Can't Sleep on planes: Help please!
 

Hello everyone. I'm a newbie here, but i was checking out the site and I'm impressed with how friendly and helpful everyone is here, so hopefully you can help me out...

A little background: I have to create an "invention" for a class I'm taking, and I wanted to come up with something based on a problem that i have: I can't sleep on airplanes no matter how hard I try because of the noise around me. I've tried earplugs, and they are just too uncomfortable. I've tried those new noise cancelling headphones, and I start banging the hard plastic sides against the window.

So I was curious to see what other people do, and what they like or don't like about the products they use. So a few questions I'd love to get answered are below to help spur your thoughts. Thanks in advance!!!

-How often do you travel and how long are the legs of your flights?
-Do you have a hard time sleeping, and if so, what is the major problem (noise, light, temperature, comfort)?
-What type of products do you use, and what do you like/dislike about them?
-Have you tried the noise cancelling headphones? What did you like/dislike about them?
-If you could modify or create a new product to help you sleep, what would you want it to do?

Thanks again everyone!
Mark

While not quite the answer you're looking for, I too have a problem sleeping on planes, but my issue is not noise, it's sort of paranoia.

Let me explain.

I fear sleeping with my mouth open, with drool running down and just looking like some kind of alien in public. I also worry about "something" flying into or being placed in my mouth while sleeping (Think college pranks).
On top of that, light and movement around me is bothersome. Noise is not an issue, because I can't stand the sound of silence (yeah, I know) and I sleep with a radio on anyway. I don't like eye masks because I don't like the feeling or pressure on my face from them.

Need to invent some kind of breathable bag that covers your entire head, blacking out the surroundings while keeping your face area, safe and private.

I have exactly the same problem as EngIceDave. I am totally paranoid, I'm going to fall over onto the shoulder of my stranger seatmate with my mouth open, snoring and drooling. There is a neck collar that goes completely around the neck that is supposed to help with this but it looks so uncomfortable. It's called the Komfort Kollar. I just purchased a First Class Sleeper cushion that gets mixed reviews but I'm going to try it out on my next TA trip.

I don't know about wearing a bag over my head, however...

I forgot to note that I use noise isolating earphones. I wear earplugs regularly and have no problem with them. It really depends on the tips you use. There are many different tips that are very comfortable. There are also earphones that have active noise canceling. Noise canceling alone doesn't do it for me because while it deadens the airplane drone, it amplifies conversation and other noises, to me at least.

I also cannot sleep on airplanes, but not because of paranoia or drooling - lol. The fact is, I just cannot sleep sitting up. I have to be horizontal. I know of no product that will fix that short of paying for a first class ticket on a flight with lie-flat seats (and that is very, very rarely an option for me.) If anyone can come up with a viable solution, I would be grateful.

I take one 10mg Temazepam tablet on long haul flights just after the meal service. (It is a prescription sedative medication and I only use it on overnight flights)

It works wonders - I dont go into a deep sleep but certainly sleep quite well and I find the jet lag is also reduced.

Last summer on an 8 hour overnight flight from ATL to EDI, I took a 10mg Ambien I got from my doctor with dinner and fell asleep pretty fast. I was using soft foam earplugs. I have found that the smaller bright yellow plugs available in the gun shops or sporting goods section of the local Wal Mart are very comfortable, and reduce the sound level by about 30 decibels. I was in the window seat, and was able to put my pillow up against the window and lean into that.

It was the first time I had been able to sleep on a plane in 41 years.

I basically can't sleep on planes but it's not something easy to fix. My problem is that I pretty much can't sleep on my back, period. Since there's normally no other possible position on an airplane I normally get no sleep.

The noise is the main problem for me.... so I use the same earplugs that I use for competitive shooting... they are made by injection molding and are thus a perfect fit in the ear canal..... (of course they have to be replaced every so often as the aging process causes the ear canal to change shape)

They cut out virtually ALL outside noise... and yet (to me) are comfortable enough to wear for hours at a time....

Add to that a great little product called "Restavit" (a non prescription sleep aid) ... and (sometimes) an eyemask and I can generally get some sleep....

These earplugs are available from audiologists.. but you'll pay a huge premium that way... get them from someone who does them for gun clubs as a "sideline"! ;)

I have a terrible time falling asleep - I have to be exhausted. I have not yet tried prescription sleep aids.

When I have to sleep - red-eyes, or very long flights - I use a blanket, a neck pillow, eye mask, and a glass of wine or 2. I use noise reducing headphones - not the huge ones, I have earbuds - and listen to relaxing music. This usually works, at least for a little while.

