TikToker’s napping tip for long flights goes viral — but what do experts think?
A TikTok user named Brooke Johnson shared a video in which she shared her technique to take a comfortable nap on long flights but it has raised concern among experts.
In the video, Johson folded her legs up to her chest and fastened her seatbelt around her ankles, while seated inside a plane.
“I fly two to four times a month, all flights that average more than four hours,” Johnson tells People. “When I was a kid, I would play around all the time to find a comfortable way to sit, and I found one that worked. I have been doing the seatbelt hack since I could remember.”
She said the method allows you to relax without grossing out your neighbour.
She said that flight attendants and other air travel experts advised against the trend.
“I, of course, do not do this during takeoff or landing. Only when we have reached cruising altitude and people are moving about the cabin,” she stresses. “When there is turbulence I definitely click in properly out of fear.”
Johnson uses the seatbelt method because of the limited space airlines allot each passenger.
Still, according to Dr Michael Breus (PhD, FAASM), founder of The Sleep Doctor, Brooke’s napping technique “appears to be one of the dumbest ideas I have ever seen.”
“If there is an emergency, I’m guessing both legs get broken, and if there is even mild turbulence, it could be another issue — probably a head injury,” he said.
