- General
- Sleeping on a plane is a true challenge : cabin noise rivals that of concerts, seats are small and hard, and there are constant interruptions
- Many travelers turn to medications to help them sleep away hours spent in flight
- With any sleep aid, it’s a good idea to try it out at home before you leave to see how your body will react
Prescription Drugs
- Many travelers swear by Ambien, which has considerable sleep-inducing power but doesn’t leave you feeling groggy upon arrival
- It is also considered to be less addictive than benzodiazepine drugs (such as Valium and Xanax, two other common options)
Over-the-Counter Travel Medication
- Bonine (meclizine) and Dramamine (dimenhydrinate) are motion sickness medications that also double admirably as sleep aids
- Antihistamines like Sominex and Benadryl contain diphenhydramine HCl, which can cause drowsiness.
Melatonin
- Melatonin is not a sleeping pill per se, but a hormone that occurs naturally in the body, and is secreted as light fades at the end of the day
- Rather than acting like a sedative, putting us under and keeping us there, it acts more like a sleep trigger, controlling when we go to sleep and when we wake up
- Melatonin effectively acts as your body’s time clock. (For example, as we age, melatonin levels in our systems decrease; that’s why our grandparents always seem to be up all night!)
- According to proponents, a well-timed dose of melatonin can put you under, and if your sleep habits are strong, you should stay under. Melatonin can also help considerably in conquering jet lag.
Note that melatonin is not presently regulated by the FDA, and its effectiveness has not been clinically proven. Appropriate dosage is not entirely clear, and purity can vary among products.
Jet Lag
Melatonin has also gained popularity as a cure for jet lag
- Another remedy that got a lot of buzz a few years back is Co-E1 NADH (previously known as Enada NADH), an over-the-counter vitamin B supplement
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- Co-E1 NADH has been credited with everything from curing jet lag to increasing memory and test scores
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