Sleep aidsBy Lark Ellen Gould

Insomniacs take note. You CAN try this at home. But travelers find the Glo-to-Sleep mask to be as trusted a companion as their quart-size cosmetic Ziploc bag when it comes to things to take on airplanes.

Even those of us who can fall asleep anywhere, cannot seem to curry zzz’s on planes. Perhaps it’s the crowding and cramming or just the fact that airplane seats are probably more suited for monkeys than humans when it comes to comfort factor.

But Glo to Sleep can change that and in some very simple ways. When going to sleep or flying or breathing in and out in pursuit of a good meditation session success comes through managing to control, in whatever ways you can, your environment.

Enter a set of foamy, featherweight goggles that attach loosely around the head and eyes. There’s a recessed space in front of the eyes – perhaps an inch or so that manages to produce the effect of a larger area of space. And at the back of the space find four glowing blue lines on each side of the nose. But those photoluminescent strips (charged simply by 30 seconds under a lamp or in sunlight) are the difference between staring helplessly into chasm filled with exhaustive wakeful discomfort or heading into an unconscious space somewhere causing your gum-cracking seatmate to disappear.

How to sleep on airplanes

The act of looking up and focusing on these blue “points of glo,” clears the wearer’s mind by turning disruptive Beta brain waves into calming Alpha waves while stimulating the body to produce natural melatonin.

Mix this action with hypnotic recordings or Audiobooks through an iPod device. You may come out richer for it, or finally stop smoking. Breathing in and out in slow meditative breath cycles while focusing on the glow allows the mind to slow down and empty much like a meditation session – only this time, sleep is allowed.

The small thing in the small package comes with a lot of big science behind it. Parent company Sound Oasis has put a battalion of doctors into developing sound systems for solitude and stress reduction.  Glo to Sleep is a natural progression from that research and provides some added benefits that sound alone cannot achieve.

It may not work as well as Ambien or have quite the anxiety-busting value as Valium. But the clear head you get when you rise from a Glo to Sleep rest or meditation may make up for the missed knock-out session. For the traveler who has to run the gauntlet of airport immigration woes at ungodly hours or meet associates for meetings on arrival, the mask provides. Pill brain, Ambien coma? A thing of the past.

Weighs under an ounce and costs less than a family dinner at Burger King. But unlike fast food, Glo-to-Sleep comes with a money-back guarantee.

Where to Buy it