Why We Are Uncomfortable Sleeping on a Plane: Even a Special Pillow Doesn't Help
One of the reasons why many people refuse to fly on an airplane, preferring another form of transport (if possible), is that they cannot get a “normal” sleep in an airplane seat.
Why is it difficult for us to sleep while sitting?
To answer this question, we need to think about sleep cycles.
The human brain goes through five stages of sleep, the last of which is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. It only takes up a quarter of the entire sleep cycle and occurs about 70 to 90 minutes after you fall asleep, but you go through REM several times a night.
During REM sleep, the brain sends signals to the spinal cord, causing temporary muscle paralysis, resulting in a loss of muscle tone.
This is due to the fact that during the REM sleep phase a person sees dreams and can accidentally injure himself.
If you are flying on an airplane or traveling on a bus, etc., where you have to sleep sitting up, partial paralysis and loss of muscle tone make it impossible to maintain an upright position with a straight back and neck.
As a result, the sleeper's head droops and the body begins to "go numb."
This is the answer to why we find it uncomfortable to sleep on a plane, because it is almost impossible to sleep while sitting (unless you are a Buddhist monk).
Earlier we listed the signs that indicate that you urgently need changes in your life.
