Sleeping on planes......

[get me outta here]

I tried the Melatonin 3mg one night when I was really very tired. After about 45 mins I felt a bit drunk and swaying and I thought that would not be good on a plane. Once I went to bed, I went to sleep immediately. After 2 hours sleep I woke up again as per usual. Felt 'normal' the next morning.

I'm going to try it again at home on a night when I'm just normally tired and see how it goes. On a sample of once, it's good to put me to sleep, but not keep me there, and potentially dangerous if I moved about the cabin.

 

[JohnK]

Nothing like having a shadow in row 4 (thanks Professor in window seat), having dinner using tray table of 4B and falling asleep to find dinner has been cleared and Lindt chocolate lying on tray table when waking up.

 

[Fiches Mouser]

The best rule I ever game myself was to never do red-eyes in Y. Just never going to happen again. It's not worth it. F and J? Red-eyes are perfect, particularly long flights that can get boring.

+1 to the exercise thing. I love running when travelling, and there's nothing better than landing in a new city and putting on some music and hitting the pavement. Early morning or late night arrival, I try and get out to just jog for a few KMs to explore my surroundings. It does wonders for my sleep. Immediately adjust to local time and if not yet tired in the evening, running does the trick.

Never taken meds, and never plan to. I'm a pretty cheap drunk, so a couple of glasses of wine and see you later!

 

[marki]

The best rule I ever game myself was to never do red-eyes in Y. Just never going to happen again. It's not worth it. F and J? Red-eyes are perfect, particularly long flights that can get boring.

+1 to the exercise thing. I love running when travelling, and there's nothing better than landing in a new city and putting on some music and hitting the pavement. Early morning or late night arrival, I try and get out to just jog for a few KMs to explore my surroundings. It does wonders for my sleep. Immediately adjust to local time and if not yet tired in the evening, running does the trick.

Never taken meds, and never plan to. I'm a pretty cheap drunk, so a couple of glasses of wine and see you later!

You sound like the perfect human being ...... Is it possible?

 

[trixydoza]

I love running when travelling, and there's nothing better than landing in a new city and putting on some music and hitting the pavement.

Likewise. But probably the closest I've come to death was in New York when I tried to jayrun and hadn't made allowance for right-hand traffic. So be careful out there.

And I'm a very expensive drunk.

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Likewise. But probably the closest I've come to death was in New York when I tried to jayrun and hadn't made allowance for right-hand traffic. So be careful out there.

And I'm a very expensive drunk.

Haha jayrunning. That's exactly what it is.

And whatever you do, don't drink and jayrun. I did that on Friday night and it was a disaster.

You sound like the perfect human being ...... Is it possible?

I'm pretty perfect... (obviously referring to the cheap drunk thing )

 

[jb747]

....

And whatever you do, don't drink and jayrun. I did that on Friday night and it was a disaster.

Interesting image...most people can't drink and walk.

 

[Fiches Mouser]

Interesting image...most people can't drink and walk.

It was more of a digestive disaster than an alcoholic one... but I slept great!

 

[JohnK]

I am getting very good at sleeping for takeoff and landing.

And the more I practice the better I get. Close eyes and relax, fall asleep and wake up when the meal/drinks tray comes out.

For landing wake up as the aircraft approaches the gate.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I am getting very good at sleeping for takeoff and landing.

And the more I practice the better I get. Close eyes and relax, fall asleep and wake up when the meal/drinks tray comes out.

For landing wake up as the aircraft approaches the gate.

Hmmm - good for you... but I wonder how this plays out in the safety scenario? If you were sitting by a window and no impeding egress to the aisle that wouldn't be a problem. But aisle seat? A passenger was seated by an exit on a domestic flight and got booted out because he was fast asleep (snoring) during taxi.

 

[serfty]

I'm usually capable of 6-7 hours of sleep in Y on a TPAC.

I have little trouble sleeping in Economy if needed.

On transpacs I try to stay awake until ~9½ hours before scheduled arrival - watching a movie or two and making the most of the service. I plan on being woken for breakfast 2 hours before arrival.

I put the pillow in the v between the seat and seat back, ear plug and eye masks and then recline. I generally get a good 6-7 hours sleep doing this.

Red eyes from Asia are a pain as there not enough time to do this but I guess my Scottish heritage wont let me knock back a 'free' meal, so a watch a movie and look for 4 to 5 hours sleep.

 

[JohnK]

Hmmm - good for you... but I wonder how this plays out in the safety scenario? If you were sitting by a window and no impeding egress to the aisle that wouldn't be a problem. But aisle seat? A passenger was seated by an exit on a domestic flight and got booted out because he was fast asleep (snoring) during taxi.

In an emergency? Like a sudden stop? I'd be first one out. LOL.

P.S. Slept in EK exit row on Monday evening. The guy next to me was sloshed and out of it less than half way through flight. EK cabin crew were feeding him Glenfiddich single malt 50mL bottles. At one stage he had 3 in his hand. Safety risk?

No need to worry about me. You'll be ok sitting next to me in window seat.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

In an emergency? Like a sudden stop? I'd be first one out. LOL.

