Deleted

There are three aspects to a long-haul flight:

1. Sleeping. For sleeping, bring your own stuffable pillow (I take a Thermarest down pillow), blanket (Thermarest makes a good blanket which stuffs into a very small space) and eyeshades. Some say ambien is important - I don't use it. But I do an aspirin occasionally as prevention of blood clots.

2. Entertainment. The entertainment systems are unreliable and it's better to have control over what you do. A DVD Player with a number of films and noise-reduction headsets works well as does a book or two. I'll often take a foreign language book and work on it.

3. Contingency Planning. Flights can be late and luggage lost. I try to make absolutely sure I will be ok for up to 24 hours with clothing and the like when I arrive even if the airline messes up everything. I also will sometimes slip a small foldable backpack into my wheelie-bag in case I am forced to check at the gate. But sometimes I don't even use the wheelie. It depends.

And as an added benifit of doing so you will avoid pesky upgrades;)

OP, just as important for your mental well being is how do you feel after you land.

If there is an arrivals lounge at your destination, a shower will make you feel like a million dollars, before taxes.

If you have no status, I very much doubt you'll get an upgrade anyway. You're better off doing everything you can to make the flight comfortable whilst resigning yourself to the fact you'll be staying in economy.

I like to have my meal first, then once I have eaten and everyone else is still chowing down I lift up my tray and tray table carefully (always get an aisle seat partly for this reason), and head straight to the bathroom beating the post-dinner queues, then I'm ready for my nap :D

Couldn't agree more .. after having done HNL-LAX-LHR in one hit once the showers at the AA arrivals lounge are wonderful.