Travel Pillows Worthy of Olympians

Trying to get comfortable and sleep in economy on a plane is the worst! On a recent trip to Europe, I was the biggest grump getting off the plane. However, there are some new releases in travel pillows that have me wondering if I would have been better off with them. Here are some of best new options for head support for sleeping on planes. Head support options range from looping around the chair to sitting on your chest.

The Nodpod

Our first example of sleeping pillows is a kickstarter. The company used the website Kickstarter to gain backers for the patent of the project. With nine days left, they have far surpassed their goal by $260,000! It seems like we’re not the only ones in need of travel relief...

So the idea of the Nodpod is that it attaches behind the chair, comes around the front, and acts as a sling for your head. Since we are not meant to sleep upright like we do when we travel, the masterminds behind this idea have done research on making upright seating as close to the comfort of the natural sleep position as possible. It sets your head at an angle and supports it so your head doesn’t fall forward. And since it is support right under your chin, you may not find yourself waking up with your mouth open and some stranger smiling at you.

The funds for this project will be allotted to the Kentucky based design team on September 9th. Hopefully that means we will be seeing this product go to Amazon shortly after. If you’re not afraid of looking a little silly when you travel, this could be the product for post-flight grumps like me!

FaceCradle

This product hit social media this week with the tagline: “Upgrade to sleeping class!” Their product is also a kickstarter that has surpassed its goal by over $530,000 and counting! The design team from Australia will be receiving their kickstarter money at the end of September, just in time to compete with the Nodpod!

The FaceCradle has five different modes for dozing, snoozing, table napping, deep sleep, and deep sleep to one’s side. It too connects to the back of your seat for suspended sleeping. Out of all of the modes, I would be curious to try deep sleep the most. It sits against your chest, allows you to rest your head on the top part, and acts like a massage table might. I think this contraption looks much sillier than the Nodpod. However, when you watch the promo video, they explain that all of these comfortable modes can be achieved without moving your seat back! That would have been a plus for me on my trip to Europe!