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$40 device keeps your head from falling off your shoulders when you sleep on a plane

Mark Frauenfelder at 12:56 pm Thu, Nov 1, 2012

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I can't sleep for more than 30 minutes or so on a plane. After that, I'm awake for the duration of the flight, no matter how long it is. I wonder if this neck-propper-upper would help?

Enter the UpRight Sleeper, a neck support that makes snoozing upright more comfortable (plus way cooler looking!). $40 takes one home, but the VERY fashionable cover costs $10 extra. I prefer the no-cover model because I'm hoping a flight attendant mistakes me for someone with a debilitating neck injury and moves me up to first class.

Here's the website for the UpRight Sleeper. But watch out -- it has a video that starts playing right away, and that narrator's voice is booming.

Geekologie: Finally, A Decent Neck-Rest For Sleeping Upright

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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  • http://www.matthewpetty.com/ Matthew Petty

    I use a regular U-shaped cushion, turned around like a big plush goiter.

    • Benny_Benters

      I logged on so I could pass along this exact advice.  As I get older, life is more about comfort and less about looking like a twit.  People may laugh but I don’t care cuz I’m sleeping like a baby.

    • MTBooks

      I was never happy with the inflatable U pillow. I like to tie my head to the headrest (the movable bit with the wings, not the whole seat) with a bandana. Looks ridiculous. Works.

  • vonbobo

    “Q: My dog chewed my Uprightsleeper TM and I think he swallowed some. Should I be concernedA: If you know your dog ingested some of the UprightsleeperTM material, do not induce vomiting without medical advice. In any case of doubt, please seek medical help.”

    LOL

  • lakelady

    why not just pick up an ordinary cervical collar for about 10 bucks?

    • Sigmund_Jung

      Came here to say the same thing. I once hurt my neck and travelled with one. I can say this is the best head-holding device ever. Beats that stupid inflatable one you buy in the airport in the hopes it will work.
      7 bucks on Amazon, or about the same on a drugstore.

    • Paul Renault

       Or a stack of neck rings?

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neck_ring

  • vonbobo

    “If you think you hate it now, wait until you try sleeping in it!”

    • niktemadur

      That’s right, the damned thing looks more like a torture device for sleep deprivation.

  • EH

    I hate my species.

  • http://twitter.com/nonofyrpenguins NoneofYourPenguins

    I think cones are more stylish.

  • http://www.zachstronaut.com/ zachstronaut

    Ok, I’m going to patent the same thing but with a fake beard instead of a purple satin thing.  $$ Cha-ching! $$

  • plainsaman

    It looks like a Thighmaster  for your head.

  • Editz

    Probably needs a drool cup.

    • voiceinthedistance

      Styled to look like a little wooden maple syrup collecting bucket.  
      Their website gets a gold star for making me less likely to buy their product than if I never saw the thing.

  • http://2012diaries.blogspot.com/ tristan eldritch

    If you could camouflage it with a scarf these things might be very useful for school-kids.  I remember when I was in school I used to have a double geography class with this guy who was so monumentally boring he was nick-named BLOCK.  I couldn’t keep my eyes open for that double class – and my head kept giving me away.  I used to have really heated exchanges with this guy because a) he was really angry at me for falling asleep, and b) I was really angry because you tend to be a bit testy after waking up.  If I had had one of those bad boys hidden under a scarf, I could have enjoyed some sweet, uninterrupted naps in that class.

    • http://dailygrail.com/ Red Pill Junkie

       Yeah but imagine if you learned the bus driver also bought one! o_0

  • http://twitter.com/adiwick Adi W

    Many airlines have seats like the ones in the attached picture: When resting your head against the centre of the headrest, there are wings’ that fold forward to about 45 degrees. They’re still a bit far apart to hold your head completely upright, but they do a fair job in a pinch.

    Pic credit: http://www.mscsoftware.com/

  • Guest

    Thanks, but my neck still does a pretty good job at that for free.

  • EggyToast

    I got a memory foam U-shaped pillow, and it does this for me. The memory foam is firm enough that my head doesn’t loll to the side, and it’s comfortable enough that I can sleep through entire flights. The back of the U is pretty firm, but I solved it when I found that the headrests on almost all airplane seats elevate — leaving a convenient, pillow-sized gap!

    About half the price, too. I got mine online for about $20.