As such, I'll never in a million years do what seemingly so many other seasoned flyers do, which is board the plane, pop the old sneaky prescription pill, down a decent beverage and boom, you're out for eight or nine hours.
I know several people who do this and swear by it, but is it worth the risk?
"Risk!? What risk?" you possibly didn't ask, but I suspect that a high percentage of the time there's a headline-making kerfuffle on a flight, it's the contrasting forces of pills and booze at play.
Just a couple of weeks ago there was the story of the middle-aged Business Class passenger who'd allegedly punched, slapped and kicked Air New Zealand staff en route from Los Angeles to Auckland.
Reports suggest that several hours after he'd been cuffed and marched to the back of the plane, he started to sober up and became apologetic. It's been suggested the combination of sleeping pills and alcohol may have been involved.
One article I read about the incident said that flight attendants know all too well just how troublesome mixing sleeping medication like Zopiclone with alcohol can be. For a start, Zopiclone virgins often refuse to believe even half a pill is enough to knock most people out, so one or two entire pills is a seriously high dosage — the results of which may not be entirely sleep-related if alcohol's been consumed.
Then add to that the effects of altitude and it's no wonder some people get a little strange up there.
The specifics of the beverages matter too because if you've had some caffeine alongside your pills and booze, there's a chance you could feel more high than tipsy.
I'm no doctor, but it's surely the caffeine pulling you in one direction, the alcohol pulling you in another and all of a sudden the tug-of-war's been turbocharged by the strength of a little blue pill with a foul metallic taste.
All of which undoubtedly equals nude cartwheels at 10,000 metres.
Tim Roxborogh hosts Newstalk ZB's Weekend Collective and blogs at RoxboroghReport.com
