Recommendations on sleeping tablets?

5 replies

AlG

Member since 04 Nov 2010

Total posts 155

Recommendations on sleeping tablets? I'll be flying more international and SYD-PER trips next year, in fact starting from this month actually, and with a lot of those being pretty close together I want to be able to

(a) get a decent sleep on the plane

(b) do the same when I arrive and make sure I adjust to the local timezone (which could be Sydney, Perth, Hong Kong or Shanghai) pretty quickly.

What tablets do people here recommend for ensuring a good sleep? Anything I should ask the doctor for or something I can just buy at my local chemist?

David

Member since 24 Oct 2010

Total posts 1,021

I'm a fan of melatonin, which you can get over the counter in the US, not sure about HK or Shanghai though. I have 5mg and 10mg tabs: the former for a fast light sleep, the later when the timezone differences are more challenging.

I've tried prescription tablets and some over the counter (in AU) ones but they leave me too groggy when I wake up, and I don't want that on a plane or even in a hotel (it's a bad enough feeling at home!).

John Walton

Member since 03 Jan 2011

Total posts 86

Obviously, I'm no medico -- so this is equally obviously not medical advice! But from one traveller to another, I'm a fan of diphenhydramine, which is an over-the-counter antihistamine you might take for hayfever.

It's one of the ones that makes you drowsy, which is why you'd find it in the "PM" formulations of various painkillers and flu remedies. I find it's just enough to knock me out on a red-eye, and I've never yet woken up any groggier than I would have been without the sleep.

Perth-Sydney redeyes are absolute killers, though (which is why you're asking about sleeping tablets!). Seriously consider whether it makes more overall sense to take a day flight instead.

wingtip

Member since 20 Sep 2012

Total posts 8

Melatonin. I get mine through BIOVEA online so no script required. The sustained release ones are great for keeping you asleep which is my problem. I went for a moderate dose & experimented at home for a couple of days a few weeks before I flew just to get the dose right. Hope this helps.

Ian_from_HKG

CX

Member since 05 Jun 2012

Total posts 61

Nex ttime you go through Hong Kong, go to Fanda on Pedder Street and ask for Zolief.  These would be prescription-only drugs anywhere else, so make sure you read the instructions and ensure you are not contra-indicated.  Available in 7.5mg or 10mg tablets, these are full-monty sleeping pills.  And, unlike the old barbiturate sleeping pills, they don't leave me feeling groggy the next day.  They take about 20 minutes to work, and give me a decent night's sleep.  I would recommend following my own personal rule, though, and not use them for more than three nights on the trot.  We don't want anyone getting dependent, do we???

11sjw

Member since 11 Mar 2012

Total posts 160

From some Pilot friends/family  "Be aware that if you can't be aroused during an emergency you'll be left behind."

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