Falling Asleep

[steverb1]

I have finally got my Class 1 license and recently have been exploring the various jobs available. I was considering a run that I'm gone for 6-7 days and then off 2. What concerns me is that with the trucker's life style of on again off again driving what do you do if you're feeling drowsy while driving and do you take any sleep aids during bunk time?

Appreciate your answers.

[mapleleaf_1]

If I start to feel drowsy I usually pull into a rest area and get out and stretch my legs. Take a short walk around the grounds. Some times that'll give me my second wind and and clear my head. If that doesn't work then a short nap of an hour or so can do a great deal. I don't like to continue driving when I'm drowsy because I'm afriad of what might happen. Your reaction time isn't as good, and I never take anything in the way of sleep aids. It's a bad habit to get into. Drive safe everyone.

[Uturn2001]

Never, ever, take sleep aids while driving.

If you start to feel drowsy while driving, stop and take a break. If a walk does not do the trick then take a nap.

Also opening a window, avoiding big meals, turning up the radio, finding something on the radio that really holds your intrest, etc can help keep you alert and make the miles fly by.

[Lewis friend]

The best thing to do if getting drowsey is to pull the hell over and sleep.

Unfortunately, in my present situation this practical advice is, for various reasons, difficult to follow.

What i've experimented with is/are follows:

NOTE: None of these things really works but they will buy you time in an emergency situation:

1) Sprint/run 100m. This is about the distance from one end of a truckstop/rest area to the other.

If possible run/sprint 1/4 mile.
This usually buys me about 15 minutes of awakeness.

2) smack yourself in the balls. (women might want to try smacking yourself in the chest) This only gives me a few minutes of awakeness and then i'm sleepy again---and sore. You probably only want to try this in severe emergencies like if someone's dying and they don't have much time and you'll never see them again etc.

3) Sing/scream with radio; Turn it up all the way. And roll the windows down all the way too because the blast of air helps.

Become robert plant, stevie nicks, steve perry etc. because your life depends on it!

4) the water on face trick does not seem to work with me.

Really the best and only way to cure sleepiness is sleep.

I would tell you more, but i'm actually sleepy right now.

VAN HALEN SUCKS.

[golfhobo]

I have finally got my Class 1 license and recently have been exploring the various jobs available. I was considering a run that I'm gone for 6-7 days and then off 2. What concerns me is that with the trucker's life style of on again off again driving what do you do if you're feeling drowsy while driving and do you take any sleep aids during bunk time?

Appreciate your answers.

As for sleep aids.... I believe you mentioned "during bunk time." When starting out, if driving team or just bothered by the sound of an idling truck if solo, a simple Tylenol PM seems to help you sleep.

As for getting drowsy while driving.... the BEST answer is to pull over and take a 20-45 minute power nap. This usually works for ME, but not all drivers can do it successfully.

Second best for me, is a single caffeine pill. NOT a serious drug here.... just equivalent to a big cup of coffee, works faster, and doesn't make you have to stop and pee!

Also, I keep a small cooler of beer - I mean Dr. Peppers on ice next to my seat. When I get a little drowsy, I take one out, wipe the cold water off the bottle and wipe it on my face. Then I take a swig or two, and put it back. Repeat as necessary. If you have to repeat more than twice.... pull over and take the NAP!!

If all else fails, I pull into a truckstop and try to park in the most difficult space left! After about 20 mins of this futile attempt.... I pull back out onto the road, mad as HECK at myself for being such a rookie!

This usually gets my adrenaline running, and I'm now WIDE awake!

[ben45750]

VAN HALEN SUCKS.

I thought it was hilarious that they (I really mean DLR) couldn't get their crap together to play at the Rock'Roll Hall of Fame, instead of saying yeah..... we suck, Eddie has to go into rehab (seems to be the good excuse these days). Then to top it off Sammy and Michael Anthony accept the award and they aren't welcome in the Van Halen that was going to play the hall of fame induction in the first place.

ps. Van Roth was terrible, Van Hagger was tolerable.

[homer]

van halen suck after that whiny singer hagar got in there.
instead of beating your meat go to the pharmacy and get some 24 hour sudafed. in an emergency take one at midnite and it will dry you right up

[LadyNorthStar]

Second best for me, is a single caffeine pill. NOT a serious drug here.... just equivalent to a big cup of coffee, works faster, and doesn't make you have to stop and pee!

They don't work for me. :x

As for the stopping to pee, a co worker of mine told me the other day when hes tired he drinks a lot of water so THAT he has to pee a lot, the stopped to drain to lizard helps keep him awake.

[LadyNorthStar]

Oh..one thing that helps me sometimes is munching on baby carrots.
I also have a cd that I ONLY listen to when I start getting sleepy, does the trick everytime, I'm good to go with that for an hour or 2.

[Hat Rak]

For me, I sip on an energy drink very sparingly. When at a rest area, I'll take 5 minutes to do some stretches to loosen my back and hamstrings.

I've found chewing gum or beef jerky will help, too.

Another idea, keep your the air on lightly and slightly cool. Helps keep the cab oxygenated if there's circulation.

Another thing I do but wouldn't recommend, change your posture. I'll sit half-indian style with my left leg up on the seat and the knee on the sill of the door.

I agree with the singing thing too. That definitely works.

Sometimes the bottom of our cycle happens at weird times, like in the middle of the afternoon, and sometimes there's nothing you can do but pull over and take a nap as the others suggest. Stay safe out there!

[Lewis friend]

OK, i think we are talking about different things here:

Everyone else means what do you do when you get a little drowsey.

What i'm talking about is, you've been up all day, it's night time and what do you do to stay awake and keep driving.

