Has anyone had a good experience using a sleeping pill for long, overnight flights?

[CTyankee]

I have trouble sleeping on overnight flights and it impairs me for several days afterward. I do not take sleeping pills but am considering asking for some to a)help me get to sleep on the flight and b) help me regularize my jet lag both abroad and back home (I tend to have jet lag for a couple of weeks after I get back home).

[On the Road]

1. I Haven't Tried a Sleeping Pill

and also have serious jet lag the first two or three days of a trip. Even if you are able to sleep, however, your circadian rhythms will still be off.

I have heard it said that the best strategy for resetting your body's clock, if you can physically pull it off, is to simply stay up the entire night and go to sleep early the next day. Apparently adjusting your eating schedules in advance of the trip can also help adjust the 24-hour cycle beforehand.

Another way that's recommended is using light to trick the body into adjusting to another time zone. The Lightbook is based on this finding and claims to reduce jet lag, although I haven't personally tried it.

[CTyankee]

7. On my last trip I was awake the entire night on the plane. The next night I slept fine

but was still tired in the morning, even after coffee. When I got back home, I was waking up at 3 am and unable to get back to sleep and this went on for a couple of weeks. Drove me nuts.

I don't like sleeping pills but this is ridiculous...

[xchrom]

2. i always use valium for flights. nt

[CTyankee]

4. Does it help you sleep and do you wake up OK?

[xchrom]

11. for me they work great.

i get the 10 mg prescription.

if i don't sleep -- i'm relaxed -- and sitting in coach that's worth a lot.

m

[CTyankee]

12. I'm not nervous or perturbed about the goings on in coach.

I try to get my eyes tired by reading but if I do drift off it is only for a little while.

[Chemisse]

35. I do too. I am anxious about flying and it helps tremendously.

I only take 5 mg though. It helps me doze a bit, but it's still hard to actually sleep well on the flight.

[Lint Head]

3. Ambien. You can break them in half.

[closeupready]

5. Personally, I hate Ambien - the amnesia sets in before sleep does.

And then you can't remember what you did or said to others. Also, I found that I tend to wake up fully in about three hours after taking them.

[CTyankee]

8. Ambien scares the bejeebus out of me...

[EvolveOrConvolve]

25. I took Ambien for a little while because of a circadian rhythm disorder I have

Apparently I got an extra couple of hours of work done every night, although I don't remember doing any of it. Reading over some of the emails I sent during those times, I was incredibly lucid despite the fact that I was barely conscious. And some of my analysis work on projects was better than the work I put in during normal waking hours.

I went off it because it was only a matter of time before I started doing other "normal" daytime activities in the middle of the night. Things like driving a car, baking a cake, smoking a cigar, etc.

[notadmblnd]

6. My sister uses Ambien

Once she woke up covered in chocolate. Another time she had taken it, she came to my room (we live together) and smeared blueberry yogurt on my face.

[flamingdem]

9. Careful if you have any heart / circulation problems

research carefully... also very drying

[CTyankee]

10. No, I'm pretty healthy, but I would consult with my doctor of course.

He might just tell me to take Tylenol PM but I have tried that in the past and it gives me a kind of "hangover" the next day. I feel very groggy and I don't like that. I do use a sleep mask and ear plugs but sleeping in a chair is difficult. I might check if they have those seats that recline further (for a bit more $ of course). Air France had those but I found out about them too late to change seating...

[flamingdem]

14. Now I remember

I figured out that taking it the night before will work and is not as problematic. Depends on how you react of course but usually there is a hangover time period so the next night it will knock you out again especially if you didn't sleep much getting ready etc.

[CTyankee]

18. So you are saying to take the OTC sleep med the night BEFORE you leave?

And then also on the night of the flight?

when I reach my destination I usually have full nights of sleep but have morning sleepiness and I can't understand that...except that my sleep cycle has been disrupted and also because I am older...

[flamingdem]

26. I get a hangover from a sleeping pill

so say I'd take it on a Wednesday then if my flight is Thursday night I'm still feeling it and will likely conk out on the plane, it's still in my system but I don't need to worry about the slowing down effect on the body.

If you're young it is not a biggie but the older we get strokes are a concern on flights.

[sharp_stick]

13. I used it once and it worked well.

on a trip to India. I didn't have time to adjust well to the jet lag so I used a sleeping pill. It wasn't Ambien and I can't recall it's name right now but I took it to fall asleep when it would be a fairly decent time to sleep where I was going and it made life a lot easier.

[CTyankee]

15. Which sleeping pill did you take?

I wonder if there is a difference between Lunesta and Ambien?

