overnight flight

Trazadone will knock you out for 6 hours...only you won't have six hours to sleep. You'll be lucky to get 4 - 4 1/2. Take an over the counter sleep aid if you need it but nothing stronger.

Once on the ground, two keys to fighting jet lag are sunlight and movement. Get outside, walk around, explore. Not the time to take the bus tour.

When evening comes and it's time to go to sleep, I use time-released melatonin which works for me. (They might help you on the plane as well. Try them at home first.)

The blood clot risk applies primarily to people who fly a lot, remain sendtary a lot, and who have additional risk factors. If that isn't you, set that aside.

I like Steve's answer -- but I go a step further. EDIT: I like Frank's answer too, but I was typing mine while he was typing his... if you don't know how long a prescription sleep aid will effect you, the flight over isn't the time to find out.

I get my doctor to prescribe me an anti-anxiety medication and a muscle-relaxant, and ask that he choose ones that cause drowsiness. The day of my flight I get up at 'trip local time', for the last trip that was Boston to Amsterdam, so instead of getting up at 6am I got up at Midnight. Once at the airport, I had dinner before getting on the plane. Then, once boarding began, I took my Soma and Halcyon. I had one cocktail on board, skipped dinner, and was out by 1 hour into the flight. Groggy on the ground making my connection in Amsterdam to Zurich, then crashed for that flight as well. Bright-eyed by 9am Zurich time.

Everyone has to work out their own details. Try something you think will work on this flight, then adjust as necessary for future.

Just saw this:

11 Tips for sleeping on Airplanes

Here's my solution: since I am a FF, I can almost always choose an exit row or bulkhead window seat for the flight. The day of the flight, I get up at 4 A.M.(eastern time)do my final baggage check and start the day on EU time. Prior to boarding in EWR, I eat something light at the airport, board, and, wheels up, 1/2 of the generic Ambien. Sleep with eyes and ears covered, and, when the cabin lights come on(usually 90 minutes prior to landing), I awake, and eat some fruit that I have packed. To me, airline food in economy is not worth the trouble to stay up for, especially since the breakfast is usually a dried out "pretend" croissant, some tough melon, and weak coffee. This regime allows me to work or tour the whole day I arrive. Hope this helps.

You've got some good advice. Here's a (slightly) different perspective.

It's not all that important whether you sleep or not. Instead, you should be worried about jet lag.

What, you say, isn't that the same thing as being tired from lack of sleep? No, as you will discover if you wake up at 4 AM unable to sleep--but still jet lagged.

Jet-lag strategies include diet, light, melatonin, and other products. The idea is to shift your circadian clock to local time.

As part of the "light" strategy, lying in sleep-mask-induced darkness for your overnight flight is a good idea. If you can actually doze off, so much the better. But don;t beat yourself up if it doesn't happen.

Sleeping pills will not shift your clock. The kinds that don't clear your body within about 6 hours will interfere with your efforts to prevent jet lag. The kinds that do clear won't interfere but won't especially help either.

I never sleep on transatlantic flights. I just can't, maybe excitement, maybe sitting in a chair, maybe afraid of snoring, whatever. Am I tired when I get where I am going, sure, but it isn't something to be all worried about. It is just tired. I do not do sleeping pills and don't drink, so I keep myself busy watching whatever films are on, reading, and often close my eyes and relax or meditate a bit. I just don't ever fall asleep. I have even had to go to work on the same day I have landed, and though I felt like crap at work, I survived ok. If you don't want to take pills, then don't. Enjoy the excitement, watch the sunset, the clouds, the sunrise, it is fun to look down on the White cliffs of Dover, or see ships sailing at sea.

Though it is nice to be able to sleep, if you can't, don't worry about it.

I always chat with my doctor before traveling. Generally, a physician will prescribe you something to help you with anxiety ... generally, these make you drowsy, which is a great side effect in this case! But there's a big difference between drowsy and dosed, which heavier sleeping meds will definitely induce. You need to be able to get up and function with a clear head in order to get to your accomodations, check in and get traveling! Just make sure you stay awake on that first day -- no naps -- and avoid hitting the hay until as close as possible to a "normal" bedtime hour. At least, that's what's always worked for me...

Hi Jonathan,

I agree with some of the others and would skip the sleeping pill. Because if it doesn't work, or if it works too well, you are going to be really groggy upon arrival.

I always take a half dose of melatonin. It's natural and kicks your body into a natural sleep cycle. Sometimes, if I am too amped up it doesn't work. But, it doesn't make me groggy if it doesn't work.....big difference.

Have fun!

I take melatonin if I think I will have trouble sleeping (which is usually). Upon arrival, stay active and in sunlight, if possible, and try to stay up till as close to your normal bedtime as possible. In the morning, I'm ready to go. Others swear by naps, but I don't.

Oh, and don't plan on taking the hop-on, hop-off bus that first day. My parents and sister did that once and were almost immediately rocked to sleep by the swaying of the bus because they had not slept well on the plane.