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

MailOnline logo

• A sleep and posture expert has revealed three key tips to sleeping on a flight
• Viewers have sparked a debate about airplane etiquette in the comments
• READ MORE: I'm a pilot - these are two things I will never do as a plane passenger

There's nothing worse than being exhausted on the first day of your holiday after sitting in an uncomfortable chair through a long haul 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 journey.

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

Captioned, 'Comfy in economy? It's not impossible,' the clip features James, sitting on a chair to demonstrate how you can best get shut-eye while in the air.

The expert from Manchester told viewers: 'How difficult is it to sleep comfortably on a plane that's nearly impossible, particularly a long haul - so here's some practical tips.

1. Recline your seat

The sleep and posture expert's first tip is a controversial one, that sparked a debate in the video's comments.

He advised: 'Make sure you recline your chair because you will distribute your body weight more evenly, there's less pressure coming down on your bottom'.

However, some users have dubbed it 'rude' to the person behind you, to recline your seat.

Viewers angrily wrote: 'No, reclining screws the person behind you' and 'do not recline your chair'.

A third penned: 'Reclining your seat is an instant no sleep position, with complaints from the passenger behind, and rightly so'.

On the other side of the argument, one passenger said: 'To all those thinking it's rude to recline your seat, come back to me after you've flown Australia to London'.

Another agreed: 'I'm not paying thousands of dollars not to recline'.

Meanwhile, one user suggested: 'Long haul etiquette: recline after meal service has been collected. Upright when next meal service is coming'.

2. Support your neck

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

The expert and TikToker explained: 'Thing two, you need to support your neck, and not with those squishy memory foam nonsense things that will let you collapse and fall like this.

'You can just get your old jumper, stick it around your neck and use an old elastic band or a hair bobble and support that neck.

'When you do that, your head's not going to just drop and flop and you'll get that support.

3. Support your back

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

He added: 'Thing three, like in sleep we try to bring the bed to the person, the same is true of the chair.

'We always have this big hole between our back and the chair, so stick a lumber roll or a cushion there and you're much better supported so you can get a half decent sleep'.

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

He said: 'Never do this, please' and leaned forward onto the tray table with his arms folded and head resting on them.

One viewer admitted: ''Never do this' - literally the only way I can sleep on a plane'.

Another penned: 'Why should you never lean forward? I always do that, it’s the only way I can sleep'.

Meanwhile, a third admitted: 'I feel like my actual problem is my body doesn’t feel safe enough to ever fall completely sleep around strangers'.

It comes just after a woman reignited the debate over airplane etiquette after getting into a screaming match with a fellow passenger as she accused them of 'pushing her seat repeatedly' when she reclined it.

In a bid to solve the argument, an etiquette expert has served up her thoughts around pressing the recline button mid-flight, with her advice being to refrain from it completely on short haul trips.

Katarina, who is based in Europe, points out in a TikTok that 'seat reclining is not forbidden as the function is there.'

However, she says 'It is good manners to always check on the passenger behind us before we recline.'

The travel pro highlights that if someone behind you is 'in the middle of a meal with the tray table open, or watching a movie on the seat screen,' reclining your seat could 'disrupt it' and this would be an 'inconsiderate' action.