Tips for Getting Your Baby or Toddler to Sleep on a Long Flight

If you've read the previous post on [why babies and toddlers keep waking up on airplanes], you already know that the sleep environment matters just as much as comfort, arguably maybe more. This post is the practical follow-up: the specific things that have actually helped us on long flights with our own kids, after 20+ international trips and a lot of trial and error.

None of these are complicated. But together, they've made a real difference.

Start Before the Flight: Replicate Their Bedtime Routine

One of the most underrated things you can do on a long flight has nothing to do with the airplane itself, it's about signaling to your child's brain that sleep is coming.

At home, most young children have a routine that cues sleep: a bath, pajamas, a sleep sack, a book, a comfort item. Their brain has learned to associate those things with winding down. On a flight, you can bring that routine with you.

Pack their sleep sack. Bring the small comfort item they associate with sleep. Change them into their pajamas before the flight or once you're settled in your seat. Read the same book you read at home. It won't feel exactly the same, but even a partial version of their familiar routine sends a powerful signal that it's time to rest, even at 35,000 feet.

Use White Noise

Airplanes are actually louder than most people realize, the constant hum of the engine sits at around 85 decibels, similar to heavy city traffic. For a baby or toddler trying to sleep, layering familiar white noise on top of that unpredictable cabin noise can make a meaningful difference.

A small portable white noise machine is one of the most practical things you can bring on a flight. It doesn't take up much space, it runs on a battery or USB, and it recreates the familiar sound environment many babies and toddlers associate with sleep. If your child already sleeps with white noise at home, this is a near non-negotiable for long flights in our opinion.

Choose the Window Seat

This one is simple but worth saying explicitly: the window seat is almost always the better choice when flying with a sleeping baby or toddler.

It removes one full side of foot traffic and aisle activity from their immediate environment. It gives you a surface to lean them against. And it puts some distance between them and the drink cart, the passing passengers, and the general bustle of the cabin. If you have a choice, take the window.

Manage the Light Around Them

Research from the University of Colorado Boulder found that even dim light can suppress melatonin levels in toddlers by up to 78%, which means the ambient light of a typical airplane cabin is actively working against your child's ability to fall and stay asleep.

A few things help here. Turn off the seat screen nearest to them. Close the window shade. And if possible, try to time sleep windows during the darker parts of the cabin cycle, like after meal service when the lights go down.

Many parents, me included, have also tried the DIY blanket nook: tucking a blanket into the tray table to create a makeshift canopy that blocks light from the aisle. It works better than nothing. But it also shifts and collapses, needs constant readjusting, and tends to create a tug-of-war between "stay asleep" and "fix the blanket" that anyone who's tried it will recognize immediately.

Reduce Visual Distraction Around the Seat

Light is the biggest culprit, but it's not the only one. Movement and activity around the seat, people walking by, the cart rolling through, a neighbor shifting in their seat, can be just as disruptive for young children who are easily stimulated.

This is harder to control, but a few things help: positioning them toward the window rather than the aisle, using your body as a buffer on the open side, and minimizing activity around them once they've settled.

This was ultimately the gap I kept running into, even when I managed the light, the visual chaos of a busy cabin was hard to fully block without something purpose-built for it. The DIY setups helped, but they were never reliable.

That's what eventually led me to create NapNest, a lightweight blackout nook that attaches to a standard airplane seat and creates a calm, dim space around your child without putting anything on them. It blocks cabin light and visual distraction, works from infancy through around age five, and includes mesh windows so you can check on them easily and airflow is never compromised. It's the reliable version of the blanket nook hack, designed specifically for airplane seats, with seatbelt access built in.

Timing Matters Too

If you have flexibility when booking, overnight or red-eye flights tend to work better for young children than daytime flights, the natural darkness of the cabin aligns more closely with their sleep window, and the overall activity level is lower. That said, we know not everyone has that flexibility, and daytime long-haul flights are sometimes unavoidable.

For daytime flights, try to plan around their existing nap schedule as much as possible. A child who's naturally tired is going to be far easier to settle than one who's been awake and stimulated all morning.

It Won't Be Perfect — But It Can Be Easier

Traveling with babies and young kids will never be perfectly predictable. There will still be flights that don't go as planned, and some kids are simply harder to settle than others, I know this firsthand.

But understanding what actually drives sleep on a plane, and making a few intentional choices around it, can shift the whole experience. When your child is able to rest, even for a few hours, everyone arrives in better shape — including you.

If you haven't already, start with [Why Your Baby or Toddler Keeps Waking Up on Airplanes], it's the foundation for everything in this post.