflect daytime and night-time, which can help passengers either drift to sleep or stay alert.

Smart lighting is seen as a key factor in helping to combat or avoid jet lag, and is precisely the reason the Socceroos wore some very unusual glasses on their long-haul flight from Honduras to Sydney this week.

“Passengers who sleep during the ‘dark hours’ become better adapted to the sleep and wake

cycles needed at your new location,” Professor Eastwood said.

But he added that food can also impact your sleep, so be wise about what you eat and drink.

“Meals with higher amounts of fats and sugars are harder to digest and should be avoided before you go to sleep, even when not flying,” Professor Eastwood explained, adding it was good to “eat light to sleep tight”.

“Dehydration can negatively impact sleep by causing your mouth and nose to become dry, setting you up for some serious snoring while asleep and a parched throat on waking,” he continued.

“You can minimise these effects during your flight by regularly drinking water, minimising alcohol consumption, and using eye drops and a face moisturiser.”

Professor Eastwood said it didn’t matter whether passengers slept on their backs or rolled on their sides during their flight — either worked, and it was down to whatever felt most comfortable.

“However, often snoring is worse when lying on your back, so some individuals might find their snoring less when lying on their side,” he said.

And as for that delicate matter of reclining? You have a good excuse to go for it.

“The human body is designed to sleep as flat as possible,” Professor Eastwood said.

“Therefore, many people will find it easier to sleep with the seat reclined rather than upright. “Also, when upright the head tends to involuntarily drop forward when you go to sleep, often causing the person to wake up and sometimes resulting in increased snoring.”

Cathay Pacific’s A350 flies between Perth and Hong Kong daily and replaces the A330. The airliner also flies out of Melbourne.

“The A350 will deliver a superior travel experience that passengers have come to expect from Cathay Pacific, combined with one of the best networks around the world,” Rakesh Raicar, Cathay Pacific’s general manager for Southwest Pacific, said.

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