I have a confession to make; I low-key love long-haul flights... From taking joy in blissfully disassociating to the perverse joy I get from squatting in my own squalor, here are all the reasons why.

1. It's an excuse to be your absolute worst self

I don't know if it's the fact that you are herded like cattle, or the fact that you are chided like children ("put your seat belt on, take your headphones off for the safety demonstration, put your window shade up") but for whatever reason, at 40,000 feet, an adversarial relationship often develops between airlines and passengers. Because of this "them" and "us" dynamic, when flying, I often feel weirdly justified in wrapping myself up in a blanket and acting like a child.

This means I feel a strange lack of shame in being my absolute worst, most self indulgent self. Though you might call me a terrible human, I say you should join me: it's a much needed mental break from being a switched on Good Citizen - something you're expected to be 100 per cent of the time on the ground. So kick those shoes off (just remember to keep your socks on), rest your head on your neighbour's shoulder, aggressively wrestle dominion over that armrest and hit that call button to ask for an extra KitKat...

2. You don't feel guilty about being lazy

You might have mountains of emails in your inbox, three pressing "items to action" on your to do list, and three pairs of jeans that you've been meaning to get hemmed for about three months, but when you're up in the air, none of this matters, and you don't feel bad at all about binging some guilty pleasure TV show or movie, listening to your favourite podcasts, and being your most unproductive, re-charge all stations, self. 

3. No one can contact you 

Ah, bliss. Going on flight mode, catch you on the other side. Let's just hope airlines continue to drag their feet with the roll out of in flight Wi-Fi (or continue to make it so slow as to be unusable) and we'll be able to enjoy this benefit for the years to come. 

4. There's a sense of camaraderie 

It's rare to get the sense of camaraderie that you do when you're flying. Whether it's unruly passengers going on drunken tirades (and the whole plane cheering them off when they get forcibly removed) or whether it's that look you share with your seatmates when the pilot comes on the loudspeaker to inform you that there's an engine issue so the plane will be returning to the gate, this is something you don't often get in day to day life. 

5. It's you against the world

In the case that you don't feel a sense of solidarity with your neighbours, you can revel in a persecution complex, and take this chance to feel sorry for yourself, your woes, and your lack of knee room, thus somehow making yourself feel better about it all. You can also completely zone out from everything: just chuck on an eye mask and ear plugs, and all the annoyances around you cease to exist.

6. It's an eye open meditation

It's a chance to let your imagination run wild. From imagining yourself reacting heroically to hypothetical situations to obsessing over past cringe moments, this is the perfect chance to let your brain run wild, so that it's tired out, and leaves you in peace when you land. Especially if you're someone who constantly likes to distract yourself from your own thoughts when you're at home by being busy, this is a good chance to be forced to be alone with yourself (especially if your headphone batteries die, and you don't like the in flight entertainment). 

7. It's a good chance to read

Planes have two states when it comes to reading: eye piercingly bright, and too dark. But if you are on a long flight there will usually be a moment in there somewhere where you can get a bit of page turning in. 

8. The food is rarely disappointing

Mainly because your expectations are already so low. But hey: a win's a win. Plus, you don't feel bad about pigging out, because there is literally nothing else to do. Oh and as a bonus: the drinks hit different. Literally. This is because your taste buds perceive food and drink differently at 40,000ft, meaning things that are normally too strong on the ground actually taste ok. So opt for the ginger beer and a Bloody Mary: you can thank us for the tip later.