I use 10 mg Ambien, ear plugs, and eyeshades. Usually good for 6 to 7 hours of sleep.

A seat mate of mine used Ambien. FIve hours in he got up from his seat and did something rather embarassing and had to be lead back to his seat. Some people react strangley to that drug. If the flight is at night and 8+ hours I take two Tylenol PM about 2 hrs prior to takeoff and don;t eat anything on the plane.

My shooting earphones are electronic and amplify small noises and cut out loud ones. Instead I use the Bose headphones turned on but nt plugged in to anything.

Invention sugestion: eye shades that aren't so annoying!

Sleeping
 

I could never sleep on long flights until I tried Dramamine. One pill at dinner and at least 6 if not more hours of sleep for me. Hooray!

After years of practice I can really sleep on planes. I have to be wearing comfortable clothing and be the right temperature. Thanks to wise folks here on FT I now fly wearing IceBreaker wool clothing (in all seasons). I am so much more rested!

Noise doesn't bother me, but I need good eye shades. I pay plenty for good ones.

I also prefer to wear a hoodie so that I can keep my head warm.

How about inventing a hoodie with eye shades?

I bring a change of clothes, loose fitting sweats, have a glass of red wine, noise canceling head phones, eye shade, my own little down pillow, and now I take a Rozerem 8mg. when dinner is served and when finished I am drifting off and have a delightful sleep. I used to take Ambien but left me with a bit of a hangover which Rozerem does not.

Sam

Every one is an individual so solutions that we use don´t work for all.
In my case I use Midazolam (sold as Dormicum here in Argentina) 7,5mg or 15mg depending on the lenght of the flight.
All my flights are more than 10 hours.
I think Midazolam is the wonder drug, I could never sleep before.
Now things are much better.^

My problem is that I'm 6'4" and most airplane seats only come to my shoulders so there is no where for my head. And I can't slide down far enough because there's no where for my legs.

If I'm in first class, a bulk head row, or an exit row, then I generally have no problem at all because I can slide down far enough in my seat to lean my head back against the seat. But in a coach seat, forget it. Can't sleep without severe discomfort in my neck.

The one notable exception is if I'm on a CRJ900. They have adjustable headrests that slide up and just a smidge of extra legroom. Barely detectable but it's there. The headrests plus the legroom allows me to slide down enough to lean my head on the headrest, and I can fall asleep.

Jason

I'm a firm believer in Ambien. Unfortunately I don't have any for my 13 hour flight to SVO tomorrow, so I'm thinking I'll pop a couple of Flexeril I have laying around. Might keep my back from hurting in the process. The biggest thing that keeps me from sleeping for long is turbulence. I'm a shift worker, so I sleep very lightly to begin with. Even with earplugs, eye mask, and being doped up on one medication or another, the slightest turbulence brings me bolt upright.

I take the sleeping pills that my doctor prescribes. I swallow them when I'm
waiting for my flight in the airline lounge. Once airborn, I fall asleep like a
baby and dont' wake up until 8 hours later. 8 hours of pure sleep is golden
on the 14-hour nonstop flights that I take every month.

(although once a flight attendant freaked out because she couldn't wake
me up for breakfast somewhere over the Pacific Ocean)

Same for me - short of getting a lie-flat seat, I am doomed. When, of when, is UA going to upgrade their trans-pacific 747 C-class!:mad:

In the good old days when there were a lot more flights and empty seats, it was better for me to be in economy, where I often found an entire middle seat bank that I could collapse in. Of course, I have not seen this empty seat plane in the last 6 or so years...

I have the same problem. And barring flying F with flat beds there is not much of a solution. I can sleep for a 2-3 hours at a time but then generally wake up, even with taking sleeping aides, having a few drinks (probably not the best combination) and using the small and nasty pillows and blankets the best that I can to make myself comfortable. I am not that big of a person, about 140 pounds, so I try to make by seat area a little cocoon, however, that is not always practical when a 300 pound troll is spilling over into your seat (the joys of flying in Y:().)

When flying International, I just accept that the first day I will be a total waste case and therefore plan nothing accordingly.

markum9 welcome to flyertalk.^:):-:

I have only flown twice once from Birmingham Al. to Okinawa Japan and then from Bir. to Las Vegas. The Japan trip with time of lay overs was a total of 23 hrs. I took Ambien and used wax ear plugs which are much more comfortable then the others. I slept for 8 hours on the longest leg of the flight with using both of these. I don't like to use the eye masks or noise reducing headphones.

