How to sleep on a flight. Any tips?
 

I have been in most of the seats, economy, PE, Biz and First, but I can never sleep properly. Even after 2 sparkling Chardonay's, Three red wines, a glass of malt and two Tylonol PM's, I still spend the flight tossing, turning and just trying to keep my eyes closed.
Any tips?

Actually, I suggest you try not drinking at all- usually leads to better sleep on the plane.

Ambien saved my life.

You can a mild dosage on prescription from your GP - just say it is for long-haul travel. It is marketed as Stilnocht in the UK.

Meantime, I'm moving this thread to TravelBuzz as it has nothing to do with bmi or Diamond Club.

Xanax. Works every time, good for 3-4 hours sleep per 1mg tablet.

Alcohol is generally bad for sleep (mostly due to the dehydration), and ambien can have nasty side effects. You may have to face it - some people just can't sleep on a plane.

Or take Nyquil, the "nighttime sniffing, sneezing, coughing, aching, how the hell did I end up on the kitchen floor?" medicine. (Apologies to Louie Anderson.)

My sleep proceedure
 

No Diet Cokes or coffee within 4 hours of travel.
Piddle as soon as I board.
Ambien -Not the controlled release even for Transatlantics.
Window seat to lean against picking the side you want to rest on. I'm always on the starboard side window if sleeping and aisle if awake.
And I like a folded up blanket as lumbas support.

Sweet Dreams

This works for me:

A couple or three vodka drinks (good vodka is pure alcohol and water -- no impurities to give me a headache).

Bose QC2 headphones (eliminating the whoosh and roar of the plane is helpful)

iPod with familiar music (the familiar music is the key -- it will lull me to sleep)

I highly recommend that you avoid Ambien (or anything else with Zolpidem in it). Commonly and regularly reported side effects include amnesia, hallucinations, and nightmares. I'm sure it works great for some people, but there are a lot more downsides and potential side effects than other options.

For a cheaper, safer, equally effective solution, take Diphenhydramine (Benadryl / Sominex / anything generic that contains it). Also, avoid alcohol and caffeine and bring earplugs, and eyemask, and a neck pillow! Works for me everytime. :)

peace,
~Ben~

Wrong Buzz.

Ambien is good if you avoid the time release. I tend to fall asleep with those, but wake back up after 15-20 min later. I guess you just need to test it out to see what dose is right for you. To me, it seems like a better idea to go to a doctor and see what they think as opposed to just taking over the counter stuff and mixing it with a little booze.

Melatonin
 

Avoid all sources of caffeine (coffee, soda, chocolate) for at least 4 hours before the flight. Take melatonin just before the flight or soon after you board. You will sleep like a baby.

Sometimes melatonin comes mixed with other herbs to increase it's effectiveness.

And for an added benefit, it is great for helping you get over jetlag.

I would not recommend taking this unless you want to sleep at least 6 hours. Anything less than that and you will probably feel groggy when you wake up.

Another vote for Xanax. I use it every time I fly international - 1 mg. for 6-7 hours of great sleep. Tried the booze thing, but that seems to interfere w/ sleep; tried the tylenol PM thing, not enough for moi. Valium left me a little whacked out after waking up, seems Xanax exits the blood stream a little faster, I kinda view it as a 'second generation' benzodiazepine. Ambien does absolutely nothing for me, nor does melatonin. Everyone's body chemistry is a little different, so you may have to do a trial and error thing for awhile to see what works...recommend doing this at home and starting with over the counter meds first.

Xanax here too, I don't want to get drunk on a plane so I usually have one or two drinks, and tylenol PM also doesn't have enough kick for me. I use it for routes like SFO-FRA, MUC-SFO, etc. Works great and like others have said, make sure you have ear plugs or headphones and an eye mask.

take 5mg ambien 5 hours before you want to wake up

Try getting tired before the flight. I spend more nights on a plane than most people and simple tiredness is what works best for me.