Advice needed to make myself sleep on a plane - how do you do it?

[Havingasmashingtime]

I have a 9 hour flight coming up that leaves at 9pm so I need to sleep on it.

only the problem is I CANT SLEEP ON PLANES.

sadly I am a peasant so no first class beds for me.
i will be cramped into a small space sat upright.

any tips to force myself into a sleep?
any supplements I can take or drugs?
if so at what hour before the flight would I take it?

to add- when I arrive at the destination I need to be wide awake and raring to go - there will be no chill time

thank you in advance….

I have to take travel sickness tablets if I go on a plane, train or boat. They make me very sleepy. I have been asleep before take off on every flight I have taken for the last ten years.

Lots of PP are saying to use Melatonin. Is this available OTC in the UK? Do you just take one dose before a flight or do you have to take it for a while to get the effect?

It's not available OTC but I stock up while in the US. Most of the long haul flights I take are to the US and I don't try to sleep on the way over. Buy some when we land (because at that point staying up longer is a good idea), take it that night and for 2-3 nights as needed. Take some on the plane on the way home, then again for 2-3 nights to readjust.

Haven't read tft, but what works for me is to have a meal at the airport just before the flight and drink plenty of fluids. Hop on the plane , prepare immediately for sleep. - mask, earplugs, pillows, blankets. Turn off all screens. Ask to not be disturbed.

I wish I knew. I can never sleep on flights, even the very long one from Thailand.
I have tried everything, melatonin, wine, sleeping tablets, headphones, eye masks, the lot. Absolutely nothing works for me!

I have one of those blindfold masks with headphones for sleeping. I play brown noise: for me it's rainstorms. Works ok.

Planes just aren't great to sleep on.

Or both wine and melatonin

A boring book or a very boring tv programme. Death in paradise for example.

Cabin crew once told me to take painkillers as it stops you feeling so uncomfortable and calms restless legs.

The only time I've slept on a plane was when it was almost empty and I had a middle row of economy seats to myself, so I could get flat. Upright, even on a night flight? Nope, never happens. I can doze, but that's it. Bloody annoying!

Neck pillow, eye mask, good moisturiser, comfortable clothes, window seat and extra leg room at the front of the plane is worth it.

Earplugs or noise-cancelling earbuds?

I can be asleep before we’re up in the sky 🫣
My husband always feels ill when flying and I’m sure it’s because the whole time on the plane he’s willing himself to sleep and it just doesn’t happen
Hes been known to wake me up when we land before now 🤣

My Trtl pillow has been a game changer. You have to make sure you wear it pretty snug fitting and then it does a much better job of supporting my head than any other neck pillow I have tried.
uk.trtltravel.com/

Episode of Midsomer Murders on your phone, knocks me to sleep every time!

Two sturgeron and I’m out. Slept most of the way back from Croatia on Tuesday on a mid afternoon flight!

I don't ever sleep on planes. Overnight flight to Thailand - I dozed a couple of times, only to immediately wake up. The same coming back from America. I don't get jet lag though

Why would you want to sleep for a 3.5 hour afternoon flight?! Did it not mess up your night sleep?

I can’t sleep (much)because my back is so painful it starts seizing up after I sit still for a couple of hours. Nothing I can do about it.

Where do you get hold of the wonders of melatonin or phenergan in the UK?

Rory Stewart did the same thing to me on the way to NYC two years ago.

I can always sleep on planes.

Generally we get on and something about the air pressure and the fans in the ceiling and the noise is so calming. I usually wake up again as wheels go up and then back to sleep.

On long haul, I don't ever eat the meals that are handed out. Full of salt and sugar and make me feel sick and make me constipated. We usually eat something light at the airport or take a pret salad when outbound.

Make sure you are the right temperature. I find flights too hot so I dress lightly and in layers.

Make sure you don't drink too much so your bladder doesn't wake you up. Read a good book. I find that about two pages in, my eyes go. Don't have the screen on. Basically create a sleeping environment.

But, I also fall asleep after lunch most days with the same method.

For those with restless legs, take two or three magnesium glycinate tablets before takeoff, this will settle them.

If you're on the shorter side, an inflatable footrest makes a big difference. Otherwise you'll end up with backache because your spine is contorted.
Beyond that, you need some neck support, an eye mask that doesn't touch your eyelashes, and some decent noise cancelling headphones.

Definitely drugs.

Cinnarazine (sturgeon) travel sickness tablets got me to and from New Zealand in economy.

Thank you everyone.

good to hear I’m not the only one who cannot sleep on a plane - allthough to be fair I can’t sleep anywhere other than my own bed most of the time.

im going to buy some nytol and try that….