Winterman

I am a snorer (a strong one). I am too embarrassed to sleep during my long haul. Any suggestions?

detouring

Maybe hand out ear plugs to your fellow passengers? Or at least warn them. I would go ahead and sleep.

Globaliser

I've had cabin crew take the **** at the end of flights, but I think I'm just too thick-skinned to get embarrassed any more. I use ear plugs so I can't hear myself doing it.

cejkwj

have you tried a snore guard? Ask your dentist. I had a patient and it improved his snoring quite a bit - did not eliminate it but it was better. Like a mouthguard but designed differently.

cejkwj

Gaucho100K

Try BreathRight strips from Vicks..... these do wonders - at least they work great for me.

stut

Another loud snorer here.

I also had an added danger. I'm a deep sleeper (3 alarm clocks sometimes fail) so waking me up can involve some rather intensive prodding or shaking. I seem to have an inbuilt reaction to respond to such perceived violence in kind. It's not the first time I've woken up, in a sleeping bag on a floor, to see a friend with a bloody nose glaring at me, and several shoes, cushions and other objects scattered around my head. And I'm not even remotely a violent person.

I'll be travelling in F for the first time this month. I think I'm probably going to have to warn the cabin crew...

Gaucho100K

Warn the crew if you like, but just make sure you are allowed to stay on the plane after you do so.....

wideman

I'm a serious snorer, but there are absolutely some ways to reduce the problem.

One of the very best way to minimize snoring is to stay hydrated. Dry cabin air contributes significantly to dehydration, and so does alcohol intake. You can't do much about the cabin air, but -- and you probably aren't going to like this -- you can avoid alcohol, or at least limit yourself to 1 glass of wine/champagne in the 2-3 hours before you snooze off. Be sure to leave yourself enough time after waking up to enjoy a few more glasses if you like. Equally important, drink loads and loads of water. If in business or first, ask the FA to leave a bottle of water, and be sure to drink from it often.

Finally, if you're a serious snorer you might well have sleep apnea (spelled with a few more vowels if you're European). CPAP machines can do a brilliant job of reducing snoring and giving you sounder sleep. In the past few years, much smaller models of these machines have become available, and it's now realistic to use some models on airplanes.

CVG's DL Hostage

I'm a serious snorer with obstructive sleep apnea, too. I use a CPAP machine, but I've yet to see one that I'd pull out and use on a flight. The compressors are getting smaller, but the hose and headgear really aren't, so mine is just my carryon (looking into getting a second one so I don't have to cart mine back and forth between my two homebases, so I've been looking at the newest models).

On longhauls, I take melatonin, avoid alcohol, and drink a bottle of water per hour. If I don't recline fully, it's not as bad a problem, either.

wideman

CVG's DL Hostage: A year or two ago I bought a terrific compact CPAP, the GoodKnight 420G from Puritan Bennett. It's about half the size and weight, maybe even less than that, of my at-home CPAP. (They may have an even more compact model by now.) The mask and hose are indeed an issue, but shorter-length hoses are also easily available. Though I don't use it on planes (even for long flights such as JFK or ORD to HKG), the savings in luggage space made it a great purchase.

Gardyloo

Looks pretty nice. How is it on the noise front? Plus I wonder if anyone has noodled together a skinnier hose (yeah I know the physics.) It's not the machine that hogs space, it's the pipes.

djjaguar64

Do you snore and fart at the same time while on the plane ? That will be a real noismelly situation.

wideman

It's very quiet, I'd say just slightly above the noise level of the main machine I use at home (a Sullivan R6 or something like that). My biggest complaint with the Puritan is that the On/Off is hard to find in the dark -- it's just about flush with the box (not raised, as on other systems).

The hose does take up space, but its flexibility at least gives you a few more packing options than the monolithic main unit.

Winterman

I am using CPAC (CFLEX) at home. It works good and it is compact enough to carry around. I hope one day the CPAC will look like the ipod, so it is almost cool to have sleep apnea. At the same time, more coffee please

CVG's DL Hostage

This smaller unit looks like a possibility. I lugged my REMStar to NYC this weekend and hated having a separate bag (I don't like the idea of checking it.).

Now if only the headgear could be downsized.