If noise-canceling headphones don’t help you doze off, you may need to consider a more heavy-duty fix: sleeping pills for flights. Certainly, some flights don’t warrant sleeping aids—such as when you’re taking a short trip or traveling west against a time difference, says Aneesa Das, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist at the Ohio State University (at that point you may as well stay awake). But if you’ll be on a plane overnight and waking up in a vastly different time zone, logging some shuteye on the plane is crucial to arriving refreshed—or close enough to it.
That’s when sleeping pills can help. For most people, they’re a reliable solution if they have trouble sleeping on planes, and they’re always a better option than ordering wine when the beverage cart rolls around. “Alcohol will allow you to fall asleep more quickly, however most people will then experience very disrupted and fragmented sleep quality,” says Thomas Kilkenny, M.D., director of the Institute of Sleep Medicine at Staten Island University Hospital.
Here’s what you should know—according to medical experts—about the most common sleeping pills for flights, including side effects to be aware of before you pop one.
This article has been updated with new information since its original publish date.
Ambien
Ambien—the most powerful option on this list—is available by prescription only and works as a sedative-hypnotic medication that slows your brain activity to make you feel very sleepy. It’ll knock you out good—maybe even too good. Some users experience retroactive amnesia, which means you could wake up mid-flight, have a full conversation with the flight attendant, and have no memory of it when morning comes, Das says.
Ambien can also lead to sleepwalking, which could result in some awkward bump-ins on the plane. “This is especially true if combined with alcohol or if not enough time is allowed for sleep,” Kilkenny says. He recommends having at least six or seven hours to sleep in order for the drug to metabolize, so avoid taking it on a short flight or when you have only a few hours to go before landing. But it’s not all bad: Zolpidem (the generic name for Ambien) has been shown to fight off jet lag, per a 2018 review article published in Springer. Lunesta and Sonata are two other prescription-only sleep aids which work similarly to Ambien (they’re collectively known as Z-drugs).
Rozerem
Rozerem (the brand name for ramelteon) is another medication available by prescription, but it isn’t as aggressive as Ambien. “It’s a melatonin receptor stimulant and is unrelated to the Z-pills,” Kilkenny says. It may be a more attractive option for travelers as it reaches peak levels quickly and has a very short half-life, which means it won’t linger in your system as long. You’ll want to take an 8 milligram (mg) dose 30 minutes before you want to doze off. It likely won’t knock you out as well as Ambien, but research published in the Journal of Central Nervous System Disease in 2011 suggests that it will regulate your sleep-wake cycle to help your circadian rhythm adjust to a new time zone. Plus, it doesn’t come with the nasty side effects of the Z-drugs, Kilkenny says.
Tylenol PM
The over-the-counter medication is easy to pick up at the drugstore when you’re stocking up on travel-sized shampoos and other carry-on essentials. Diphenhydramine, the same antihistamine found in Benadryl, will likely put you to sleep, though you may pay the price once you land. “It makes us feel really groggy when we wake up, and it can make us feel really hungover,” Das says. The antihistamine may also leave you with a dry mouth that those tiny airplane cups of water just can’t quench (not a good situation since flying in general can make you dehydrated). Still, Das says it’s okay to take so long as you’ve tolerated it in the past.
Melatonin
This hormone occurs naturally in the body, but taking an extra dose helps induce sleep and adjust your circadian clock. That will help you function better at your destination and decrease the effects of jet lag, Kilkenny says. Start taking melatonin a few days before your trip, about four to six hours before your bedtime, so that you’re ready to hit the pillow 30 minutes to an hour earlier than normal, Das says.