[sharp_stick]

30. Sorry, I don't remember

I'm thinking it was likely Ambien because it was awhile ago and Lunesta may not have been around.

[mopinko]

33. lunesta lasts longer.

took ambien for a long time. the only time i had any 'sleep walking' type things was after drinking as well. or staying up for a while to wait until they sunk in.
regular ambien last for about 4 hours. the cr is supposed to go for 8. lunesta is good for 7 or 8 hours.
honestly, i miss the stuff. it was the most effective medicine i have ever used for anything. but i was starting to have short term memory problems, which is common after long term use.

[WolverineDG]

16. What works for me goes against everything they say

if I can get into my hotel room upon arrival (instead of mid-afternoon), I take a shower & a nap (usually lasts only about 2 hours). I then get up & go outside & walk around. London is great, because there is this walking tours company that has tours several times a day, so I pick one & do that. That gets me to about 4 or 5 p.m. I head back towards my hotel, looking for a place to eat dinner, the grocery stores, coffee shops/net cafes in the neighborhood, have dinner, go back to my hotel. Take another shower, then off to bed. I sleep myself out. If I'm not in London, then I scout out the neighborhood where my hotel is at, or go find a park & wander around.

Being outside in the sunlight & fresh air does help reset your body clock. Some more than others, so YMMV.

I do try to conk out during the flight, but lately my seat mates tend to be jumping beans & have to get up every damn minute for "something important." :eyes: I've used OTC sleeping pills in the past, taking them just as dinner is served to give them time to get working. But even then, the most I've ever been able to sleep at a time is about 2 hours.

dg

[CTyankee]

19. It's a good idea to go out and walk the first day you are there.

I've done that, usually to scout the neighborhood. It's a mistake to just go to bed. If I do, it is just for a short while. Then, up and out. Go to the tabac and get postcard stamps, what is that great church down the street, get a snack at a cafe with an outdoor table. Have a glass of wine, a plate of tapas, or window shop and just look around. Wonderful!

[Turbineguy]

17. I used to take halcyon.

Great for jet-lag too. I called it Bozodrine. Then they banned it because people did crazy shit while they were on it. Not that I ever noticed.

[laconicsax]

20. I've found that (for me) a better method is to force yourself to stay awake.

Stay awake until it's a reasonable hour to go to bed in whatever local time you land in. When you wake up, your clock has reset and adjusted to the new local time.

[CTyankee]

22. this last trip I tried that because, as hard as I tried, I could not sleep on the overnight flight.

It didn't work out well at all. I did sleep well at night but I was sleepy in the morning. No clock reset and my body did not re-adjust. It was NOT good. And the jet lag coming back was horrendous...

[customerserviceguy]

21. Get some Benadryl

Or, you can use the generic kind, just look for diphenhydramine on the label. It's in sleeping pills, and alergy medicines. You can even buy a small package at the dollar store.

Have a cocktail when the beverage cart comes around, and for about six bucks, it's nighty-night time.

[CTyankee]

23. Um, how does alcohol mix with benedryl?

That scares me. Is that OK? I know I can get benadryl, no problem, but is that a good idea with an alcoholic drink?

[customerserviceguy]

24. It's always worked for me

I used a combination of the two when I worked the night shift, in order to get the necessary shut-eye before my next twelve hour shift. You can use less of both, and have lesser side effects, such as the grogginess.

Of course, they tell you not to do it, but they tell people not to smoke pot, as well. I'm not a real doctor, but I play one on TV.

[uppityperson]

27. That is what I do also. Started taking 25 mg when they bring food/drinks. Then go to sleep

It is what is in Tylenol PM, the "pm" part.

[closeupready]

29. THAT's my reliable standby, never fails me. And it treats my allergies, as a plus!

I sometimes buy the generic, too.

[Philippine expat]

28. I fly overseas 1 or 2 times a year

what works for me is to schedule a flight that arrives at my destination
in the mid morning, on the actual flight I stay awake as much as possible,
as soon as I arrive at my hotel I go to sleep, sleep until 5 or 6 PM, have supper,
go to bed as soon as supper is over, no later then 8pm). The next morning I am
good to go. For example we leave the west coast right around midnight, stop in
Taiwan, Hong Kong or Korea depending on airline, have a 3 hour or so lay over, depart
for Manila arrive between 9:30 and 11:00am, clear customs make hotel by noon, go right
to bed then do as above.

[SheilaT]

31. I have found that the generic

pain relief PM pills are wonderful.

[Odin2005]

32. Try Melatonin.

[Dorian Gray]

34. I used to live in Hong Kong

and I'd pop a Benadryl or Tylenol PM. I never used prescription strength stuff to sleep. They'd help me.