Perhaps it isn't a good idea to take a drug like Ambien that puts you to sleep for 6 hours. Sleeping at high altitude is not like sleeping down on terra firma. You can develop a blood clot from lack of movement over a prolonged time. I am prone to pneumonia and felt a twinge of pain like pleurisy for 1 1/2 days 2 weeks after returning from France to Calif. I didn't see the pulminologist until a week later. He made me have a X-ray on the spot and a CT scan after that. I didn't have a clot and he admitted that a G.P. probably wouldn't have given those tests but since that is his specialty...It's not just age-a girl in her 20's died of a clot after a flight from New Zealand ? last year. Just a thought!

Not to labor the point, BUT...Ambien does not put me to sleep for 6 hours.

The experience for me is that I close my eyes, it feels like 10 minutes has passed, I look at my watch and find it's been 2 hours. Repeat. I often get up and use the restroom and one of the things I like most about Ambien is that I have no trouble going back to a light sleep state.

The first time I took Ambien (a 10mg dose)I was on a short night flight from NY to Amsterdam. We landed about 4 hours after I had taken it, and I had no trouble at all waking up, getting off the plane, etc.

Everyone reacts differently, however!

Halcion has worked very well for us. It seems to last only about four hours or so, this makes it great for people who only have trouble falling asleep or those who wake up during the night and can't get back to sleep. It also makes it good for shorter naps such as on a tranatlantic flight where you may be trying to get only a few hours sleep. It has never made us groggy though I have suffered some minor amnesia. A pharmicist told me that there were some problems with Halcion - someone had apparently murdered their mother-in-law while on Halcion. I told him that if that is the worst side effect I was probably okay with it.

Thanks everyone, for your suggestions! I am fully equipped for any eventuality. I have packed melatonin, ambien and sonato (of course I won't take all three), I have earplugs and a sleep mask, will take my own down pillow, changed my "sleep" time to awaken 4 hours earlier for the last two days. I leave this afternoon and expect to be rested and ready to roll upon arrival in London tomorrow afternoon.

Have a great time!

Please post a trip report and photos.

Keith