Trouble Sleeping
 

I know this has happened to other people but, it seems to happen to me all the time. You have a trip that starts at 3pm and ends at 9pm... you get to the hotel at around 9:30-10pm for a 6am report. If your like me you're still wound up from the day and don't get to sleep for a couple hours... sometimes its 3 am before i fall sleep. How do you guys get to sleep after the day? Can we take any kind of sleeping pill as long as it is 8 hours or so before our report? They have these new pills that don't have any medication in them, just some sort of sleeping remedy. Can we take these, has anyone tried them?

Read your Op-Specs...

I dont want to... I said I had trouble sleeping. Im not suffering from boredom.

how long have you worked in the airlines? i used to be like that for about a year when i started working. now when i get to the hotel i just do my obsesive compulsive routine of laying everything out the exact same way every night and i am able to go to sleep pretty fast.

Ive only been working about 6 months, so maybe it just takes some time getting use to.

been in it for 7 yrs.. I hear you

I take a Advil PM to help. It seems to get me about 6 hrs of sleep

Is this ok if they were to give you a drug test the next morning?

Melotonin seems to help some people. I'm a little vague on the fitness for duty implications, but it is a natural supplement...do your own research. I wouldn't take it less than 8 hours before work.

A few other ideas...

It takes a while to unwind, but some things can affect how long...

These things will stimulate you and keep you awake for a while:

- Recent meal (light snack would be OK)
- Recent exercise...you probably need 1+ hour post-workout.
- TV/Computer: Seems odd, but the high-speed screen refesh rate stimulates the underlying electrical rythms of your brain (maybe THAT's why we waste so much time on APC :rolleyes: )
- Dynamic social interaction.
- Bright lights/noise
- Things to do hanging over your head...for this reason I always pack, iron the shirt, layout the shaving stuff, etc the night before if I have to get up early.


Things to help you unwind...
- Dim lights/quite time
- Reading (OPSPECs would do the trick I guess)
- Small desert-type snack
- Stretching, yoga, hotub, etc
- A drink, or two max.

I will with 8 hrs of rest.

Prime Minister,

Good post.

Do those medications + PM contain diphenhydramine or a form of it?

If so, the FAA says "not allowed" - how long it takes to wash out of the system is anybody's guess..

-Don't turn on the TV
-Read a book
-Turn on the fan or AC. A cold dark room is easier to sleep in. The white noise also drowns out people chirping in the hall.
-Get a routine of setting out your things for the next day in the same place every time so you can wake up as late as possible and be prepared.

My first few months were the same way. I adopted the above ideas and live by them now. I can't recommend leaving the TV off and the computer at home strongly enough. You'll find life is much better when you can leave all that behind and just read the newspaper on or between legs for news.

That all helps too!

I like the ops spec idea. At my last 135 job it took me a month to read through the manual.......kept falling asleep

It may seem obvious but eliminate caffeine within 5 hours of bed-time. When I was younger (in college) I could drink a Coke and go to bed. Not so much anymore. I guess it's part of getting old.

Also, try to keep your at-home routine while at work. For example, while at home, I always watch the same rehashed sit-com re-runs before I go to bed. So in the hotel, I try to find them both on some channel. It's easier than you think. But the key for me is to keep the routine.

ALPA Medical will have some help WRT to substances. In general, I am strongly against them. Other than beer. Which does not qualify in the circumstance you mention.

No TV
Read
Develop a routine
Get your stuff ready for the morning, so you can get up and be out the door quickly.

I have been doing this for a few years now. It will get better. Unfortunately, fatigue is a reality in this business.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned a little shimmysham with the FA. It probably works well.

lol you guys got enough good lookin eager FA's? Cuz we sure as hell dont.....unless you got a thing for latin men or old hags with some of the strongest Wis-CAAAAAAAN-sin accents u can imagine

You could just hold a pillow over your face until you pass out...

Hey, as long as they aren't wearing the Favre jersey to bed....

Seriously though, the no TV, no computer, no music before bed stuff all helps and so does keeping the room lights dim for a while before bed, some of our hotels have really bright lights. At least that helps me get in the mood for sleeping. And the less you have to do in the morning the better, especially the really early mornings. But sometimes man, it just doesn't happen, and doesn't it always seems like that happens on a short overnight before a long day?

