How Airline Pilots plan for a safe landing and how you can plan for sound restorative sleep

Mark Dobson
17 hours ago
3 min read

Rather than leaving sleep to chance, you can plan your descent into sleep just like an airline pilot plans a descent and landing.

To achieve a safe landing from a high-altitude cruising level, airline pilots work back from having the aircraft in the correct configuration – correct speed, landing gear down, flaps set and engines running at the correct rpm by 1,000’ above the aerodrome altitude. This is referred to as a ‘Stabilised Approach’.

They key to this is in the ‘planning’ - wind, descent glide path (usually a ratio of 3:1, 3x the aircraft cruising altitude for the distance required to descend for the landing), energy management and environmental conditions are all factors to be considered for a safe landing.

Descent into sleep

You can also plan your descent into sleep. The transition from wakefulness to slumber is characterised by a slowing heart rate, muscle relaxation, and reduced awareness of your surroundings.

Our brains control our sleep

Every night when we fall asleep our brains are active controlling many processes for our physical and mental restoration for the next day.

To achieve this, our brains have to slow down, but this takes planning, just like an Airline Pilot plans for their safe landing, we also have to plan for our sound restorative sleep. At the point where the wheels of the aircraft touch the surface of the runway, the final switch off of our arousal system is sudden as we fall asleep, but the descent to slumber involves sequential shutdown of our brain regions.

During the day as we operate at a high level of functioning, Adenosine builds up in the brain, a by product of energy consumption, creating "sleep pressure" and inhibiting wake-promoting areas.

As we start our descent for sleep, providing we are in suitable dim light conditions, Melatonin and GABA work together as a "power couple" for sleep by addressing both the timing and relaxation aspects of rest. Melatonin helps to set our circadian rhythm (the sleep-wake cycle acting as our 24-hour internal clock in the brains hypothalamus), while GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid, is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain, acting as a "dimmer switch" that reduces neuron activity to promote relaxation, calmness, and sleep) calms brain activity and reduces anxiety, facilitating faster sleep onset. Hyperarousal (anxiety), insomnia or high-fat diets can lead to reduced GABA concentration in the brain, lessening its effectiveness.

The Brain Wave Shift: Our brain waves shift from fast beta and alpha waves (relaxed alertness) to slower theta waves as we enter the stages of sleep.

From awake and active brains

To, Physically and Emotionally Relaxed brains

And finally, our sleeping brains

What Can Help?

In the evening, melatonin naturally starts to increase with the lowering of natural light.

It can therefore help to change common lightbulbs in your house with amber lights which provide a nice warm relaxing atmosphere that protects you against harmful blue light.