Go on, recline your seat: Experts offer eight tips for a more restful flight

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6 days ago

The average economy class seat - with its more-than-75cm pitch, limited recline and barely-there legroom - may not be the most ideal setting for travellers looking to get a solid snooze at 30,000 ft.
Yet, long-haul flights are getting longer, making restful sleep in the air less of a luxury and more of a necessity.
Australian flag carrier Qantas is set to launch non-stop flights from Sydney to London in 2027, which will take over 20 hours. And on June 3, Scoot launched flights from Singapore to Austrian capital Vienna, the low-cost carrier's longest non-stop route at roughly 13 hours.
With minimal adjustability and basic features, economy class seats embody what Mr Yogesh Tadwalkar, director of ergonomics consulting company Synergo Consulting and health tech start-up BalanceFlo AI, describes as an "all-for-all design".
"All-for-all designs are good for no one. This is a common design issue in the field of human factors where things get so generic that they don't work well for anybody," he says.
Mr Zephan Chan, a director at Singapore consultancy Institute of Ergonomics and Hygiene (IEH), and Ms Phoebe Huang, IEH's head of ergonomics, agree.
They list "prolonged awkward and sedentary posture" among the ergonomic risk factors that contribute to physical malaise during flights.
"Without proper lumbar, head or neck support, some of the consequences are lower back and shoulder discomfort. Sitting still for long hours on a plane can also restrict blood flow and cause lower limb discomfort or, in more serious cases, deep vein thrombosis," she says.
Today, nearly 80 per cent of all seats on commercial aircraft are economy class seats, according to a December 2024 article on travel booking platform Booking.com.
The article also said economy tickets typically cost between 30 and 50 per cent less than premium economy, and up to 80 per cent less than business class airfare.
In order to remain accessible, the design of economy seating is largely utilitarian. Seats are built to be durable and easy to clean, with comfort often taking a back seat to cost efficiency.
Psychiatrist and sleep physician Wong Sheau Hwa, who runs a private practice, says environmental factors like noise, lighting, air quality and temperature are heightened in economy class due to the shared, confined space. This may build stress and anxiety in passengers, and make it harder to fall asleep.
"The ideal setting for restful sleep is somewhere comfortable and familiar, and where you feel safe," adds Dr Wong, who was the deputy chairman of the Civil Aviation Medical Board, a division within the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, from 2019 to 2022.
Travellers who are light sleepers, like healthcare worker Natalie Lim, may also find it harder to sleep well on planes.
Ms Lim, 31, who travels two to three times a year and flies mostly in economy class, says small movements from other passengers - like using her seatback as support when getting up or shuffling to go to the washroom - often wake her easily.
She says: "Usually, I take along a hoodie and wear it backwards with the hood covering my face to block out light. I also listen to music on my earphones instead of using ear plugs, so it drowns out cabin noise more effectively."
Seats in economy are largely utilitarian in design with little need for constant maintenance. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
A 30-year airport traffic forecast by global organisation Airports Council International World, released in February, projected that global passenger numbers will reach 22.3 billion by 2053. This is nearly 2.4 times its projected volume in 2024.
With traveller numbers set to grow exponentially, it is unlikely that economy seats will improve in comfort.
"Economy class seats are designed without many adjustable functions because airlines are trying to manage the high variability in population and keeping the maintainability of the seats low," says Mr Tadwalkar, who also served as the president of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society of Singapore from 2007 to 2014.
"Technically, it's very easy to make economy class seats more adjustable. But if thousands of people are using the functions repeatedly - let's say, over a month - then it's more likely to break. That's why it's easier to just make a fixed product," he adds.
While airlines such as Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Eva Air have introduced some ergonomic features in their seats - like six-way adjustable headrests and ergonomically designed backrest contours - the road to a fully supportive and comfortable economy class seat is long.
Global passenger traffic is set to increase exponentially over the coming decades. ST PHOTO: TARYN NG
Nonetheless, experts say there are ways to catch some good shut-eye without needing to upgrade to a premium class. Here are eight tips from the pros.
1. Do use sleep accessories
One of the biggest barriers to sleep on a plane is the sensory overload. Bright cabin lights, crying babies and the steady hum of the engines can make it hard to drift off. Pack a good quality eye mask and noise-cancelling headphones or earplugs to create your own sensory bubble.
Look for features that can more effectively counter environmental sleep disruptions, like total blackout eye masks with contoured eye cushions or earplugs that mould to the shape of your inner ear.
IEH's Mr Chan says these tools can help block out disruptions and help your body relax - even while your seatmate is still wide awake.
2. Do keep your neck and spine aligned
Your spine is not built to sleep in an upright position and, when forced to do so, pressure builds in the neck and lower back - making it harder to maintain a comfortable posture for sleep.
Dr Kelvin Ng, clinic director at Family Health Chiropractic Clinic, says the amount of pressure on one's spinal discs increases significantly when sitting versus standing.
