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….

Yes was coming to say get a TRTL neck pillow. Melatonin is amazing (or diazepam if you can get it) and practise some relaxation techniques before you go. There are brain hacks for getting to sleep – Google some of those!

And if the plane’s crashing I’d much rather be unconscious and not know about it!

Oh yes… you’re the “The West is morally bankrupt freak out!!” Poster 😆

There are many things that can happen mid air that would require a degree of alertness and potentially assistance. A medical emergency. A disruptive passenger. Turbulence.

That would be my dream

Do you think anyone has slept through a crash, the consequence being that person died and the others awake survived?! @SummerEve seems to thinks it is a possibility

I would be fuck all help in a medical emergency
I would be fuck all help with a disruptive passenger
Turbulance… seatbelt done up? Yep. Job done

You can be as sneery and patronizing as you like if it makes you feel better.

Well, even if you would be “fuck all help” that doesn’t necessarily apply to all of the rest of us.

So I just out on eye mask, plug in whale music on the headphones, neck pillow and a wrap (airline blankets are gross) and just force myself to do nothing
I don't properly sleep. But I definitely rest and doze off a bit. And I can function the next day

So if You think you’d be of significant help in the chance of a medical emergency on a plane… yes, keep yourself as alert as
possible throughout on the off chance

Me? Because I know I wouldn’t, down goes the diazepam. Bliss

I just can’t live my life with “what if” scenarios

I could not have said it better myself @SummerEve

And that’s your prerogative.

Agree with @Twattergy Stay active before flight and pre hydrate, then once aboard breathable loose layers and a warm layer. Next a nice comfy peanut neck pillow is key ( the ridiculous design of late is that most of them are too padded at back so your neck is bent forward- not conducive to sleep !) , then a comfortable padded eye mask with comfortable fastening at back and sides ie no buckles , foam earplugs to drown out the environment and compression stocking ( DVT prevention is important if you’re not walking about) plus slides you can kick off or on for loo trips , a lavender spray or roll on Weightless by Marconi Union if needed to relax a bit first on repeat
If nec some phenergan not melatonin as saw a lady get carted off to hospital after one when plane landed as she had a bad reaction and gives me a horrible hangover anyway.
The cheap seats ain’t comfortable so a mini pillow under bum, another for lower back and if really long haul then two skinny pillows for each arm rest ( Nick from an empty seat!) it’s the hard armrests that usually wake me up so make yourself a kind of squashed throne You have to tell yourself you are somebody who is great at sleeping on planes though Fake it til you make it ! No alcohol for me as loo trips wake me up

???

If you try nytol, test it before hand as it can make you feel really groggy the next day.

So now do you “understand” why some aren’t necessarily desperate to remain “hyper alert” on flights? We don’t all think that we might be of critical help in a medical emergency

I can’t sleep on planes either. I’ve tried everything! I end up bloated, wired, headaches the lot. Just back from 9 hour over night flight from Orlando and the family in front reclined their seats the second we were in the air. Taking the absolute PISS. There really is a special place in hell for those people that recline their seats on flights.

It's alertness/being able to respond promptly in an evacuation scenario (e.g. after an abandoned take-off ) that has caused the likes of the CAA and others to advise against use of some medication.

You really are something aren’t you? Is nobody allowed to have a different view to you on this thread?

I'm the same, but a double Nytol and wine, and a leg hammock (from Amazon) and I'm all good

You said you couldn’t understand this because surely on a flight is exactly when you need to be hyper alert

You will now hopefully be enlightened! Call it a kindness

Thank you.

You are very passive aggressive aren’t you?

I think that if youre suitably tired and its a 9 hour flight, then just try and doze. Don't worry about sleeping properly. A night of dozing with ear plugs and an eye mask and a blanket means you'll be fairly rested the next day even if youre tired, you'll be able to power through.

Listen to relaxation hypnosis stuff too.
I've done this on long journeys and I never feel that I sleep much , if at all, but hours whizz past, so dozing off must happen.

Are you just aggressive?