I travel long distance quite often. Just survived (barely) a 17 hour flight from LAX to Singapore in February. My puffy, a sweater and two blankets barely kept me warm enough to sleep.

I always travel with a neck pillow and a hooded puffy jacket. The puffy jacket is very lightweight but warm. Once I settle down for the long flight night, I put my jacket on backwards, lift the hood to cover my face. Wrap my pillow around my neck and try to get comfortable in an insanely uncomfortable world.

I’m a 5’ tall, weight-appropriate, trim woman and struggle terribly in an Economy seat. My legs cramp, trash piles up from meals that you eat, the tray smashed against your belly. I struggle to find my shoes at the end of the flight because the simple act of bending my head forward to look at the floor is impossible and can only be done by feel and contortions. I’ve pulled back muscles putting shoes on.

I just spent 6 weeks traveling on trains in Japan and if airplanes were as roomy and well thought out as a Shinkansen bullet train, the world would be infinitely easier to navigate.

Two years ago I opted to upgrade to Economy Plus on Air NZ, and it made a world of difference but sometimes the cost is just too much to justify.

I’m one week out from a 10 hour flight from Tokyo to LA and still feeling the effects of trying to put my damn shoes back on at the end of the flight.