Standing subjects your spine to pressure equivalent to around 100 per cent of your body weight, while sitting upright increases that to 150 per cent and bending forward to pick something up can increase it to 275 per cent, he adds.
Dr Ng advises travellers to use a supportive travel pillow that allows the neck to remain in a stable position, and suggests they place a pillow or rolled-up article of clothing behind their lower backs to maintain lumbar support. Both can help create a more comfortable posture that will aid good rest.
3. Do recline your seat
While some passengers may hesitate out of courtesy, the recline feature is meant to be used - especially on red-eye flights. Just be mindful of meal times or the person behind you before reclining all the way.
Mr Tadwalkar says that, ideally, seats should be reclined to achieve a resting angle of between 100 and 120 degrees for better sleep.
Online, aviation and traveller communities estimate the average economy class seat recline pitch to be between 5 and 15cm, or roughly between five and 19 degrees.
While attaining the optimal resting angle may be difficult in economy class, just a few centimetres of recline can help to take pressure off your lower back and reduce strain on your neck, he says.
Just a few centimetres of recline can help to take pressure off your lower back and reduce strain on your neck. PHOTO: AIR FRANCE
4. Do visit a chiropractor
If you frequently experience back or neck pain after flying, it might be worth consulting a chiropractor. Some travellers have underlying posture issues that are made worse in cramped seating.
Dr Ng says travellers can consider visiting a chiropractor before their trip to identify misalignments and get recommended exercises or support tailored to their bodies to ensure better spine health.
For instance, for those with forward head posture - a condition in which the head extends forward from the shoulders, and is common among people who use their devices for extended periods - doing a neck retraction exercise by drawing the chin back several times can help to improve neck strength and flexibility.
5. Don't rely on your footrest
Economy class footrests - if available - make for good temporary relief, especially when trying to improve circulation.
But Mr Tadwalkar advises keeping your feet flat on the floor and avoiding prolonged use of footrests.
He explains that propping one's feet up on footrests often strains the knees and closes the hip angle - the angle between the upper body and thighs - to less than 90 degrees.
"The less-than-90-degree angle has three effects. First, it compresses your internal organs, resulting in discomfort. Second, it hampers the natural blood circulation to the lower body, causing soreness in the feet. And most importantly, it takes away the natural 'S' curve of your back, and instead puts it in kyphosis, which is an excessive rounding of the spine into a 'C' shape, leading to backache," he says.
Dr Ng also discourages passengers from sleeping with their feet on their seats and hugging knees to their chests, as it increases pressure on the spine and unnecessarily strains muscles.
6. Don't take sleep medication excessively
It may be tempting to take a sleeping pill, but Dr Wong cautions that sleep aids may impair cognitive function and affect one's ability to respond adequately in the event of an emergency.
"While sleep aids may improve the ability to get to sleep, the sleep obtained may not necessarily be restful," he says, adding that people often consume melatonin - a supplement used to promote sleep - in the hope that it will induce sleepiness in the same way sleeping pills do.
"If you use melatonin like a sleeping pill, you'll be utterly disappointed. It does help with sleep but if one uses it wrongly, it might create more problems, like pushing your natural sleep timing back," he explains.
Consume melatonin supplements a few hours before sleep instead of immediately before bedtime. ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
He observes that people often self-medicate with melatonin and take various doses at different timings. "The correct window to take it is at a natural, physiological timing before sleep, which could be at around 8 or 9pm, rather than immediately before sleep," Dr Wong says.
Consult a doctor before consuming sleeping aids and test it on land before using it in the air.
7. Don't keep your arms on the armrest
While armrests may feel like the only place to rest your elbows, leaving your arms there for hours can restrict blood flow and cause shoulder or neck tension.
Mr Tadwalkar says most armrests in today's commercial aircraft are typically built too high for the average Asian person.
It props their elbows up and creates more tension in the shoulders and thoracic spine, which includes the mid-back region between the neck and lower back. Instead, he suggests supporting your arms on a pillow or relaxing them on your upper thighs.
Using a small blanket or scarf to create a cradle for your arms by draping the fabric over your shoulders, and loosely tying it at the front or back, can also relieve muscle strain while you sleep.
8. Don't refuse food or snacks
Many passengers skip meals to try sleeping through the flight, but an empty stomach can make it harder to fall asleep - and stay asleep.
Hunger can make it harder to fall asleep, so have a meal or keep snacks handy on flights. PHOTO: ST FILE
"If you're hungry, it's often impossible to sleep because it feels very uncomfortable. Keep snacks handy and have something here and there before you fly or somewhere in the middle of the flight," Dr Wong says.
Opt for in-flight snacks like cheese and crackers, or take along your own. Avoid caffeine and sugar close to bedtime, as these can disrupt sleep cycles.
Steer clear of greasy and spicy foods too close to bedtime, as foods high in fat are harder to digest and may cause indigestion, while spices can trigger heartburn.