It's nine-thirty at night, and I'm in Seattle waiting for an overnight flight to Miami. I can't sleep on airplanes! I don't know if it's the seat, the noise, the proximity of the person next to me,or maybe some psychological issues of wanting to be in control (lest I'm seen drooling in public). Maybe it's the thought of sleeping with 130 other people.
I have a friend whose super power is that he can sleep anywhere - I'm sure he could even sleep on a 3rd class train in India. Even my father-in-law can fall asleep sitting up on a chair or sofa. I wasn't bestowed with such powers.
I remember once on an overnight flight from Honolulu to Vancouver. It was an old Canadian Airlines DC-10, and the in-flight entertainment didn't work. This was only a problem for me and the guy sitting across the aisle, because everyone else (including my wife) was sleeping. We just looked at each other knowing that we wouldn't be alone in our suffering. I don't know if one can read too much into the fact that a couple of hours into the flight those enjoying a restful flight had been shaken awake by bad turbulence. If we all can't sleep, then no one will.
Another time my wife and I were on an overnight bus in Australia and I had taken a Gravol, or a reasonable facsimile, and just as I was feeling groggy and my eyes heavy, the driver said he was stopping for a rest, and we had to exit the bus. I tried to stay awake in snack shop in a brightly lit gas station in the middle of an Australian nowhere, before climbing back on the bus and trying to sleep.
At 2,724 miles, the six-and-a-half hour flight from Seattle to Miami is the longest non-stop flight in the continental United States. And for me, no doubt the longest sleepless night as well. And if that wasn't bad enough, I will be in Miami for about 15 hours before boarding another overnight flight to Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
When I went to bed last night, I thought about how it would be three days until I would again be able to fall asleep in a bed.
A shame really that super powers can't be bought or traded. Maybe I will just have to find myself a palm tree to rest against on Miami Beach.
Posts
3 comments:
I too can rarely sleep on planes (unlike my wife, who once slept soundly from the gate at YVR to the gate at MEX), but I *can* "doze," if the flight is at night. My dozing technique involves -
1) Consuming zero caffeine for the 24 hours prior to the flight. No coffee, no tea, no Coca-Cola Classic, no Diet Coke, no chocolate.
2) Having a window seat, so I have a place to lean my head.
3) Wearing good earplugs, *installed properly.* I recommend Howard Leight Max UF Foam Ear Plugs (NRR 33).
4) Having a soft sleep mask.
5) Taking three Nytol 2 hours prior to flight departure.
- Geoff G.
PS For a short period of time, AC used to operate a flight to MIA ex YVR. I flew it once - Having never flown Air Pacific, to this day it remains the longest flight I've taken on a narrowbody.
- Geoff G.
Geoff,
Some good tips. I always prefer a window seat, but on the SEA-MIA flight there were no window seats available, and I actually took the last aisle seat. Fortunately, the middle seat wasn't taken. To make dozing even more challenging, a young child with some developmental issues sitting in the row in front of me was screaming for the better part of two hours, though I was impressed that the Alaska flight attendant brought ear plugs to us.
On the AeroSur flight I was sitting in an older business class seat, but spent the better part of the night chatting to the 89 year old man next to me who has lived a very interesting life.
Post a Comment