Why do passengers fall asleep on aircraft, even before takeoff-
regardless of time of day? Kindly exclude references to exhaustion re
rushing to airports at early hours.

Dear brudenell-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

There are some people who believe that the tired feeling that comes
over airplane passengers is caused by magnetic fields produced by the
aircraft itself, or from oxygen deprivation due to unclean or not
enough air. Simply put, however, the sleepy feeling that many airplane
passengers experience upon boarding a plane is due to stress. You see,
sleep is the body’s natural restorative response to anxiety. The
“fight or flight” syndrome that is present while rushing to meet the
deadline, checking in the baggage, navigating in a strange place among
strange people, and of course, the always present danger, however
remote, or being injured while on an airplane are on a few of the
factors which raise our stress levels dramatically. Once aboard, the
environment is optimum for relaxation. The air is tempered, filtered
an abundant. The seats are soft and comfortable and many of our
challenges, at least in the immediate sense, have been successfully
met and the stress related to that is eliminated. Suddenly there is a
major drop in the amount of adrenaline the body needs to keep up with
demands. In response, the body makes use of the “down time” by
relaxing and making ready for the upcoming challenges. Without this
brief restoration, one can become ill, experience depression, or,
perhaps some time later, sleep disturbances when you try bed down for
the night under normal circumstances. Personally, this is the category
I fall into. I am an “arm gripper”, not keen on flying, and the
excitement of it all leaves me feeling nervous, jittery and exhausted.

In animals, this “fight or flight” lifestyle is common. Most animals,
even domesticated ones, are ready to either run for their life or
stand their ground and fight to the death at a moment’s notice. In
order to maintain this lifestyle, they sleep periodically, often
opening an eye now and then to survey the situation. The term
“cat-nap” comes to mind here, as you’ve probably already envisioned
Fluffy doing the same thing I’ve described. In fact, cats, dogs,
birds, horses and just about every other creature, including man, to
some degree, practices this same tactic of replenishing his body with
power in preparation for the next stressful event. Since man has
evolved into a more intelligent being than animals, his “cat napping”
is more easily achieved when he is forced into a sedentary situation;
preferably one that is comfortable, quiet and on that offers little
stimulation. Latching one’s self into a cushy airplane seat under and
refreshing air conditioner vent, with a pillow, music and cold drinks
is a perfect example.

I hope you find that that my research exceeds your expectations. If
you have any questions about my research please post a clarification
request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating
and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again
in the near future. Thank you for using Google Answers.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga


INFORMATION SOURCES


“ADRENAL FUNCTION & THE STRESS FACTOR”
http://vitaminlady.com/Articles/Adrenalstress.htm


“Wakefulness, Alertness, Sleep, and Dreams”
http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/sleep.htm


“Do Passengers Get Enough Oxygen? Experts Examine a Threat That
Affects Everyone Who Flies”
http://www.lef.org/newsarchive/aging/2001/03/06/eng-usatoday/eng-usatoday_075418_145_469518743921.html


“JET LAG - And Other Environmental Sensitivities”
http://www.chiexplorer.com/newsletters/101/101_C.html




RECOMMENDED READING


“Relaxation”
http://www.sandwellmind.co.uk/us_pages/us_relaxation.htm



SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:

Sleep airplane

“Fight or flight”

Anxiety sleep

Sleep disorders

Tired airplane passengers

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Request for Answer Clarification by brudenell-ga on 11 Dec 2002 07:21 PST

Hello tutuzdad-ga

Good to see you again. Your answer makes sense and I appreciate it. I
read over the information and the content of all the links. I could
not find any clear science or reference to scientific sources specific
to my question. Do you know of specific scientific studies on this
phenomena?

Best regards

Brudenell

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Clarification of Answer by tutuzdad-ga on 11 Dec 2002 09:27 PST

Dear brudenell-ga; 

I did not find an actual study that made reference to people who sleep
immediatley upon boarding a plane, so I was forced to draw a logical
conclusion from the information available. All indications are that
people "coming down" from high stress situations naturally migrate
toward physical, emotional and mental renewal as a means of preserving
or restoring the body's energy resources. As a disclaimer, I also
mentioned that not "everyone" falls asleep on an airplane - using
myself as an example - and that the flight itself presents a greater
level of stress with some passengers than does the preparation. Those
of use who are not comfortable flying tend to experience greater
levels of jet lag than those who can subconsiously recharge their
bodies upon boarding the plane.

To me, and from what I have read on the matter, this makes an enormous
amount of sense even though no formal studies seem to be available to
prove or disprove this theory.

Regards;
tutuzdad-ga

Thank you for a good common sense answer.