I struggled with this for years...and agree at the end of the day the best way to stay awake is to sleep well (sometimes before/ after a duty...sometimes controlled rest during the cruise).
I completely agree and I made this point earlier. Showing up fatigued for a flight duty is the root cause and is something that unfortunately happens all too often in aviation. Even more bizarre and hypocritical is that everybody is completely focussed on the effects of alcohol while the effects of sleep deprivation are similar to those of alcohol but completely ignored when it comes to rest and duty regulations.
The biggest two problems were noise and light encroachment...even if I was exhausted! Then I found this (post 25 onwards)
I don't really have that problem, my biggest problem is winding down in order to fall asleep. Crew planning and the regulators seem to think that humans come with a "sleep/awake" switch, and are able to sleep regardless of the time of day or time zone. For me it simply doesn't work and I can NOT fall asleep at the push of a button.
I've tried everything, from relax/new age music to breathing techniques, nothing really works.
