Help! Can’t get to sleep J & F

[zahra01]

Hi,

I’ve discovered the wonders of Freq Flyer over the last 24 months and manged to score J seats on LAN (787), Qatar (A350), Emirates (777) & Qantas (747). I was also lucky enough to secure an F seat on Emirates (777) recently. One of the things I was really looking forward to (apart from the great food & extra space) was a decent lie flat bed so I could get several hours of decent sleep. However I’ve had no luck on any of these flights, even the new generation planes like 787 & A350. The last couple I even took sleeping pills, but still no luck - just a broken 1/2 awake daydream sleep that’s not particularly satisfying. I also have Bose in-ear noise cancelling headphones & eyemask. It seems nothing I try helps.

Has anyone else struggled with this? Any tips to help would be much appreciated.

Cheers
David

Ha ha, Yes. I posted a thread on this earlier in the year. I only ever get a rubbish sleep in J, but I still will take that any day over being in a cramped Y seat, wide awake. I take a sleeping pill too..try not drinking to much etc etc..... I have a 9.5 hr overnight booked for Colombo-Melb next year...hoping my luck might change..its on UL with a flat bed, but a daggier aircraft without all the bells and whistles.. maybe that will make it easier, not as many other novelty distractions.

 

[amaroo]

Enjoyed a 7+ hour sleep on QF7 yesterday and still had plenty of time to enjoy the F cabin.

 

[JohnK]

Enjoyed a 7+ hour sleep on QF7 yesterday and still had plenty of time to enjoy the F cabin.

That's an awfully long flight.

 

[Milboo]

I managed over 8 hours on the weekend on the AUH - SYD leg in J. Was pleasantly surprised!

 

[Must...Fly!]

That's an awfully long flight.

No flight is too long when you're sitting there *

* actually it's too long about an hour after the alcohol runs out

 

[Duffa]

Champagne, red,more fizz, SB, riesling, Bordeaux, Bordeaux, port, cleansing ale, sleeper, flat bed - 3.5 hrs

 

[FirstClass]

Hi,

I’ve discovered the wonders of Freq Flyer over the last 24 months and manged to score J seats on LAN (787), Qatar (A350), Emirates (777) & Qantas (747). I was also lucky enough to secure an F seat on Emirates (777) recently. One of the things I was really looking forward to (apart from the great food & extra space) was a decent lie flat bed so I could get several hours of decent sleep. However I’ve had no luck on any of these flights, even the new generation planes like 787 & A350. The last couple I even took sleeping pills, but still no luck - just a broken 1/2 awake daydream sleep that’s not particularly satisfying. I also have Bose in-ear noise cancelling headphones & eyemask. It seems nothing I try helps.

Has anyone else struggled with this? Any tips to help would be much appreciated.

Cheers
David

 

[siri]

Best is to relax first and if its Bus/1st take the champagne thats offered when you board and wait until food serve or just browse videos or movies and after the meal, make sure to drink 2 or 3 Port drinks and at that time if you are tired it will put you to sleep and if not just watch a movie until tiredness come your way... To me it always work but I also meditate so that I can sleep any time if I am not stressed.
Once on United, I slept all the way from LA to Sydney and woke up when I was landing and air hostess came and said, how do you do it, since I went to sleep the moment plane was off the ground at LA...
Secret is telling your brain you are tired and port take that tiredness to a perfect sleep with out any hangovers ..

 

[FirstClass]

Lay flat bed. After meal service, noise, light and stomping cabin crew has diminished, brush teeth, clean pyjamas, ear plugs, eye shades, water and Stilnox. On short sectors use 1 x 10mg. On longhaul, co-ordinate sleep time with sleep time at destination and use 13.5mg slow release.
The only thing that can occasionally bugger up the efficacy of this routine is excessive cabin temp. Cabin floors in Airbuses seem to transmit vibration thru seats worse than Boeings...Lighter-footed crew helps!

 

[Rubix]

Stay active. Get on the plane tired. Go through your sleep/winddown routine. Relax the mind. Easy!

I can sleep for 6hrs on a BNE>SIN flight in econ if I have a spare seat or two.

I think if I ever flew on a lieflat I would sleep like a baby. Haha.

 

[bashworth]

Here are some things that help me:

• Start thinking about the flight (and the destination) 24 hours in advance so that I try to be really tired when I want to sleep. For instance when flying west to Dubai in the late evening I want to sleep late in the flight........ so I go to bed late the previous night, have a strong coffee before boarding, make sure I stay awake for the meal service and then sleep.
• Have a couple of glasses of wine but no more.
• I have tried sleeping tablet but actually prefer the herbal relaxant tablets which aren't as strong.
• Accept that rather than sleep through I am initially going to get 3-4 hours followed by a couple of 1 hour naps.
• Noise cancelling earbuds playing 20 or 30 Enya tracks on rotation, at low volume.
• Choose A380 or Dreamliner flights whenever possible.

 

[Walter_Plinge]

Temazepam can be a tricky drug... I find it has a relatively short window for activation - between 20 and 30-40 minutes... if I miss it, the tablet has little of no effect

Ditto. A long as I have a few hours until the next meal or destination I take a 50mg diphenhydramine (1st generation sedating antihistamine) capsule at the same time. This prolongs the period of drowsiness.

I wear hearing aids with custom fitted moulds. Turn off the aids and very little sound gets through.

