Long haul sleep issues
 

For us long haul guys, we know how messed up a sleep cycle can get. There is no cycle! Im lucky enough to get the 4 hour power nap occasionally, and never get more than 4 hours in a row on the road. Has anyone visited a sleep specialist, or had any other help with the sleep issues our job can present?

I usually set into the constantly tired but semi-alert phase a few days after my start and coast to the end of the trip, but I feel there has to be something better. Clearly Im not the only one wanting a better solution than to take melatonin and "sleep when tired."

Meditation? Alternate solutions? Thoughts?

Massagy with happy ending helps.

If melatonin is not doing anything for you, you may not be taking it properly. Most people don't know how much to take. Try the following, it actually might work for you. I used to wake up after 4 hours of sleep and have a hard time going back to sleep. With melatonin I might wake up briefly, then go right back. I take it at home, and on the road.

You need to figure out the proper dose for you. Everyone is different. In order to figure out how much you need, you need to titrate yourself. Only take pure melatonin, don't mix it up with the other stuff they might add to it at the health food store, it gets confusing, and who wants that mystery stuff in their body?

The first night, take 1 mg and see how you feel in the morning. The goal is to wake up rested, refreshed, and to have dreamt. If you have crazy, wild, psychedelic dreams, that's too much. Some people can't take any melatonin at all, but 1 mg is too little for most. Do this for 3 nights in a row. Then move up to 2 mg, same thing. Keep doing this until you find how much you need. 2 mg is perfect for me, but 3 is too intense. Some people need a lot more, or they won't notice any difference.

I know others like sleep aids, but melatonin is already in your body, and as you age you have less of it. It really can help if you know how much to take.

I've tried Tylenol PM, Melatonin and Ambien. I consulted a Sleep Specialist (Neurologist) about this subject.

He recommended (prescribed) twice the recommended dosage of Ambien. I sleep like a baby but, unfortunately I can't take it while flying.

He also advised that he could imagine a scenario where chronic fatigue actually caused a seizure!*? YIKES! That might be bad for a flying career :eek:

So ... it's good that we have a Cargo-Cutout because Cargo pilots don't get tired?

After 30 years of long haul flying I finally packed it in for a desk job. My blood pressure dropped 20 points and I never realized how tired I had been all those years. I learned that although you may feel fine, actuallyour body is still deprived of rest.

He recommended (prescribed) twice the recommended dosage of Ambien.

get a new Doctor!

Regular exercise, whether it be a good walk or a good workout at the fitness center and a good diet also helps.

1. Walk 30-60 mins a day, everyday. Also try to lift weights/etc. But at least walk

2. Take hot shower prior to bed time. This helps me and I was never fond of going to bed sweaty and nasty. So you shower again in AM, big deal

3. NO coffee, tea, coke, etc after noon (or the equivalent for your sleep cycle). Healthy diet, fruits/veg, white meats, better than Big Macs and IHOP pancakes.

4. Lots of water thru the day

5. No sugarly drinks and reduce liquid intake a few hours before bed. No orange juice or acid-content juices. NO internet, blackberry/Iphone, fights with wife on phone, before bed.

6. Dissolve 1MG (to start) Melatonin in small amount of water. Drink it one hour before planned "go to sleep time".

7. Go to bed and read book etc calm activity. Turn AC on / place fan on in room, so it is chilly. You sleep better chilly versus hot. At my house, I have a standing fan, I have discovered that when that is blowing gently on my face while I sleep, forcing airflow into my face, versus me just sleeping and breathing whatever air flow rate, that I wake up much better feeling than versus no fan.

8. Report back to the forum

PRINT this checklist !

... and what BrownClown said would be 1.5

The guy is "Chief of Neurology" at a major East Coast Hospital. If I'd known that Dr. Skeebo2 was a medical expert I might have asked for your advice and saved myself a trip to a real doctor's office.

Jeeez ....