DallasBill, thanks for the melatonin link.
It also has a good link inside it for "Sleep and the Traveler" ,full of info.
Worth reading.

I'm in the Benadryl camp too. Avoid Tylenol PM (acetaminophen + Benadryl) if you consume any alcohol.

I usually potentiate the Benadryl effect with champagne, and only consume a small amount of food. On UA, some overnight international flights have a "all at once" single tray dinner option, which I request to be served as soon as possible (with some more champagne ...). After I pick at the food, I take a couple Benydryl tablets, and usually get about 6 hours of decent sleep with no after effects.

John

Some excellent ideas above that I'd never thought of. I never wanted to resort to Ambien, so Tylenol PM will be the way to go for me. In the past three years of heavy red-eye flying, I've never got a good nights rest on any of them. Hopefully things will change!

aloha

I also like Benadryl - diphenhydramine - its the same as in Tylenol PM. The amounts may vary - read the label.

cejkwj

Be sure to check out:

http://www.flyertalk.com/transcripts/093004.html

I realize that one shouldn't consume alcohol with tylonal. How about excedrin? I always drink a couple glasses of wine on board, and need something that I can take with alcohol to help me sleep. Is there any sleeping pill that is safe with alcohol? Typically I just stay awake the whole flight.

I noticed there was a product next to Tylenol PM in the store called Sleep Aid (i think) from the makers of Tylenol PM. The same stuff, without the Tylenol.

Ambien is OK with alcohol- my husband and I have used it on multiple trips with moderate alcohol. (Yes, I know alcohol dehydrates you and makes jet lag worse. We like to live dangerously. ;) )

Benadryl (diphenhydramine) is the stuff that adds the PM to the tylenol. If you do not want the tylenol all you need is Benadryl.

Also if you read the label of some of the OTC sleep aids you will notice they are diphenhydramine also. Benadryl is esier to type and say.

Also important to note - some poeple have the opposite reaction to Benadryl. It keeps them up rather than making them sleepy. My father is one of those people. Probably good to take it at home before your flight and see how you do.

cejkwj

Over the counter sleep aids in the U.S. are almost all antihistamines containing diphenhydramine or variants but with different trade names. If you're one of most people whom they make sleepy without side effects, great, but they will also dry up your nasal mucosa, last a long time (e.g., possible sleep hangovoer) and in some cases cause nightmares (in other cases, as described above, they agitate rather than sedate). They are still "drugs" -- just a different class of drugs.

The advantage of ambien (generic zolpidem, which is by prescription and not over the counter here) is it has a very short half-life and does not cause the above side effects. You don't need to take a huge dose, e.g., 2.5mg does it for most normal-mass people not used to taking it, and if you happen to wake up again 3 hours later when it is wearing off, you can take another 2.5 and not risk being sleepy when you land a few hours later. It arguably is safer and more efficient at getting the job done of inducing restful sleep without major side effects than all the over the counter products. Doctors even use it safely in frail 80-yr-olds because benadryl and similar agents have so many side effects.

Talk to your primary care doctor.

My choice on overnight flights: a glass or two of wine with dinner, then 2.5 mg ambien, and I'll wake fairly well-rested on arrival (oh, btw, I also wear my BOSE headphone piping in new age go-to-sleep music off my mini-POD :)

So, the consensus on this thread, and others, is that Ambien is the best sleeping pill for long flights, and although it may not be recommended by the manufacturer, it is okay to take with alcohol. Right?

Does anyone know if Stilnox (Ambien) in France is by prescription only? I'd rather not go back to my doc, as I was just there.

Well, there is a problem with Excedrin... The primary ingredients are acetaminophin (aka TYLENOL), aspirin, and CAFFINE. So you shouldn't take the acetaminophon with alcohol and you shouldn't take the caffine if you want to sleep!

Edited to add: Excedrin PM has acetaminophon, also.

As a physician, I will echo ermdjdsj's comment -- first TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. You might be taking another med or have a medical condition that makes even the 'safe' OTC drugs dangerous.

For OTC meds, your choices boil down to
Benedryl/diphenydramine (get the generic, the extra $$ is not worth it) -- however, the paradoxical effect of revving you up, that cejkwj mentioned is true.
Chor-Trimeton/chlorpheniramine may also work
Dramamine/dimenhydrinate, usually used for motion sickness, also makes people drowsy
Melantonin -- max dose of 3 mg may work

For US prescription meds, the best choices are
Ambien, Sonata -- be aware these should be used for short-term use only, as there is a possible for dependency if taken for an extended time (to be safe, not beyond 7-10 days)

Whatever you choose, try it out before you travel, to be sure you get the intended effect and it neither lasts too long (hangover effect) or too short. Although many people swear by Ambien and Sonata, there are some people for whom they do not work (like myself, I get too zonked by Ambien).

Remember also that although medications may help with sleep, there are other essentials:

Good quality, comfortable ear plugs.
Eyeshades if you need them.
Comfortable, loose-fitting clothes.
Neck/Head support - I often pack a small stuffable pillow (Thermarest), and a zippered pillowcase cover. Especially in Y, and even in C, stuffing the airline pillow and the travel pillow into the pillowcase cover makes a decent headrest.

John

That's a very good point. In fact, I'd reckon that the number one essential is actually that you should feel psychologically comfortable with being on the aircraft, in the space that you have allocated to you. You should literally be able to feel "at home", with the flight being nothing more than yet another night in the most familiar environment on earth. If you can manage that, sleep comes very easily.

It is, however, a mindset which (deliberately) takes all the excitement out of the process of air travel - and that may go against the grain for many FT'ers.