sleeping on long haul flights

[Zach1213]

Man I feel sorry for those who can't sleep. Just flew down to Australia and indeed got 8 hours of sleep. Arrived feeling great. Excellent!

[CanWeGoYet?]

Antihistamines, or anything over the counter that has "PM" after it has the opposite effect on me. They wire me up. You do not want to feel that way with 12 hours in a plane ahead of you, so find out how your body reacts while you are still safely at home.

 

Sage advice! I do the same thing. The paradoxical reaction - kids frequently have this to benadryl, both me and Mom got wired up from it. My heart races, my mouth dries out & I do nothing but drink water & get up to the bathroom instead of sleeping. Yes, definitely try it at home to see how you tolerate it.

[CanWeGoYet?]

CANNOT sleep on flights but tried something similar to what another posted. I put some things on the snack tray, leaned forward on it and was able to get some sleep. Saw this in the Sky Mall Magazine on a plane and have seriously considered ordering one. Says it's a top seller. I didn't read all 86 reviews but the majority liked or loved it and it had an overall rating of 4 stars out of five.

This looks like it might work. I have a neck pillow but it doesn't really hold your head stationary once you fall asleep. I doze off for a moment & then wake up as my head nods down. If you have the window seat you might be able to lean against the wall of the plane, but that's only if you get that seat.

[Nebr.cruiser]

Sage advice! I do the same thing. The paradoxical reaction - kids frequently have this to benadryl, both me and Mom got wired up from it. My heart races, my mouth dries out & I do nothing but drink water & get up to the bathroom instead of sleeping. Yes, definitely try it at home to see how you tolerate it.

 

This is true for me too. My husband swears by Nyquil when he has a cold; he sleeps all night with it, but all it does is wire me up, and the same goes for the PM cold meds. Definitely try them out before hand.

[suekay]

CANNOT sleep on flights but tried something similar to what another posted. I put some things on the snack tray, leaned forward on it and was able to get some sleep. Saw this in the Sky Mall Magazine on a plane and have seriously considered ordering one. Says it's a top seller. I didn't read all 86 reviews but the majority liked or loved it and it had an overall rating of 4 stars out of five.

 

 

I bought one of these as well as the Jet Sleeper the OP was asking about (I'll try anything to get some sleep:)) IMHO a total waste of money! I'm only 5'4" but it was too low to sleep without getting pain in my upper back and neck from leaning forward. I never thought of putting something under it on the meal tray to raise it up

[jean95404]

I am fortunate to be one of those persons who can fall asleep on the runway before the flight takes off! Can do a cross country (US) without waking up. Have never experienced jetlag, but I do take extra vitamins for three to four days before the flight, and drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol. Sleep like a baby on the cruise every night. I am more than willing to explore my tolerance for long flights by going on a flight to, oh say, Australia, Europe, etc. etc.

[Carolin]

The only time I've been able to sleep on any flights (long or short) is when I have a travel companion. Falling asleep on a plane full of strangers just freaks me out. I worry about my personal safety as well as my belongings (ie purse and money).

[Grumpy100]

I bought one of these as well as the Jet Sleeper the OP was asking about (I'll try anything to get some sleep:)) IMHO a total waste of money! I'm only 5'4" but it was too low to sleep without getting pain in my upper back and neck from leaning forward. I never thought of putting something under it on the meal tray to raise it up

 

Does that pillow blow up,or what because it looks very large.

[Bookish Angel]

I just take a 900 -1000 page book and between that and perhaps a couple of tolerable films, I manage. I would rather be caught up in a good book than to try to sleep in discomfort.

 

Contrary to most advice, I find a 2 hour nap upon arrival to my hotel/ship helps me stay awake until a reasonable but not too early bedtime. I take a small, multiple sound machine that helps me to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings. After the first decent night's sleep, I am fine.

[Architect]

One thing we did was to have our VISA card give us miles on BA for everything we charge. We even got companion tickets. We use our miles to upgrade to Business Class

 

That sort of thing has made all the difference for me.

 

That may be. I will upgrade when it is feasible. Standard economy is a miserable experience which the airlines (and maybe, as you suggest, the consumer) has created. I would rather undergo a root canal than fly and I only fly to get to a nice experience at a reasonable price, such as a cruise.

 

My belief is that it doesn't have to be as bad as it is. I would fault idiot airline management, and maybe the airline unions as well. Whatever, I repeat, flying has become a horrible endurance.

 

I study airline economics regularly. Trust me, it's the consumer who has dictated the current status of coach comfort. One example is how AA introduced "More Room Through Coach" many years ago. It failed because people weren't willing to regularly pay a bit more money for more legroom/comfort.

 

If you look at air fares from the 1960s, and adjust for inflation, they're typically midway between current coach and first-class fares. And current business-class service is about as good and civilized as coach service was back then. So I agree with you that in a sense it's a wash: air travel has become 'democratized' with attendant pros & cons. It's dirt cheap at the low end and fairly uncivilized. If you want more, you can pay for it.

[suekay]

Does that pillow blow up,or what because it looks very large.

It blows up (takes a lot of puff:))

[jerseygirl3]

We´re off to Australia next year and my OH is not very good sleeping on planes...has anyone any experience (good or bad) of using jet sleeper pillow?

http://www.jetsleeper.com/index.html

 

Sandy in Spain

 

Eddie Bauer makes a great travel pillow. That and a Nyquil should do the trick.

[Grumpy100]

Xanex works for me. Nyquil makes me hyper.