I hardly slept on my most recent international red-eye flight, but I'd still book it again to avoid jet lag

10.08.2023 - 15:41 / insider.com

I left my apartment in NYC at 9 p.m. on a Friday last month for my red-eye flight to Barcelona. It wasn't my first rodeo on a late-night, long-haul flight, and I felt totally prepared. I ate dinner beforehand and took zero naps, so I figured I'd sleep on the plane and wake up in Spain feeling rested and ready to explore without the brutal jet lag.

Well, I was wrong. 

This particular flight, operated by Iberia, was about seven hours long and left at 11:45 p.m. When I boarded the plane, I felt exhausted from the long day I'd had and was confident I'd go right to sleep. As the plane took off, the lights went out and I dozed off immediately. 

About a half hour later, I woke up when the lights switched back on and an attendant announced that it was dinner time. I was surprised that dinner was included on this flight since it left so late at night. 

Since I was at the back of the plane, it took a while for my meal to get to me, and by the end of the service when the last bits of trash were collected, I realized two hours had gone by since I had woken up. I promptly fell back asleep after the attendants switched the lights back off. 

Cut to two hours later — the lights flickered back on, disrupting my slumber once again. This could only mean one thing: breakfast.

I groaned in disappointment, although I was conflicted. Of course, it's wonderful that the airline is making sure its passengers are well-fed. But red-eyes I've taken in the past have only served breakfast, which gave me more time to sleep. When breakfast ended, the sun was up, the flight was awake, and I was exhausted.

This experience didn't turn me off of international red-eye flights altogether. In my opinion, red-eye flights are still the best way to avoid jet lag when traveling to another time zone. When I sleep through them, I feel like I get a head start on settling into a different time zone, which makes a huge difference on the first few days of my trip.

Although it didn't work for me this time, I think I can avoid this problem in the future by packing a sleep mask so I can nap away as meals are served. 

For my next international red-eye flight, I'll be ready to nap with dinner in my belly and a sleep mask in my carry-on.