sleeping aids for long flights?
 

I'm flying from philly to lax, then lax to auckland next week...having flown on long flights before (atlanta to jo'burg) I know that I don't sleep very well on long flights. I don't think that I want to take sleeping pills though - is there anything 'milder' that I can take, that I could buy without a prescription?

There have been a couple threads on this in recent months with different suggestions, and certainly many opinions on prescription items such as Ambien, Sonata, etc. For shorter flights my doctor recommended 1-2 Benadryl. (I'm able to sleep like a log on any flight as long as it's not a redeye...go figure.) My last few redeyes I've taken 2 Benadryl (one didn't do much for me) and gotten a solid 5 hours of sleep each time which was perfect for the timing of those flights after meal service, etc. Hope that helps... As with everything else, YMMV and definitely try it out at home before you travel.

ah thats a good idea...i've taken that before for allergies, and it's made me quite sleepy...didnt even think about that...thanks

I should've added with the Benadryl I didn't get the "hangover effect" that many people mention with sleep aids, etc. (But again, YMMV...)

I have always had luck with 1-2 mg of melatonin. However, some people claim it does nothing for them, so try it at home first. I also find it very helpful in the new timezone to help me sleep and adjust to the new cycles there.

I second this recommendation, especially going eastbound.

Melatonin works for me
 

I agree with above posters. 2 mg melatonin provides just enough effect to sleep. I follow the NY times protocol for jet lag reduction..one dose the day before travel at bedtime of destination, one dose the day of travel, and one dose at bedtime after arrival. Works great.

I wholeheartedly endorse Tylenol PM. It's useful for long flights, but I also take it preemptively before going to bed on the first couple nights of a time change, and avoid the 3-am-wakeup can't go back to sleep phenomenon.

I usually take one in normal circumstances (recommended dose is 1-2). Two if it's raging insomnia.

I take a Tylenol PM

ATL-FCO, and I just woke up before they served breakfast, almost ready to land ;)

Promethazine hydrochloride, 20 mg. Sold in the UK as Sominex, over the counter (also the same stuff appears in Night Nurse). But I think it needs a prescription in the US. Good stuff, though.

You mean - there are actually medicines that need a prescription in the US but not the UK???

I thought it was usually the other way round...

I swear by Valerian to help me sleep - especially the extra strong formula that you can get in Germany.

alcohol - Air NZ has some great wines :)

ambien simply the best

sorry, the best thing without a prescription.....

Jack Daniels

"I'm Jack Daniels, and I approved this ad. "

Who are you trying to kid, by the 10th glass you can't tell the difference ;)

Not available in Canada :( We have to settle for Imovane, almost as good but leaves a metal taste in your mouth.

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.

I particulary like long night flights, since the "joy" of flying has long past. If I can sleep the flight/night away, that's my idea of a "perfect" flight.

John

I wish I were so lucky. Benadryl/Tylenol PM knocks me out but then it seems to take hours after I wake until I'm clear-headed. (Or at least as clear-headed as I ever am. :D )

Don't spend much time in Coach, do you Globaliser? ;) Yes, I understand your point that state of mind has a lot to do with it- but it's hard to feel serene when you can't stretch your legs out, the seat "cushion" is about as thick as a bedsheet and the air is bone-dry. Under those circumstances, the right chemicals are very helpful.

I would also appreciate some info on where one can buy Ambien without a prescription so I can make sure to pick it up my future itineraries include the right country. Alternatively, any recommendations on hasslefree online shopping?

Ambien (and Xanax) is great, taken with a VERY LITTLE alcohol seems to increase its ability, a Baileys, something like that for me. It works with no after affect for me. Something in the back of my mind nags that in some way or another this stuff (even the Ambien) has to be addictive so I am really careful and only use it on o'night flights. I would think most reasonable Dr's would prescribe a small amount for any healthy patient for this purpose.

Its available in Mexico w.o. prescription. I don't buy it there, but it is.

I'm in a bit of a quandry about when to take any sleep aid for an upcoming trip. I don't sleep well on planes either, but we'll be travelling in first class all the way.

Here's our schedule and I'd like to ask when would be the best time/flight to take a sleep aid:
LAX-MIA 6:45am-2:27pm
MIA-LHR 5:30pm-7:00am next day
LHR-NBO 10:10am-9:20pm

I wouldn't take it on the LAX-MIA flight, and might probably sleep for an hour anyway due to having to get up extra early. It seems as though the MIA-LHR flight would warrant taking a sleep aid, but it'll only be 2:30pm my body-clock time when the plane takes off. I would take it on the LHR-NBO portion, but we arrive at 9:20pm, so then I might not be able to sleep when it's bedtime in Nairobi. Or, not take it at all on any of the flights and take it once we get checked in to the Hilton Nairobi. You see my qandry? What would you do?

OK, guys....Hasn't anyone tried the "1st Class Sleeper"?... the compact, inflatable "bed in the clouds"? I've debated about trying it, but haven't seen any recommendations on here. If it's been discussed, please post the link...

If it were my itinerary I'd take one on the MIA-LHR leg because it's an overnight and morning in London is also (roughly) morning in Nairobi, so you're easing into Nairobi time. I'd try and stay awake on the flight to Nairobi so that I'd be tired enough to sleep on arrival, consistent with local time. If I woke up 3 hours after going to bed in Nairobi I might take another one if I had to be functioning at my job the next day- if I were on vacation I'd just read for awhile and hope to get back to sleep. This is similar to a trip I took to India in February although I stayed overnight in London both ways, which helped coniderably.

But after taking Ambien 2 nights in a row I'd stop and just try to let my body deal with it.

I know this is a sleep aids thread, yet regarding jet lag and sleep aids:
I read on FT that for each hourly time-zone change, it takes one day to recover.
So SFO-AMS is nine hours difference, hence nine days to recover ?
Will sleep aids shorten recovery time ?
Do melatonin and alcohol mix ?

I know that one day, one time zone is the general rule- but for me it doesn't seem to take quite that long, especially going from East to West. Maybe 3 days going from Central time zone to Europe, 2 days going back for most of the effects to abate.