P.S. Slept in EK exit row on Monday evening. The guy next to me was sloshed and out of it less than half way through flight. EK cabin crew were feeding him Glenfiddich single malt 50mL bottles. At one stage he had 3 in his hand. Safety risk?

No need to worry about me. You'll be ok sitting next to me in window seat.

I wasn't necessarily referring to you personally - more the issue more generally. I wouldn't feel comfortable with someone solidly sleeping in the aisle seat for example.

The EK issue is concerning, but as long as the passenger was sober for take-off and by the time landing comes it should be ok.

 

[AnnaB]

I usually cant sleep at all when flying, but I have mostly travelled in Y with a few exceptions. First time in J with Qantas I slept for 3 hours straight and it was fantastic. Last time on SQ in J I slept fairly badly, kept waking up but got a total of 6 hours on a 14 hour flight.

If I have a flight less then 6 hours I dont even try to sleep, not worth the effort.
In Y I have had some fantastic sleep on a couple of occasions. Once on China Southern, but I was so sick. Had to find the doctors office at Shanghai airport and got medication which I took, made me sleep like a baby on board. Happy hubby was with me to wake me up Also glad customs didnt look in my bag, but I didnt even think about it when walking through.
Second time was last time in Y on SQ, slept over 7 hours on a 14 hour leg with my new travel pillow Ovaer. Never happened before but I just pulled up the hoodie and nodded off like a baby Worth every cent!

 

[Tortuga]

Sleeping in J = no problem.

Sleeping in whY = disaster.. Neck,Back,cough pains, Trolley hitting your shoulder or knees every time the cart comes past, people farting, "tapping" the IFE system from behind, crying babies, getting woken up by someone needing to piss, getting woken up by stewardess for 'food' because they are told they have to wake you up... What's not to love about the whole experience. I take a sleeping pill that only gives me 3-4 hours if I'm lucky - the rest of the time I contemplate my existence and wonder how we have managed to turn travel into such an unpleasant experience. Cattle class is a very accurate description.

Happy to hear any suggestions for pillows that do the job and don't cause my neck to feel like death.. I try upgrade as much as I can as well. My trips average 25+ hours of flight time.

 

[TomVexille]

I have little trouble sleeping in Economy if needed.

On transpacs I try to stay awake until ~9½ hours before scheduled arrival - watching a movie or two and making the most of the service. I plan on being woken for breakfast 2 hours before arrival.

I put the pillow in the v between the seat and seat back, ear plug and eye masks and then recline. I generally get a good 6-7 hours sleep doing this.

Red eyes from Asia are a pain as there not enough time to do this but I guess my Scottish heritage wont let me knock back a 'free' meal, so a watch a movie and look for 4 to 5 hours sleep.

That's my strategy headed to the US, coming back I usually pass out not long after the meal.

 

[AnnaB]

Sleeping in J = no problem.

Sleeping in whY = disaster.. Neck,Back,cough pains, Trolley hitting your shoulder or knees every time the cart comes past, people farting, "tapping" the IFE system from behind, crying babies, getting woken up by someone needing to piss, getting woken up by stewardess for 'food' because they are told they have to wake you up... What's not to love about the whole experience. I take a sleeping pill that only gives me 3-4 hours if I'm lucky - the rest of the time I contemplate my existence and wonder how we have managed to turn travel into such an unpleasant experience. Cattle class is a very accurate description.

Happy to hear any suggestions for pillows that do the job and don't cause my neck to feel like death.. I try upgrade as much as I can as well. My trips average 25+ hours of flight time.

I jut got a new type of travel pillow and it is just fab. This one actually helped me sleep for several hours on long haul flights in Y without any back or neck issues like I normally would suffer. Highly recommended, even though it comes with a bit of a hefty price tag.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....tips/review-new-type-travel-pillow-76840.html

 

[drron]

I wasn't necessarily referring to you personally - more the issue more generally. I wouldn't feel comfortable with someone solidly sleeping in the aisle seat for example.

The EK issue is concerning, but as long as the passenger was sober for take-off and by the time landing comes it should be ok.

Really!There would be very very few sleepers that would sleep through an emergency.And just having woken up he would probably forget to take his bag out of the overhead hence making it safer for everyone.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Really!There would be very very few sleepers that would sleep through an emergency.And just having woken up he would probably forget to take his bag out of the overhead hence making it safer for everyone.

It's not the sleeping 'through' an emergency that's the issue. It's being asleep while the 'brace' command is issued and potentially being injured to the point you block access to the aisle. Same as gate-to-gate IFE. If your attention is on the screen and you're listening to the dialogue you are potentially going to be slower to react to a 'brace' command issued orally by cabin crew. If you hear it at all.

 

[drron]

It's not the sleeping 'through' an emergency that's the issue. It's being asleep while the 'brace' command is issued and potentially being injured to the point you block access to the aisle. Same as gate-to-gate IFE. If your attention is on the screen and you're listening to the dialogue you are potentially going to be slower to react to a 'brace' command issued orally by cabin crew. If you hear it at all.

Fortunately haven't been through the brace command.But I am pretty certain that there would be other things going on that would awaken most.
As to gate to gate IFE I am sure that would be off in an emergency as it is for any passenger announcement.