Because I am disabled I usually set in the economy plus area which gives me more room. I have my left leg amputated and my prosthesis does not allow me to pull my leg out of other peoples way when they need to get up. For this reason I sit on an aisle seat to make it easier to get up but it also makes me have to get up a lot.

On my trip to Las Vegas it was only 3.5 hrs. so I did not sleep but because I sat in the first row I had plenty of leg room. (SW).

I hope this forum is what you need for your class.

I am always looking, that I don't sleep too much the night before on a night flight, so that I am really tired and then I can sleep on the plane.

Wirelessly posted (Opera/9.51 Beta (Microsoft Windows; PPC; Opera Mobi/1718; U; en))

If I am lying flat, I can fall aslep pretty fast. However, since I'm flying on my own dime, I'm stuck in Y.

I need it to be cool for me to be comfy.

I tried noise-cancelling headphones on some of my dozen or so redeyes last year and decided not to use them for a few reasons.

First-- you can't lean on anything comfortably.
Second-- they're very bulky and take up too much space in my bag and I like to travel light.

Earplugs are great, but I sometimes have ear problems and can only put them on at cruising altitude.

Eye shades help if they are comfy, most airlines' aren't.

I wish there was something that could fix my head in place in a Y seat.

For some reason, I *loathe* sleeping in a position where me feet aren't level with at least some part of my body. When flying in Y my preferred solution on long-haul flights is to ask the GA for a seat with no neighbour, but when that's not possible or when it's a short, full flight and I still want to get a bit of rest I either: a) make kind of a blanket sling that I tuck my feet in, so they're hanging off over the edge of the seat but nowhere close to touching the floor or c) craftily engineer a quasi-platform out of books or magazines that sticks out from the seat pocket in front of me that I can gently rest my fest on without bothering the person in front. You could invent a proper version of this that sits in the seat pocket at one end and rests on the front of the seat in the other, giving shrimpies like me (I'm only 5'6 and have little wee legs, which is why those sleep tricks work for me) some extra room to curl their legs up.

If you invent that, send me one :D

I’m at the point now where I can power nap on a flight, or even sitting upright in a noisy terminal. All I need are foam earplugs and sunglasses.

Funny thing is, I can’t nap at home or in a hotel room.

I fly mostly long distance red eyes. Getting my feet elevated helps me get to sleep. If I am lucky enough to have one empty seat by me, I feel really lucky. With a whole row, I am the lap of luxury. I have recently started putting a blanket over my head - like putting a bird to sleep in its cage. The blanket keeps out the light and softens the noise. I'm sure I look funny but hey it works for me.

Im also tallish (6'2") - and have always found it hard to sleep. On my last long haul I used a travel pillow (those ugly horse-show shape things round your neck) for the first time and ear plugs - and slept really well.

Not a fan of sleeping pills, but have used motion sickness pills to make me more sleepy as well.

Just a suggestion on the sleeping pills -- test it one night while you're on the ground. You don't want to find out you have a bad reaction at 35,000 feet.

It is a very good idea to try out the sleeping pill before flying. The reaction can be fatal. I have a niece that took an Ambien which caused her blood pressure to drop to 90/40. Luckily they were close to a airport and were able to get her down and start treatment before her B/P got lower.

Yep, just like drinking alcohol on the aircraft, you may have a quicker or unexpected reaction I suppose.

I never used to be able to sleep on airplanes, but I seem to have my formula down now: earplugs, eyemask, and get the feet off the floor!

That last part is really important because it helps isolate me from the vibration of the plane. I also like to put a bag or something under my knees to keep the edge of the seat from hitting a pressure point back there. My backpack only does a fair job at this. If I could invent something, it would be a unit that goes under your legs/feet to accomplish those two things. It would need to fit under the seat in front of you and ideally it would be dual usage as luggage or something.

plane sleepy-by time
 

I swear by Silencio brand earplugs, available on the Amazon website. I fly across the Pacific and value my quiet sleep time. They are silicon filled, so need to be warmed up so that they will shape and conform to your inner ear. Once in, dampened with a little water to effect the seal, you can have a screaming baby behind you and not care. Between those and my 5 mg of Ambien, I get a solid 7 or 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. Oh, I also bring along my own small crushable down pillow in a carryon bag, and use it so sleep with against the bulkhead, as well as for the comfort of home in the overseas hotel room.