Now, normally if this happens (and this IS the best and ONLY thing to do) is i pull over and sleep.

But lately, in my present situation, this is really not an option; It's hard to explain; Peer pressure, dispatchers are acting "too nice." Reverse psychology you see? etc. etc. etc.

So, i would say for most of you if you just get drowsey under normal circumstances, is to run/sprint/jog 100 meters at a rest area/truckstop etc. If at all possible, try to sprint it as fast as you can go.

Even better, run a 1/4 mile. This should wake you up for the whole day.


But if you've been up all day and it's nighttime and you still have 6 log hours left and you get sleepy:

PULL THE HELL OVER.

F the dispatchers, F the customer. Your health is most important. If nessesary use the "fatigue" regulation ( i will look up the exact number and report back)



2. RE: van halen:

This IS the last straw; van halen is no good in any way, shape, or form. The sooner you understand this, the better off you'll be.

F van halen.

[homer]

i liked van halen when roth was singin. with hagar it sounds like all the other lousey 80's hair bands. that fella was right about the rehab deal. does anyone think now that britney has the family and grooming issues done she is gonna create something great and historical?
you always got some catch 22 with the trucking. you run by the book they hand you to a different manager. i ran legal most times. sometimes your past the scale and you can make the extra effort to deliver on time.you know what your capable of and you let them know as soon as you think its gonna be close.they gonna assign the good long run to some one they know is likely to deliver

[coastie]

When I was driving, and I would do many things.

To prevent getting tired;
Stop every 2 hours and walk around the truck, get a drink (Mountain Dew)

Avoid Driving just before sunrise. Driving between the hours of 3Am and sunrise you feel very tired no matter how much rest you had gotten.


If you get Tired while Driving


Stop and take a nap

Stop Get out and walk around Splash cool water on your face

Roll down your window and let the air hit your face

Turn on the radio and listen and sing along

Talk alot on the CB (also helps in getting to a safe place to stop)

Stop and get a bag of minture candy, the sweet will boost your energy level


But most important is If your tired that a sign, and it is BEST to park and take a nap.

[One]

excellent replies- One thing you will get used to is being tired all the time, I think its just a part of being a truck driver. I have often been awake for 40+ hrs when i have completed my mon night/tue morning run and get to the hotel. coffee/energy drinks help, but use sparingly due to serious health effects ( trust me ) Short naps help a lot. hop in the sleeper whenever delayed/have an opportunity.
Avoid any kind of sleep aids or stay awake pills like yellow jackets or ephedrine, they will keep you from sleeping well when it is time to and they vicious cycle repeats.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/03/14...rss_topstories

FDA: Sleeping pills can cause 'sleep-driving'
POSTED: 3:54 a.m. EDT, March 15, 2007
Story Highlights
• FDA orders 13 sleep-disorder drugs to carry stronger warnings
• Drugs include the popular Ambien and Lunesta
• Risks include driving, eating and talking while asleep with no recollection later
• Ambien manufacturer: Fewer than one in 1,000 patients reported somnambulism
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WASHINGTON (AP) -- All prescription sleeping pills may sometimes cause sleep-driving, federal health officials warned Wednesday, almost a year after the bizarre side effect first made headlines when Rep. Patrick Kennedy crashed his car after taking Ambien.

It's a more complicated version of sleepwalking, but behind the wheel: getting up in the middle of the night and going for a drive -- with no memory of doing so.

The Food and Drug Administration wouldn't say exactly how many cases of sleep-driving it had linked to insomnia drugs, but neurology chief Dr. Russell Katz said the agency uncovered more than a dozen reports -- and is worried that more are going uncounted. (Watch police video of man who may have been sleep-driving Video)

Given the millions of prescriptions for insomnia drugs, Katz called the problem rare, and said he was unaware of any deaths. But because sleep-driving is so dangerous -- and there are precautions that patients can take -- the FDA ordered a series of strict new steps Wednesday.

First, the makers of 13 sleep drugs must put warnings on their labels about two rare but serious side effects:

• sleep-driving, along with other less dangerous "complex sleep-related behaviors" -- like making phone calls, fixing and eating food, and having sex while still asleep.

• and life-threatening allergic reactions, as well as severe facial swelling, both of which can occur either the first time the pills are taken or anytime thereafter.

Next, doctors this week will begin getting letters notifying them of the new warnings.

Later this year, all prescription sleeping pills will begin coming with special brochures called "Medication Guides" that spell out the risks for patients in easy-to-understand language.

Sleep-driving made headlines last May when Kennedy crashed his car into a security barrier outside the U.S. Capitol after taking Ambien and a second drug, Phenergan, which also acts as a sedative. He has said he had no memory of the event.

Ambien isn't the only insomnia drug that can cause sleep-driving -- any of the class known as "sedative-hypnotics" can, FDA's Katz stressed Wednesday.

To lower the risk of a sleep-driving episode, he advised patients to never take any prescription insomnia drug along with alcohol or another sedating drug, or take higher-than-recommended doses of the pills.

"We really want people to know these things can occur, and these sleep behaviors can be perhaps to a large extent mitigated by behaviors the patients can control," he said.

Some of the insomnia drugs may be riskier than others, so FDA also recommended that manufacturers conduct clinical trials to figure that out.

The drugs are: Ambien; Butisol sodium; Carbrital; Dalmane; Doral; Halcion; Lunesta; Placidyl; Prosom; Restoril; Rozerem; Seconal; Sonata.

Fewer than one in 1,000 patients in studies of Ambien reported somnambulism -- a scientific term that includes the sleep behaviors flagged by the FDA -- said Lisa Kennedy, a spokeswoman for manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis SA, who is not related to the congressman. The side effect has remained similarly rare since widespread sales began, she said.