If you want to sleep in economy, your seat choice is half the battle. Take the window seat whenever you can: it gives you a wall to lean against, keeps you clear of the aisle traffic, and means nobody will wake you climbing over you to reach the restroom. On overnight flights the window also has one more advantage — you control the shade, and with it the light hitting your face at dawn.

Gear matters more than willpower. A structured wrap-style neck pillow prevents the head-bob that jolts you awake every twenty minutes; cheap inflatable pillows barely help. Add a contoured eye mask that blocks light without pressing on your eyes, and either foam earplugs or noise-canceling headphones to blunt the constant engine drone and cabin noise. These three items weigh almost nothing and transform your odds of real sleep.

Timing is the part most travelers get wrong. Instead of sleeping randomly, align your sleep window with your destination's time zone — and the flexibility is doubly valuable when strikes or disruptions stretch your journey into unknown hours. If it is nighttime at your destination during the flight, wind down; if it is daytime there, try to stay awake. Starting this adjustment a day or two before departure makes the first night on the ground dramatically easier.

Eat and drink like you want to sleep. Alcohol is the classic trap: it knocks you out quickly, then fragments your sleep, dehydrates you and leaves you groggy with hours still to go — skip it during the flight and enjoy that glass after you land. Cut caffeine in the second half of the flight, and drink water steadily; cabin air is drier than most deserts, and dehydration makes sleep shallow and headaches likely.

Dress for sleep, not for the airport photo. Loose, breathable layers handle the cabin's temperature swings, and compression socks do double duty — they keep your legs comfortable and reduce the swelling and stiffness that come with sitting still for ten hours. Get up once or twice to stretch and walk the aisle; it loosens your back, keeps circulation going and, counterintuitively, helps the next stretch of sleep come faster.

Small details stack up. Slide your personal item under the seat in front to use as a footrest, which straightens your spine and eases lower-back pressure. Keep a toothbrush, moisturizer and eye drops in your seat pocket for a mid-flight reset — arriving feeling human is half psychology. And if legroom is your biggest blocker, consider paying for an exit row seat: on an overnight flight it is the single best-paid upgrade for sleep that economy offers.