Is this goofy travel pillow the secret to sleeping on a plane?

It doesn't matter how exhausted you are when you board a plane, how mercifully quiet the cabin might be or how perfectly you've inflated your neck pillow. It's almost impossible to sleep during a flight. If you're in economy, you have no chance, not when you've crumpled yourself into a seat the size of a child's highchair and you're trying to figure out what to do with your head. Airplane pillows are more or less worthless, the polarfleece thing you bought at Hudson News is comfortable for about three minutes and there's no way you're putting your head on that tray table. That's where the SkyDreamer might come in.

Outlier Inspired, the inventor of the SkyDreamer travel pillow, says that it has been "ergonomically designed for your best flight's sleep," and maybe that's true. The pillow itself looks like a giant cartoon bow tie, and has been created to support your head without letting it pitch forward and wake you up. It's an interesting looking solution to sitting sleeping almost upright, which most of us do in coach, where the seats recline a generous quarter-inch (or at least that's how it feels). On the SkyDreamer product page, Outlier Inspired wrote:

"Imagine being able to fall into a deep sleep while traveling without having your head fly forward and jolting you back into consciousness! There was a time when dreaming in flight and waking refreshed was the norm; when gravity only pulled our heads to one side while we slept in transport to our destinations. Today, with less room to recline, gravity now pulls our heads forward, making it virtually impossible to have a restful sleep."

The SkyDreamer is made from crinkled taffeta (yes, just like your junior prom dress) but the side that goes against your skin is covered with soft microsuede. The 11.5-inch long pillow fastens right under your chin, making it easy to un-Dream yourself when your meal arrives or when it's time to place that seat in its upright position.

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SkyDreamer is currently raising funds on Kickstarter. With 24 days left in its campaign (at the time of this writing) it has already raised almost $20,000, nearly doubling its $10,100 goal. Some of the earlybird deals have already sold out, so SkyDreamer currently costs $49, or you can get two for a pledge of $80 or more. The pillows are scheduled to ship in July, so until then, I guess you're stuck trying to balance your head on a JetComfy.