Sleeping tips?

[Brown67]

I just finished up my CDL training at UPS and I will be the vacation coverage feeder driver in my center. Which means I'll cover my normal package route most of the year, but 15 weeks of the year I'll switch to nights and cover for our feeder drivers. Anyone have tips on going back and forth from days to nights and trying to get enough sleep.

[Jackrabbit379]

You will get used to it. You will be a zombie, but that's the way it goes.

When I was being switched back and forth, it was a strange feeling. I didn't know if I should sleep, or stay up for another 26 hours. When you cover the feeders, just go home, and sleep. By the time your body gets used to that, you will be back on days, and then you can work your normal body schedule.

[belpre122]

edit.

[Malaki86]

Switching for 15 weeks in a row? that'd be easy compared to switching from days to nights to days within a 2-3 day period.

[Brown67]

Won't be 15 weeks in a row. It will be spread out over the whole year.

[Windwalker]

1. Don't while you're driving...
2. Closing your eyes is the first step...
3. Park close to a pasture full of sheep and start counting...
4. Pull a curtain to keep the light out...

There are guys that use sleep aids from Wal-Mart, but I've never tried that, and it's not a good idea if you don't have the full time to get over the effects of it. With some of the weird hours I have for appointment times, I really don't think my system is used to any time anymore.

Best I can say is good luck.

[catalinaflyer]

My step-dad was a feeder driver for 28 years and never drove a single day shift that entire time. He retired 6 years ago and to this day he still stays up all night and sleeps all day. I guess 28 years of conditioning his body to be a vampire and it doesn’t go back overnight. My mom just doesn’t get it but she’s never worked overnight a day in her life. A couple of years ago while working for a motorcycle company as a show truck driver I worked in the machine shop there for a couple months over the winter and thought that working the night shift would be great, 4 – 10 hour days and 3 days off every week plus being home during the day. Well that was a disaster, I was walking death, my body was so screwed up that it took a week of sleeping to get back to normal (or at least normal in my eyes, everyone else thinks I’m screwed up )

Anyhow, here’s what he told me to do during that time, said it took him 3 to 4 years to finally get adjusted:

First and most important, stay away from anything with caffeine for at least 6 hours before you go to bed. And to that you’ll be shocked at everything out there with caffeine in it such as over-the-counter pain medications and chocolate, check the labels. And of you smoke, that won’t help either but there are still some of us out there with that monkey on our back but if you do, try not to have any an hour or so before bed time. And don’t eat a big breakfast then head off to bed, try and avoid anything fried as well.

Try and get yourself (most important) and your family to understand that when your home during the day covering a night shift that your not there to work on honey-do’s, help with school projects and so on. It’s also important to insulate yourself from as much of the day-to-day noise in the house because no matter how tired you are your going to find it tough to sleep through some of the stuff you used to hearing while awake. Get some blackout curtains for your bedroom so that no light gets in from outside while your sleeping because even though your asleep you body will see the light and think it needs to be awake.

Hope that helps a little, I’m sure glad to be back on heavy haul, the big yellow signs on the front and back of the truck are actually solar panels, when the sun goes down the truck stops running

[Snowman7]

My step-dad was a feeder driver for 28 years and never drove a single day shift that entire time. He retired 6 years ago and to this day he still stays up all night and sleeps all day. I guess 28 years of conditioning his body to be a vampire and it doesn’t go back overnight. My mom just doesn’t get it but she’s never worked overnight a day in her life. A couple of years ago while working for a motorcycle company as a show truck driver I worked in the machine shop there for a couple months over the winter and thought that working the night shift would be great, 4 – 10 hour days and 3 days off every week plus being home during the day. Well that was a disaster, I was walking death, my body was so screwed up that it took a week of sleeping to get back to normal (or at least normal in my eyes, everyone else thinks I’m screwed up )

Anyhow, here’s what he told me to do during that time, said it took him 3 to 4 years to finally get adjusted:

First and most important, stay away from anything with caffeine for at least 6 hours before you go to bed. And to that you’ll be shocked at everything out there with caffeine in it such as over-the-counter pain medications and chocolate, check the labels. And of you smoke, that won’t help either but there are still some of us out there with that monkey on our back but if you do, try not to have any an hour or so before bed time. And don’t eat a big breakfast then head off to bed, try and avoid anything fried as well.

Try and get yourself (most important) and your family to understand that when your home during the day covering a night shift that your not there to work on honey-do’s, help with school projects and so on. It’s also important to insulate yourself from as much of the day-to-day noise in the house because no matter how tired you are your going to find it tough to sleep through some of the stuff you used to hearing while awake. Get some blackout curtains for your bedroom so that no light gets in from outside while your sleeping because even though your asleep you body will see the light and think it needs to be awake.

Hope that helps a little, I’m sure glad to be back on heavy haul, the big yellow signs on the front and back of the truck are actually solar panels, when the sun goes down the truck stops running

All great advice. Stay away from caffiene. Watch your diet including sugar, that'll jack you up. For me a dark room is very important. Shades and curtains. We had white walls and I painted them a med dark beige. Working nights is extremely hard to get used to. But switching back and forth will be even harder. Get some phone numbers of other feeders and vampires and such to help keep you awake. Night time minutes are free.

[Jackrabbit379]

From my own experience..
About 3 or so years ago, one of our day time drivers quit (we have 4 day time drivers, here). Well, on Tuesdays and Fridays (at that time) we had 4 routes. The rest of the days, there were only 3. When Ray quit, that meant that they needed an extra driver on Tuesdays and Fridays to cover that extra route. When he put in his 2-week notice, my Transportation Manager called me, and told me that I will have to run some routes, till they get someone hired.
I worked on Sunday nights. I was off on Mondays, and worked on Tuesdays, in the day time, delivering. I worked Wednesday nights, and I was off on Thursdays. I worked on Fridays, in the day time, delivering. I ran my normal line-haul runs on Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights, and delivered in the day time on Tuesdays, and Fridays.
After about 3 months of that, I told my Transportation Manager that they are going to have to hire someone else to do that night-day flip-floppin. I had enough. My Transportation Manager told me when I called that they hired someone, and he was in orientation. About 3 weeks later, I was back to my line-haul schedule.
When I worked nights, and days all in the same week, I was so screwed up. I didnt know if it was night or day. Didnt know if I wanted to sleep, or stay up for another 24 hours. I wouldnt wish that type of schedule on anyone.

Brown67, for the time being, you will feeder when someone is on vacation, etc? I run with 3 feeder Brown Clowns. They run from Lubbock to Wichita Falls. Anyway, a lot of nights, I can get lucky, and leave out of Lubbock at the same time they do. I always try to run with them, and talk with them. I know that if one of them is on vacation, Bobby fills in for them. He normally drives a package car in the day time. I asked him a while back how he adjusts to the night time work. He said that he sleeps in the mornings when he gets back, and then he naps in the afternoons. He said that when he gets back on days, he just gets right back in his normal schedule.

[Jackrabbit379]

Get some phone numbers of other feeders and vampires and such to help keep you awake. Night time minutes are free.

I just realized what you said... Vampires and such.

Or what my wife says.. She says that I am nocturnal.