Ok, so last night I had a long day followed by an early morning report. I got to the hotel, laid out my clothes, grabbed a book. I read for 30 min shut the light off and I was asleep in about 30 min or so! I guess I was just really not helping myself at all watching tv all night!

I think he meant that reading your Ops specs would induce boredom.....so you fall asleep.

Good suggestions. Lights off, fan on, and also I wear earplugs every-night to eliminate the possibility of being waken from people running through the halls, moaning noises through the walls, etc.

It might be hard to get but try a glass of warm milk....lol....just like the good ol' days.:D

This is a good thread, I'm kind of amazed we've talked about everything else, (what flight case to get a million times) but this rarely comes up. Anyway, I've had similar problems and I'm gradually getting a routine down that's similar, but I was also going to add that there are only two things we should be doing in bed: sleeping, and reading isn't the other one.

BTW does anyone know how big a flight case will fit in one of those shiny new CRJ's? My old one has those roller blade wheels that light up but it doesn't seem to fit.

Melotonin is the natural substance that builds up in our bodies to tell it it's time to sleep. Taking it in a pill just boosts the reaction. It will not show up in a drug test. Even if it was it would just mean your tired! Just make sure it's just the supplement and not a "sleep aid" with other stuff in it.

Some warm milk, and turn the lights low. Also get your F/A to read you a bedtime story, I like the berenstien bears myself....

just rub one out....puts me to sleep everytime...

seriously though, my wife is a flight doc and she wrote a paper on sleep hygiene when we were in the desert. i will look to see if i can find the paper and post it here.

we had a lot of trouble getting dudes to fall asleep and i was on the night shift so it REALLY sucked for me. I had to go to sleep at 7-8am and would wake up at 6pm for dinner and then a 1045pm show for a 0045 take off, then fly for 4.5 hours and do it all over again....ugh!!

the funny part about all of that is that she actually told one of the guys in my squadron to just rub one out, and the next day he came up to her and said, "that worked Doc!!!"

anyway, i will look for the paper....

Just let Selma tuck you in...works for me...

I think Selma was the chain-smoking court clerk or bailiff in "Night Court" if anyone remembers that - not that hot. Salma on the other hand... or the other hand... might work.

My bad...then again, after a few beers...

I'll second Melatonin. I carry a bottle in my toiletries and take one if I have a really tough schedule change (i.e. first 3 days are late shows, followed by a reduced rest 0530 show). For me it's very gentle and puts me to sleep naturally without knocking me out. When I wake up in the morning I don't feel drugged or groggy at all. Works like a champ, and it's 100% safe and legal.

That sounds like a conflict of interest right there!

Anyway, I feel ya... Had 8 hours of "Scheduled" reduced rest last night, couldnt fall asleep until 130 am and woke up at 5am... 3.5 hours of sleep and three legs this morning... Just woke up from my 'nap'... slept from 1pm till 645pm... lol. I'm ready to party tonight!! :D

I'll second the rubbin one out. Much like the melatonin, there is scientific evidence (as well as plenty of anecdotal evidence from wives and girlfriends who want to "talk" after sex when I just want to grab some Z's) to support that as an effective sleep aid. And it's way more fun than popping a pill or trying to coax grandma back to bed with you.:D

yeah, and you can also do the "40 year old virgin" thing where you take 3 tylenol PM's and then rub one out....either way you win....ha.ha.

HAHAHA!!!:D
MAN that is sooo funny!!!!:)

sleep
 

Ill third the hand party technique!

A cup of warn tea will help relax you, so you can fall asleep. Geen is best, black tea has caffine in it i think.

If Salma were tucking me in I wouldn't worry about work the next day because I would still be in bed with her .. . . :D

I just got back from a 4-day where we had to show at 5 AM all 4 days. I think I only averaged about 4 - 4 1/2 hours of sleep those nights too (damn NBA and NHL playoffs!). But I slept for a couple hours each time, worked out and then relaxed. It seemed to do the trick (well that and the coffee, and working with a great crew)!