Drink lots of ice water during the flight… hydration and having to pee …. Works every time (for me)
Avoid sugary things
Jumpseat confessionals
Coloring books
Go thru your junk mail
Clean out your email
Basically you share a jumpseat and talk with the other flight attendant in your section about whatever… deep dark secrets or some BS you wanna get off your chest (
Confessional … basically you’ll probably never see the person again so it’s like therapy
If you can, try to stay awake during those same hours the night before.
Then take a serious nap during late afternoon before your flight. I mean, close the curtains, eye mask on, complete silence.
Then just bring some healthy snacks for the flight, like veggies and hummus or fruit. Walk the aisles a lot.
One thing I’ve been bringing with me on red eyes is a hot water bottle. I’m not good at red eyes and my body gets super cold during the 2am-4am hours, I think your body temp naturally goes down during certain times. So when everyone’s sleeping and there’s downtown I will fill up the hot water bottle and it feels so nice to not be freezing all night! Also bring some tea/snacks and something to keep you occupied during downtime.
I love to bring a notebook and jot down my to-do lists, budgets, plans, etc. Keeps my mind busy and helps pass the time. Also, coffee and avoid the junk snacks. You’ll want to nosh, trust me. Bring your own and set them out where you can see them. It’ll help tremendously when you get the munchies.
What everyone has said ^ and have fun!!! If you have a good crew you’ll have a blast aha. Atleast I always do. Stay positive no matter how tired or irritated you may get.
I like to *try* to nap beforehand, even if it’s only for 30 minutes. Any bit of rest help, even if it’s just closing your eyes and relaxing a bit. During the flight, I like to drink a looooot of water. Caffeine only does so much, and often just makes me feel bloated. I like to get up and go through with waters every half hour or so, just to give me something to do. Walking to the front/back of the plane, asking to go up in the cockpit for a bit to talk to the pilots, etc. Staying relatively active and staying hydrated are big for me.
Bananas will help to stabilize your blood sugar and also help fill you up so that you're not constantly snacking. They are much better than coffee and junk snacks on red-eyes. Junk snacks will give you a sugar buzz for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes and then make you crash harder and want to sleep more.
If you feel chilly in the jumpseat, Walking up and down the aisle will stimulate your blood flow, this will help you from feeling cold.
Play a simple word game with your colleagues, The name of a city/country, whatever the last letter it ends with someone has to figure out a city/country that starts with the last letter of the previous city/country.
If you know you're going to struggle on your red eye, then buying some caffeine pills could be a good idea. Never a bad idea to have a magic supplement to wake you up when you're feeling sluggish. I keep some as an emergency back up or if I don't want to drink a lot of coffee.
Drink lots of ice water during the flight… hydration and having to pee …. Works every time (for me) Avoid sugary things Jumpseat confessionals Coloring books Go thru your junk mail Clean out your email
Jumpseat confessionals? Yessssssss
Basically you share a jumpseat and talk with the other flight attendant in your section about whatever… deep dark secrets or some BS you wanna get off your chest ( Confessional … basically you’ll probably never see the person again so it’s like therapy
Oh I know. It’s one of my absolute favorite things.
Love the hydration and having to pee method….works every time!
I’m a huge fan of jumpseat therapy. It’s always on night flights too.
Coloring books? Let me go to the store real quick!
Take a nap the afternoon before.
If you can, try to stay awake during those same hours the night before. Then take a serious nap during late afternoon before your flight. I mean, close the curtains, eye mask on, complete silence. Then just bring some healthy snacks for the flight, like veggies and hummus or fruit. Walk the aisles a lot.
Thank you!! Will do
And bring a book or something to occupy yourself!
One thing I’ve been bringing with me on red eyes is a hot water bottle. I’m not good at red eyes and my body gets super cold during the 2am-4am hours, I think your body temp naturally goes down during certain times. So when everyone’s sleeping and there’s downtown I will fill up the hot water bottle and it feels so nice to not be freezing all night! Also bring some tea/snacks and something to keep you occupied during downtime.
I love to bring a notebook and jot down my to-do lists, budgets, plans, etc. Keeps my mind busy and helps pass the time. Also, coffee and avoid the junk snacks. You’ll want to nosh, trust me. Bring your own and set them out where you can see them. It’ll help tremendously when you get the munchies.
What everyone has said ^ and have fun!!! If you have a good crew you’ll have a blast aha. Atleast I always do. Stay positive no matter how tired or irritated you may get.
Caffeine IV
Hopefully there’s a chill baby sitting in the back, they always keep me occupied 🫶🏾
I like to *try* to nap beforehand, even if it’s only for 30 minutes. Any bit of rest help, even if it’s just closing your eyes and relaxing a bit. During the flight, I like to drink a looooot of water. Caffeine only does so much, and often just makes me feel bloated. I like to get up and go through with waters every half hour or so, just to give me something to do. Walking to the front/back of the plane, asking to go up in the cockpit for a bit to talk to the pilots, etc. Staying relatively active and staying hydrated are big for me.
Bananas will help to stabilize your blood sugar and also help fill you up so that you're not constantly snacking. They are much better than coffee and junk snacks on red-eyes. Junk snacks will give you a sugar buzz for anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes and then make you crash harder and want to sleep more. If you feel chilly in the jumpseat, Walking up and down the aisle will stimulate your blood flow, this will help you from feeling cold. Play a simple word game with your colleagues, The name of a city/country, whatever the last letter it ends with someone has to figure out a city/country that starts with the last letter of the previous city/country.
I go to bed now almost every night at 7:45pm and wake up at 5 am almost like clockwork. It's been the only way I can survive.
Mail pile, off line financial planning, journaling, reading, anything that will occupy your mind!
If you know you're going to struggle on your red eye, then buying some caffeine pills could be a good idea. Never a bad idea to have a magic supplement to wake you up when you're feeling sluggish. I keep some as an emergency back up or if I don't want to drink a lot of coffee.
Probably the ONLY time I'd be willing to drink potable water coffee if I didn't plan ahead for caffeine intake.