Long Haul, sleeping with masks

We did 6.5 hours - from arrival to airport to exit from destination airport we were in masks for about 10 hours. Dozed off for a bit. Mask was no big deal. Even though at home I use cloth reusable ones, on flights I use the disposable ones - I find them more comfortable for breathing and they don’t fog up my glasses.

I tried to sleep on the way back from Sri Lanka last February. I rarely sleep on planes and this flight was no exception.

Wearing a mask is no big deal - just ensure it’s not too tight around your ears but not too loose so it’s baggy at the sides. We wore medical grade masks for maximum protection, not thin, disposable masks.

What's the current rule on face shields instead of masks? Would they be more comfortable?

I thought the rule on face shields was that you could wear one, but only WITH a mask as well.

Just a reminder that you will want extra masks with you for long flights. You'll want to put on a fresh, clean one at least every 4 hours.

I would wear a KN95 or the like. But for long use shop for ones you can tie behind your head. Those ear loops hurt after a few hours.

You'll want to put on a fresh, clean one at least every 4 hours.

Meh... my company gave me one disposable mask per day to wear for 10 hours during much of the pandemic. That's still pretty much what I do every day now. The big challenge is if you sneeze 😬.

Face shields do not take the place of a mask. Nor can one wear a mask with a vent/filter.
It can be unpleasant wearing a mask but as Dave said above, we were also given one mask for a 12 hour shift. Just keep your hands off of it. As far as the elastic around your ears, women can fasten the elastics with a bobby-pin or a hair clip in their hair. Guys can too!

I did it to the States and back in May; slept happily all the way.

I don’t know about Canadian rules, but FAA and CDC regulations (and at least French, if not all European rules) require masks — I.e. no, you can’t substitute a face shield just because you find it more comfortable (correctly, since a face mask does a much better job of preventing dispersion of aerosols and therefore the coronavirus). And in fact they insist on the surgical masks. flying Delta back to France, as we were boarding , they gave anyone wearing a non-compliant mask a surgical mask (in addition, when we were on board, they gave us each a little health package with hand gel, a mask, and a wipe.

I used a hair band with two buttons sewed onto it to hook my mask on for an 8 hour workday. It takes the pressure off of the ears as the mask loops hook on the buttons.

If you are unsure, why not practice sleeping with a mask on once or twice at home first to see if there is a style you prefer?

All good tips, thanks. We generally use KN95s, more comfortable than N95s, but was wondering about the ear loops for many hours, especially sleeping. We also have some surgical masks. I like the idea of practicing. Might try that as well as some of the other tips. Thanks all.

I can’t comment on sleeping with a mask on but I would suggest applying a little bit of lotion behind your ears to keep it from getting too irritated from the strap rubbing. This helps me while at work.
Amanda

Buy some real silk mask on amazon. I wore that for 13 hours flight and around airport. The silk fabric is not too rough for your skin

I’m not on a flight, but I’ve been in the hospital (I’m okay) for about 36 hours and I have no idea when they will let me go. Today hopefully. 🤞🏼I’ve been wearing a mask nonstop except for taking occasional sips of a drink or eating jello from a cup. I’ve been sleeping in it just fine. It has made me realize that when we take our two trips to Europe next year from the west coast it will not be as bad as I was anticipating. The mask I’ve been wearing is a disposable.

Flew Dulles to Athens on United last week. I never sleep well on an airplane so while I can’t say wearing a mask made any difference to sleeping, I did switch to my lighter weight cloth mask from my KN95 at some point, just to be cooler.

Just ordered SILK masks on Amazon; buyer beware...there are many listed as "silk" but are actually satin. Fingers crossed the silk masks help with the long flights and train trips!

It's really not difficult to sleep wearing a mask. We've flown transatlantic four times with surgical masks on, even double masked, since the pandemic began. And we slept.
You are going to be wearing a mask all day if you are sightseeing, so you'll get the hang of it. Behind the ears can get tender, that's all. But it's really not a big deal, just part of life today.

We have also worn masks on trans-Atlantic planes with no particular issues. Our daughter got sore ears from the loops and strongly recommends getting tie-behind-heads ones instead. I didn’t mind my ear loops. Either way, the mask was no problem.

Shortly before landing in Paris, in order to comply with French rules, the flight attendants handed out plain blue surgical masks to everyone and we had to change out of our own masks to deplane/clear customs/exit airport. This was last summer, I don’t know if that is still true.

We've taken a lot of longish (4+ hour) US domestic flights this summer (vacation and family issues), and sleeping with the mask has been no problem. The one thing I did find was my usual travel pillow (the TRTL) didn't work great with a mask because it pushed it up and out of place. I wish I had tested that out beforehand. FYI, each time we traveled, there was someone in the TSA line that either didn't have a mask on or only had a face shield. Each time, the initial TSA agent checking ID's stopped them and made them put on a mask before proceeding further.

Regarding the silk masks, they probably are fine for most US carriers where any type of mask is accepted; but some European carriers will require the surgical or N95 equivalent, and some countries require N95 equivalent for nearly all public transport depending on covid level. In general, the cloth masks, homemade or purchased, are frowned upon or not allowed in Europe, except as a second mask.

When my Dad was in the hospital in January, I spent the first 36 or so hours with him, taking off my mask only to eat. Sleeping with the mask on was less bothersome than I had thought it would be. The only problem I had was that the air was so dry in the emergency room that I had a nosebleed.

If I need to sleep on a flight I'm still a fan of dramamine/benadryl.... which at least help me with relaxing and falling asleep despite noisy neighbors, masks, someone who has smelly feet....😃

No problem even though having the mask on is a nuisance, already tried that at home , still slept , regardless , with the mask on.

If I can do that on a non-stop 11 hour flight, then I know it can done taking a night train.