Ambien
 

I am a poor airplane sleeper and will be flying EWR to DUB. Flight time is 6 hr 15 mn and I assume that is gate to gate. Even with an Express dinner in business class, my guess is from pill pop to wake up would be at best a little over 4 hours. Is that too short of a time to take an ambien? I assume after wake-up I'll have at least an hour before deplaning so total time to get the pill out of my system will exceed 5 hours. I do not want to be impaired when I arrive.

Other than ambien, any suggestions. I've used it with good results on 8 hour and longer flights but never on one this short.

Do it!

You should search on Ambien because it's been discussed here before, but my husband and I- neither of us into pill-taking in general- always take it on transatlantic flights. Yes, 4 hours of sleep is nice, especially if it's in place of zero (which happened to us a lot). I've never felt "hung over" on arrival. One piece of advice I've read is to take it only after you're sure the plane has on its way- you don't want to take it, zone out and then have to go back to the terminal.

I also took one a couple of days into a business trip in Munich when I woke up at 1 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. Now, if we're going to Europe, we don't leave home without it.

The manufacturer of Ambien explicitly counsels against its use on flights shorter than seven hours:
If you feel comfortable taking Ambien anyway, make sure that the dosage is only 5 mg (rather than 10 mg), and that you skip the meal -- express or not -- and take the pill immediately after wheels up (which is good advice, no matter what sleeping pill you are taking on a East Coast transatlantic flight).

I would recommend an alternative sleeping pill for this fairly short flight: Sonata. It's life is considerably shorter than Ambien -- about four hours -- so it will be safe for your short transatlantic hop. The 10 mg dosage is probably right. I have used Sonata on several occasions -- mostly on the short transpacific flights from Hawaii to California -- with good success although Ambien is my primary sleeping aid of choice for redeye travel. I think you will find Sonata will be best for your flight. As I mentioned before, to improve your sleep and your chances of waking up in DUB refreshed, skip the meal and take the pill right after wheels up. I'd also recommend an eye mask and ear plugs and/or noise canceling headphones. Sleep well!

Others will agree - it is best to try before the flight at home to see how you react to it. I typically sleep six hours on a plane with it and would not try it for a shorter duration. Some people may sleep longer as it will take longer to wear off.

Before Ambien I was a fan of benadryl.

cejkwj

Agree with the above advice - on flights to Europe/UK from East Coast or ORD, I eat dinner before the flight and pop the Ambien along with the first drinks service after takeoff (to be reasonably sure the flight is going to the destination). Any overnight trip under 8 hours scheduled flying time does not (IMHO) allow sufficient time both to eat a meal on board and get decent sleep.

Ambien, Other Pills?
 

I find that Ambien helps me sleep, but does not keep me asleep long enough. E.g. I can wake up in 4 hours after taking it. Can anyone recommend anything else? Xanax will also produce sort of a feeling of well being but not necessarily sleep. I find Xanax works pretty good also for a hangover.

I second the Sonata recommendation for trans-Atlantic flights. I have used it on those and found that I can get 4-5 good hours of sleep, which is about right for the post-dinner to pre-breakfast period the flight gives you. And I have not found myself groggy after. I have never used Ambien to compare.

Regardless of which sleeping pill you take, it is better to skip dinner on board for at least two reasons. Number one, the pill itself is more effective on an empty stomach. Second, by the time you eat your meal you will have lost, at a minimum, one to 1.5 valuable hours of sleep. Especially on an eastbound flight, it is also advisable to eat dinner before the flight anyway because of the corresponding dinner time in your destination time zone. So grab some food in the terminal or at some time prior to your longhaul flight and use the flight to get as much shuteye as possible.

Sleeping pills and Provigil
 

Actually Ambien lasts longer than Sonata....Sonata is very short acting. Puts you to sleep but might not keep you sleeping.
Ambien should be preferable to benadryl, because you will have more of a "hangover" with the benadryl and Ambien should be fine for a 4 - 5 hour sleep. You should wake up without trouble.

Also for people going long distances, you might want to ask about Provigil. It is a new drug, actually developed for narcolepsy but being used by the military for fighter pilots etc. to fight jet lag without lack of performance. It keeps you awake, but not "speedy". And when you want to fall asleep, you fall asleep. My husband (a physician) and I tried it with our trip last month to Asia (12 hour difference) and we didn't miss a beat. We took Ambien on the flight, Provigil when we got there and didn't miss a beat from jet lag. It was amazing.

I have been using Temazepam for some years and swear by it. I usually take two tablets (10 mg per tablet) for 7-8 hours of sleep, and one tablet for 4 hours of sleep. No drowsiness or "hang-over" at the end. It takes 30 mins to kick in.

A friend who's an anxious flyer took Xanax on a flight to visit family. She said she felt no effects at all other than not being the least bit anxious. Made me want to get some for everyday life!

I carry both Ambien (Stilnoct, as it's called in Europe) and Sonata in my travel kit, and typically use Sonata for flights of six hours or less (east coast transatlantics).

I generally find that Ambien is slightly quicker acting, and is more effective at keeping me asleep, but Sonata does the trick for shorter flights without a hangover.

Having been the victim of amensia while taking Ambien on a short flight, I can assure you it is a scary experience I would not want to repeat. These days, I'm very very careful about what I take and how much sleep I'll be able to get.

Here is one of those former threads:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...=292534&page=1


Hope this helps,

Mark

Maybe I have a strong rxn to these pills but....
 

....both Ambien and Sonata put me to sleep and kept me asleep...AND made it hard for me wake up. I definately felt the 'sleep hangover' the next day.

I recommend testing how your body reacts to these pills before you try popping them on a flight.

On a homeopathic note I use Sleepytime tea (mainly chamomile). On a non-homeopathic note I've also used Benadryl.

The stuff is highly addictive if taken on a regular basis :(