Pilot Explains How They Can Fall Asleep While They Are Flying the Plane

Some jobs are tougher than others, and while those who are blessed to work from home as of recently can steal away an hour, maybe more, for a nice little catnap, there are those who might not be able to. Or can they? One pilot explains how he and others fall asleep at their job.

What Goes on in the Cockpit

While passengers simply care about enjoying a nice, long vacation somewhere tropical, a lot is going on in the cockpit that almost no one knows about.

Passengers, meanwhile, are more focused on friendly plane etiquette and the food that will be served. But some think about the safety of the entire ride, and ask themselves questions like if the pilots sleep on the job.

One Pilot Answers the Question

One man went viral on his TikTok account this summer thanks to answering this very question. He said yes, pilots can sleep while in the air. They can either have a controlled rest or controlled napping.

Controlled napping is restricted to 30 minutes, after which, he explains that he feels perfectly fine to continue doing his job. On the other hand, controlled rest goes on for a slightly longer time, around 45 minutes. After that, he says he needs about 20 minutes or so of waking up and making sure he isn’t groggy.

How Does One Wake Up?

After the longer period of sleep allowed, the pilot explains that he usually needs a cup of coffee or a quick bite of food. That doesn’t make the job easier seeing as most flights last anywhere up to 10 hours, and those in charge of flying the plane simply have to stay awake for most of the time!

It might have come as a shock to find out that pilots do take naps while in the air for some people, but many weren’t surprised. They agreed that they would rather have a well-rested pilot flying their plane. After all, that’s why there’s more than one pilot!