getting sleep on the road?
 

Hello all, I just joined the 121 world a couple months ago after flight instructing. Luckily for me, I was only on reserve for two months before being able to hold a line. The problem is that I went from flying about 10 hours a month to 75+. I'm having a real issue getting quality sleep on the overnights, especially when the last flight lands later in the night and I'm still wired getting back to the hotel. Wondering if any of you experienced folks can give me some tips you use on getting rest on the road (melatonin, booze, adjusting your sleep schedule before a trip, etc). Any help would be appreciated since the fatigue is starting to effect my performance. Sarcastic responses welcomed but not preferred :D.

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Booze while it makes you sleepy drastically decreases the quality of sleep. Just try to relax. Sleep in, let your body adjust. Sometimes you don't even notice but one hotel will offer a better bed than others. Holiday inn IMO are the worst. Don't eat within a few hours, if you do, something very light and not greasy.

Ear plugs, eye masks, properly temperature controlled room (slightly cool), melatonin as needed (helps you fall asleep but doesnt keep you asleep) and not being hungry (or stuffed).

Airline flying with several overnights a week definitely takes its toll on quality of sleep. It gets worse when you have different time zones to consider if you fly international. Everyone has their own way of dealing with it, but I would refrain from using OTC medicines or alcohol as they both can become addictive. It's quite normal to remain awake for a while when you get to your room. Especially if it's late in the night. Good diet and regular exercise as well as darkening your room etc etc as has been suggested does help.

You may have to wait for your seniority to catch up, but make consistent schedules (i.e. all morning starts) a priority in bidding.

Ambien. Large quantities of ambien.

The main thing to do is turn off the tv. That's number one. Keep iPhone, iPad use to a min. That's why most of the population can't sleep, all we do is watch tv and get on our iPads at night. The rest is up to you, you can read a book, another method is to listen to movie or video, something with your eyes closed. Thats proven to make you fall asleep kind of like a kid getting read a bedtime story. Also telling yourself ahead of time you will sleep helps too, it's telling your mind subliminally. They say your body listens to you.

Just get used to the fact that you are going to feel like crap until you turn 65. Then you will still feel like crap because you are old.

This.....
The reason airline pilots were in days of yore were compensated fairly well was the jacked up schedules. Want an eye opener, look at the longevity of freight pilots.....

this^
even a little light from an iPad, phone or TV can prevent the brain from producing melatonin. I read a book when I can't sleep and I usually only make it a few pages.

SOP or FOM?
AIM/FAR will kill brain cells.....
And if you want a full on coma, Aerodynamics for Naval Aviators, methamphetamine is the only known opposer, but only for a short period....
http://www.faa.gov/regulations_polic.../00-80t-80.pdf

Might get crap for this one, wouldn't be the first time. Breathing exercises. No kidding. Slow deep breaths in, (8sec.) hold for 10secs., slow exhale(8sec), Yes, even Yoga. I hadn't slept a good night in 55 years until recently. When the laughing subsides, give it a try. Wish I had believed in it years ago.

You mean you weren't paying attention during your company's fatigue risk management program presentation?

Booze, fried food, loose fa's, smokes and xtube always does the trick for me. Always sleep like a baby. Just don't always wake up in the same room as my luggage.

Wonderful stuff, but now that you have to wait 5 times the dosing interval before flying again, not very practical on the road. Hell, it's not even practical at home unless you have more than 5 days off. :mad:

Is that a requirement?

Not for me!
:D

In all honesty.. if you are a caffeine drinker, lay off of it. This job gives you unlimited free caffeine, and discount caffeine. Your body naturally doesnt need that stuff. Stick to the water. You'll tired out by the end of your day guaranteed.

The amount of caffeine consumed in this industry is terrible.

Have a baby, you'll sleep much better on the road.

I have 5 kids, nights on the road are the only full nights of sleep I get.

Sleep on the job

problem solved

/end of thread

join the military, go to the desert, sleep in a tent 1/4 mile from the departure end of a jet base runway.
you'll never have trouble sleeping again, seriously !

working out a few hours before bedtime usually works wonders also.

Don't watch tv.

Choke your chicken and lights out. If it doesn't work, well then you're just not doing it right.

Seriously.

things that benefit me:
-no caffeine after noon
-at least 20 min of cardio or a brisk walk
-cooler room temps
-no tv or computers/iPhones 1 hr prior
-finish dinner 2 hrs prior
-herbal sleep aids, especially valerian root based
-no melatonin or ____ PM drugs
-no red meat or big meals late in the evening

Exactly. Simple.

I put on a documentary or something that isn't funny or action based on Netflix on my tablet next to the bed. Listening to that helps me drift off to sleep. Having white noise in the hotel is a necessity for staying asleep. Keep the thermostat on constant fan mode. As stated earlier, it wouldn't hurt to choke the chicken either.

That book is porn to some Delta guys. :D

How are you reading the book with no light? [emoji2]

Man, thanks for this great book. The only problem is you just ruined my night, this can't put me to sleep! Plus I have it on my iPad now😬😬😬

I haven't read any of the replies but I'll give you my two cents op...

I've been at a regional for about two years, and it wasn't until a few months ago my body really adjusted and I sleep like a baby every night. I remember the transition rather difficult myself...it's normal.

One thing that has helped me is to purchase a Fitbit. You can track your sleep and set "baselines" on how many hours of sleep you get a night...I try to average 7 hours on there, if it's a short overnight then I'll get right to bed soon as I get to the hotel...is that difficult at first, sure, but your body will adjust to your sleep schedule (at least how many hours it requires). When I'm off duty at home I try to go to bed at a decent time..even staying up later than normal one or two nights a week wreaks havoc for me later in the week.

