Shut-Eye on the Red-Eye

Los Angeles : 5 hours. Las Vegas : 6 hours. Sydney : 11 bone-crunching hours.

Getting on a plane might be the one time Lucky You Live Hawaii doesn’t hold.  

Cramped in coach, your chances of catching any z’s are limited. Even with an around-the-neck pillow or a three-drink nightcap and a sleeping pill, you arrive knowing exactly why they call it a red-eye. 

Here are three plane props to help next time you have to fly by night.

SkyRest
This wedge-shaped pillow blows up like an inner tube and fits neatly on the tray table in front of you. Lean forward and you can comfortably rest your head so your back and neck are relaxed. This pillow also helps make those bumpy prop-plane inter-island flights a little more comfortable. Online at www.skyrest.com

The Nap Strap
You might feel a little bit strange using this – but once you’re in deep REM, it won’t matter. Put on the Nap Strap’s headband and fasten the Velcro tabs to a strap you loop around the back of the seat. Yes, your head is firmly strapped, upright, onto the seat. But just try letting your neck flop. You’ll be sitting straight up, sound asleep, with no neck cramps when you wake up. The Nap Strap comes in especially handy if you end up in an aisle seat or in the last row where the seat doesn’t recline. Online at www.practicalthings.com

First Class Sleeper
This inflatable seat pillow is the size of the entire seatback and supports your lower back, shoulders and neck – letting you stretch out more horizontally. It only takes 10 or 11 breaths to inflate, then position it behind you and lean back. Your chair isn’t reclined any further, but your body feels like it is. Online at www.1stclasssleeper.com