[DubaiSis]

Socks are your friend and alcohol is not. A flight attendant told me one time she drinks a liter of water for every hour in flight. That is a LOT of water, particularly when you want to sleep as much as possible. Just use that as a guideline to drink a lot more water than you think necessary, and that means not waiting for the flight attendants to come around. Get up and go to the galley for water at least every hour you're awake. Besides, it's an excuse to get out of your chair. And notice I did not say soda, tea, coffee, wine, beer or anything else that is not WATER.

And regardless of what anyone says, if you're flying economy, they ALL suck. Going in with low expectations for comfort, customer service, food, etc. will go a long way toward making the flight tolerable.

SigKapSweetie is exactly on point. The flight to England isn't too bad. It's basically the same time from New York to London as from LA to New York. So yes, it sucks, but one of these days you'll be flying WAY further. I wouldn't take a sleeping pill for that length (unless you are on a flight that is at least 8 hours long), but you definitely want to do everything you can to get into relax mode ASAP once on board. Noise cancelling headphones (that technology is completely beyond my comprehension) are invaluable. They're expensive so maybe you have a friend from which you can borrow. In lieu of that, get ear plugs.

If you can at all afford it, try to get the Premium Economy, Economy Plus, whatever your airline calls them. There are several reasons beyond just the additional legroom and recline, like there usually aren't kids in those seats and the air is better in the front of the plane instead of the back. Same with exit row. Bulkhead (the front row) is a bad choice for lots of reasons on a long flight.

OK, one last thing. As soon as you sit down, turn off the fan. All those do is force the bacteria into your face faster. And take lots of deep breaths. Part of the reason people feel bad after they get off a flight is because they have been denied sufficient oxygen.