I am comtemplating a red eye flight home from San Francisco - I only have 6 days and if I travel home on a regular day flight, I will waste one entire day (tuesday). I am hesitant about a red eye as have never done one - in fact have not done a flight over 3 hrs in length in many many years. I'd appreciate any tips as far as is this a good option for flying home from west coast to east coast (NC). Will I be able to function the next day? go to work? The flight leaves at 10:30pm and arrives home 6:30am.

Everyone is different, but I don't sleep well on planes and I could never go to work after a red eye.

Sleep on a plane? In my dreams--I did a HK--Singapore--Narita--LAX--NYC once, and STARTED in the late p.m. Never got a wink. (I never thought I'd beat the trip from hell: Kotzebue--Anchorage--Seattle--Denver--Chicago--ATlanta--Buffalo, but that was way worse. If you can take a pill and sleep, that would be a help. But don't promise anybody that you'll be there for a meeting...

Hi jtdsign, I have taken many redeye flights and while I can function the next day as far a socializing or just sightseeing I don't think I would be able to work (unless I could be in a bit of a daze all day lol) as I don't sleep that well on planes either.

I took a red eye from San Francisco to Philadelphia and did not really sleep but my husband did. I had to take a 2 hour nap when I got home to take the edge off; my husband went to bed early.
It is defintley worht the incovenience because you get another day; I guess it depends what you have to do the next day!

thanks for the tips - I think I'll take the day off just in case. Any other tips for flying all night?

I have a hard time sleeping on planes but if I HAVE to take a red eye and I know I will have a busy day when I land Tylenol PM really works. I only take 2 and do not have any alcohol - just a big glass of water - and before I know it I am relaxed and sleepy enough to catch a few zzzzs

My husband once took a red-eye from SFO to Indianapolis. I got him bumped up to 1st class so that he could sleep (he had to work the next day) - however, he was seated next to a BLIND GUY that LOVED SCOTCH....and didn't want to drink alone!

The guy was interesting enough, he was an author from a town that my husband had an office in, but he couldn't see when my husband was nodding off...instead he just kept yap-yap-yapping!

My husband ended up with a hangover when they reached indy - he had to take a nap in his car still parked at the airport parking lot! He was afraid he'd get a drunk driving ticket if he drove home! He called his office and told his assistant that he forgot about a dentist appt and ended up going to work "after lunch".

I have taken MANY Red-eye flights and truly HATE, HATE, HATE them!
If I have to sit in coach, I try to get bulkhead so I can prop my legs up. I also try for a window seat so I can lean against the wall.
Must have a pillow, blanket, comfy clothes and clean socks too.
The last few red-eye flights I have taken, I flew in 1st. MUCH BETTER!
Tylenol PM is handy to have... for me, sleeping pills are reserved for flights of 8+ hours.

The shortest flight I ever took was from LA to ATL. I fell asleep before take-off and woke up just before landing. I can sleep anywhere.

Having said that, I would not be able to function at work the next day - especially after being gone for a week. I now fly home a day early in order to be rested and ready for work.

I don't mind red-eyes so much if I'm headed on vacation, but definitely not if I have to be in at work the next morning. Unless it was going to be an eeaaasy day at work and I would get "points" for being such a dedicated employee

I hate to say it but some Docs will prescribe something if you ask and explain why you wnat something to make you sleep.

General advice:

- take a nap the afternoon of departure if possible.

- dress warmly as the cabin can be chilly at night.

- try to get an aisle seat so you can go to the john or the galley to get a drink without disturbing others.


- be hydrated and have some food in you stomach before boarding...food service is not common during the flight until a breakfast snack before landing. Cabin lights are dimmed once at a cruising altitude so people can sleep. Take a snack in your carry on.

- grab a pillow and blanket, if available, as soon as you board.

- take something to read or music to listen to.


I define a "red eye" as a flight that departs from about midnight until about 2:30 a.m. Long-haul overnight flights leaving late afternoon into the evening are not what I would call a red-eye. How do others define it?

I take them often because they allow me to work a full day, do last minute errands and then go to the airport. They come in handy at holidays when you just have a long weekend and have to travel a long way. Not being able to sleep soundly on planes, I tend to look upon it as "pulling an all-nighter" and get by fine -- catching a few catnaps during the flight. If I have a window seat and can't sleep, looking out the window as all the lit-up towns and cities drift by below is interesting.

I have also download some relaxing type music on my I-pod to listen to. Things to actually help sleep.

If you can just take the day off the next day, why don't you fly on that day (during the day)? Sleeping on the plane is only an option for me in first class on Qantas's "sky bed" with a sleeping pill. Otherwise, forget it! Jet lag from changing time zones is enough of a problem, without lack of sleep on top of it.
Sally (usually found over on the Australian forum, but "hi" to all here)

I have a lot of trouble sleeping on planes, but I tried using a sleep mask the last time I flew home from Europe and it really helped. I knew there had to be a good reason they always give them out.

My experiences with red eye flights has been that absolutely nothing is gained. The illusion of gaining an extra day is just that - an illusion, particularly going west to east, where your "day" automatically loses three hours due to time zone changes.

I have traveled on similar five-hour flights (from Seattle to Orlando) and am lucky if I can get two hours of sleep. In addition, you are forced to get up, deplane and begin your day at something like 4 A.M. (7 A.M. eastern time. It is a real double whammy that takes at least 1/2 day for recovery, if you are lucky enough to go right to bed. Otherwise, don't plan on being productive the entire day of arrival or particularly cheerful around others.

Flying east to west just means that your day is three hours longer and that you will want to go to bed earlier. The impact on you is much less difficult.

The tips for sleeping that others have given are all good - particularly the Tylenol PM. The active ingredient in the Tylenol PM that promotes sleep is Benedryl (generic: diphenhydramine) and one or two, 25-mg tablets should help. Be careful about drinking alcohol with this as it will potentiate (increase) the effect.

I would never take a red eye just to get back east (i'm in seattle). The only time I suck it up and do one is to go to Europe.

I can't sleep on a plane, there is no medication that can make me, I certainly could never go to work the next day. Basically think of it as "pulling an all-nighter" like in college.

If you are going to take an extra day off from work anyway, to recover, why not just fly during the day?????

For those recommending benedryl or Tylenol PM and the like, please realize that some people have a terrible reaction to that particular drug. It makes me VERY wide awake and WIRED. It would be awful on a plane.

I once took the red-eye, SF to Newark. It's really not all that long--4.5 hours--not really a full night. We had upgraded to first class and had those amazing seats that flatten to beds and offer incredible support to all parts of your body. I can never really sleep on a plane, but I finally managed to sleep on this flight--for about an hour. When I got home to Manhattan at 8AM I went to bed for another four hours. I don't think I would have been very alert at work. I could have gone to work, but it wouldn't have been very productive.