My favorite things: Embrace Sleep Collar

Raise your hand if you’re a rock star at sleeping on airplanes.

Anyone?  Bueller?  Bueller...?

That’s what I thought.  Unless I’m running on a fume and a half or I’m sick as a dog, sleeping upright in a horribly designed, cramped seat on a pressurized, engine-powered  tin can doesn’t happen easily.  I mean, really, whose head actually stays upright when they fall asleep?  No one’s, which is why trying to sleep on an airplane blows.  If you’re in a window seat, there’s the fuselage.  But that vibrates and is hard (insert “That’s what she said” comment here).  Or there’s your neighbor.  And if he/she is a stranger, you’re probably not going to endear yourself to that person by using their shoulder as a pillow. 

The next choice is the use of a travel pillow.  You’ve seen those neck pillows in the various stores and vendor booths at airports - the velvety things filled with styrofoam beans or something.  Those things suck.  The plane fuselage and your stinky neighbor’s shoulder work better than those pieces of crap.  There are inflatable neck pillows, too, and those work all right until they develop a leak. 

I was unsatisfied with these options, so I hit up Google one day and found this funky-looking thing called the Embrace Sleep Collar.  It looks more like a medical device than a pillow.  But there were plenty of rave reviews about it, so I decided to pony up $25 and give it a shot.

I was sold after one trans-atlantic flight.  

At first glance, the thing looks horribly uncomfortable. But thanks to the incorporation of some sort of stiff foam that somehow manages to keep its shape without stabbing you in the face, the collar actually keeps your head from rolling all over the place.   It’s awesome.  Your neck muscles can relax, your head stays in place, you can sleep, and you won’t wake up with a horrible crick in your neck from whatever awkward position your head would have ended up in without this thing.

I now bring my Sleep Collar on any flight lasting more than 4 hours.  It’s smaller than most other travel pillows, and it just plain works.  I freakin’ love mine, and if you’re in the market for a new travel pillow, I highly recommend this thing.  Happy flying, and sweet dreams.

*Note:  the link above is an affiliate link.  If you so desire a Sleep Collar for yourself, you can support this blog at the same time!