Change your diet, limit caffeine, try to get a little bit of exersize in, cut out the drinking, and don't eat before bed-skip and eat in the morning if you have to. Use melatonin if you need to-it knocks me right out.

Again, the transition is difficult but your body will slowly adjust. No worries

I haven't read any of the replies but I'll give you my two cents op...

I've been at a regional for about two years, and it wasn't until a few months ago my body really adjusted and I sleep like a baby every night. I remember the transition rather difficult myself...it's normal.

One thing that has helped me is to purchase a Fitbit. You can track your sleep and set "baselines" on how many hours of sleep you get a night...I try to average 7 hours on there, if it's a short overnight then I'll get right to bed soon as I get to the hotel...is that difficult at first, sure, but your body will adjust to your sleep schedule (at least how many hours it requires). When I'm off duty at home I try to go to bed at a decent time..even staying up later than normal one or two nights a week wreaks havoc for me later in the week.

Change your diet, limit caffeine, try to get a little bit of exersize in, cut out the drinking, and don't eat before bed-skip and eat in the morning if you have to. Use melatonin if you need to-it knocks me right out.

Again, the transition is difficult but your body will slowly adjust. No worries.

Something that just hit me...do you commute? If so that will tire you out no questiin about it. Think twice about commuting if so-just move to base it will help

I turn the lights off and read from my iPad Kindle with the black light/grey letters and keep the screen really dim. I'm usually asleep after a page or two, and it doesn't matter if it's 9pm or 2am. It helps to keep the same routine when you're home too

Other folks have mentioned some of this, but it's kind of an holistic approach...

- AM's are usually problematic. If you just started AM's, you'll get to the hotel early afternoon. There's a temptation to take a nap, but try to avoid that. If you nap, you'll have trouble falling/staying asleep later on and the vicious cycle will repeat itself every day for the whole trip. If you really need the nap, set an alarm and do a 30-45 min power nap. The idea is to be tired enough to fall asleep early so you can get on the AM schedule.

- Exercise: Finish three hours or more before targeted bed time.

- Food: Eat the main meal at least two hours before bedtime. Small bedtime snacks OK (avoid chocolate or anything else with caffeine).

- Drink: In moderation on the road. I'll typically drink with dinner so I have some time to metabolize before going to bed.

- Dark: Shut the drapes tight. Use pillows or carry big paper clamps to hold them shut. Unplug/cover up appliances with bright leds. Most hotel clocks have a select-able dimmer, use that or cover the clock up. If really needed, you can use those blinders you get on long-haul trips to cover your eyes.

- Screen time: Raster-scanned screens stimulate parts of your brain. That's pretty much any TV or video display on a laptop/tablet. If you're serious about getting to sleep, don't watch any video an hour before your desired sleep time. Using a laptop/tablet for non-video (ie reading, web surfing) should be OK since the LCD screens to not have a rapid update (subliminal flicker) between raster scans.

- Read: This works best for me. Kindle/e-reader is fine (LCD, no raster refesh).

- Bed time: I try to get in bed 7-8 hours before wake up time, and plan on one hour of "chilling", typically reading although you could watch TV if you really wanted to. The reading puts me to sleep if I'm at all tired. Sometimes I call

- Melotonin: This supplement is your bodies natural "go to sleep now" hormone. It's useful for AMs because it tells your body that it's bed time before your body's circadian rhythm releases it's own melotonin at your normal bedtime. The FAA is OK with it, but it can leave you groggy within about 6-7 hours so I would take it at least 8 hours prior to show time. Limit use to one pill (maybe two in a crunch) and no more than 2-3 days in a row. Otherwise your body can "learn" to expect the pill and may not generate enough of it's own. Typically just one dose on the first night (or even the night before the trip) gets me on the right cycle. For overseas travel, 2-3 nights does the trick.

Noise:

PM's: Noise is often the problem because your neighbors and the maids will wake you up earlier than you wanted. Since you don't have to get up earlier than usual, you probably don't need a wakeup call or alarm so earplugs or even an ANR headset will do the trick.

AMs: This is tough. Earplugs/ANR headset will likely cause you to sleep through your alarm. I invariably wake up at least once so I've been known to use ANR to get me to midnight or later when things normally quiet down a bit. I just hope I wake up once so I can take it off before my alarm...

Somebody mentioned white noise...sounds like that would be great for lower "normal" evening noise levels.

Hotels need to maintain a quiet atmosphere in the evening. If they can't or don't, file a complaint with the company. Enough of that will get the hotel changed. If it's really bad, call in fatigued in the morning...not only is that the right thing to do but it only takes two or three of those to get the hotel changed.

Earplugs!! I sleep like I'm in a coma using them. Set two alarms, buzzer on the clock and crank the volume on your phone. Use a wake up call too if you need it. I've read people saying they're afraid of sleeping through their alarm with earplugs - I am a pretty deep sleeper and I wake up with no problems.

Don't exercise too close to bedtime.

No caffeine within five hours of sleep - seven is better for me; caffeine affects me more than it does most.

NO NAPS. You will jack yourself up hard if you take a nap.

Try not to argue with the significant other within three hours of bedtime.

And be consistent. Lights out eight hours before your alarm.

I am a naturally late sleeper. On the road? I prefer mornings. I get my seven to eight hours every night and I'm good to go.

Going to bed at 730-8 takes a little discipline but you'll be much happier if you do. The first day usually sucks - after that it's smooth sailing.