 

[Rebekkap]

The thing I've found helps the most is an inflatable camping mat that I put under the mattress in J. Otherwise I can feel the joins in the seat, and as I'm a side sleeper, it hurts my hips and wakes me up.

Also: headphones with either a diurnal sleep app (I use Altered States) or relaxing music (my latest find is Marconi - weightless 1-5 on repeat), 3D face mask as others have mentioned, PJs (if they're not supplied I BYO), Melatonin, half a valium and trying to do my normal bed time routine as much as possible - brush teeth, etc. - so that it feels like bedtime. I usually get a pretty good sleep - coming back from the US in October got nearly 10 hours LAX-MEL!

 

[BCons]

Short overnights - Sin/Mel for instance, I reckon are the worst. Advice already given above is to eat prior, and then make yrself ready for bed onboard : change into PJs before departure, wash face/clean teeth etc, deploy eyeshades and ear plugs (I hv a fitted pair $80 from hearing clinic which are much more effective than freebies) and avoid the early brekkie wake-up to maximise available sleep time..

Aust to Europe - I prefer to stay awake if possible on first leg via Far East, ensuring that I will def be tired for the second 10-12 hr leg. And those late night departures from HK/BKK/Sin also mean you arrive Europe at 6-7am, hopefully aligning your sleep to local time.

Arvo departures via Mid East usually mean a nap after a moderate lunch, then hang out until you are on the short overnight leg to Europe by which time You Will Be Tired.. Midnight departures from Aust ? Listen to yr body and sleep straight away, even if you are missing out on the food and grog.. If you are starting a long trip at that time you cant really have it both way..

I can see the attraction of an evening return from Europe via Far East - relax, eat/drink and you still hv 8+ hrs before stopover, by which time You WIll be Tired..

 

[grubbidok]

I swear by Kava tablets (the same stuff you drink in Fiji). Most pharmacies or health food stores have it. They don't put you to sleep, but they relax you enough to allow you to sleep. And they are a muscle relaxant so you can contort yourself into any position and still feel okay when you wake up

 

[flybynight]

I do about 30 long haul sectors each year and no longer stress over sleep (or lack of it). I used to do a combination of F and J but discovered I was just as happy in Y.
What works for me is to never eat on a plane no matter how long the flight, have a double Black Russian in the lounge if a night flight, recline the seat about a third and never attempt to do any work or watch movies. Reading relaxes me and I doze a bit and certainly power nap a lot. I get into the local time zone immediately I arrive. This means when arriving in Europe or back in Oz I usually do a full days work after showering and changing and I always feel fine and on top of it.
I think it’s possible to mentally condition oneself into a feeling of being sleep deprived!
BTW, I’m 190cm but find I’m ok in Y. Actually, last week CX offered me a free upgrade to J which I politely refused because I was happy with my pre-allocated Y seat.
As I said, it works for me.

 

[bfm]

Hi all, thanks for the feedback.

So for me I think it’s the cabin noise that distracts. Like RooFlyer I’ve tried Temazipan to no effect ..although ironically it does help at home on occasions when I’ve used it. I think I’m pretty sensitive to a quiet, still sleep environment ..and particularly my pillow. I’m sure I doze here and there. With my last flight I had several hours in the Emirates 1st Lounge @ Dubai but didn’t really get to enjoy it as I was trying to catch up on sleep in their quiet area. It would have been great to have arrived refreshed and spent the time enjoying the fine dining etc. I suspect like others, I’ll have to accept snoozing and just enjoy the service. First world problems!

Cheers
David

David, I learnt a little 'trick' on this topic.

Typically, the bod needs to be 'ready for sleep' for Temazipan to be effective. Few will find awaiting in an airport and clambering on board to be sleep inducing.

The 'trick' is to use one tab (500mg) of Paracetamol (eg. Panadol) about 30 minutes BEFORE taking Temazipan. This assumes one is sort of ready to sleep but a bit 'wound up'.

The other aspect I find helps inordinately is the choice of aircraft.

I find the top deck of the A380 by far the quietest aircraft.

Despite the claims, I find the 'Dreamliner' is very noisy. The 777 is OK if I can get away from the exterior wall.

Cheers

 

[PineappleSkip]

Agree re seat location. Once only on SQ 777, window at back of J cabin next to vast engine. Washing machine shake and gravel crusher ambience.

Mainly interested in adapting my sleep patterns to the time zone I’m aiming for, starting with an early/late night a day or so before travel.

Cheers skip

 

[Mark1966]

My routine for getting to sleep on a flight?

1. Board.
2. Fasten seat belt (over blanket if used to avoid disturbance by crew)
3. Close eyes
4. Done

I know, it is unfair really isn't it. That refreshing 20 minute nap between SYD and CBR is just what you need on a Friday afternoon to power you into the weekend. Yes, this IS, possible even on those noisy Dash 8s.

Long haul, when I have to do it, I can usually hop on-board and either stay awake for long periods (easier) or sleep almost immediately (harder) to get myself into the time zone of the destination. Clearly I was made for economy travel despite being 6' 2" tall (although those bulkhead seats on long haul are nice).

If it is any comfort, being woken up by the landing can be a pretty rude awakening ...

 

[andye]

I do about 30 long haul sectors each year.....
BTW, I’m 190cm but find I’m ok in Y. Actually, last week CX offered me a free upgrade to J which I politely refused because I was happy with my pre-allocated Y seat.
As I said, it works for me.

Wow-you're a better man than me.....