Any suggestions for a light sleeper that runs team?

Who could sleep after that comment ! LOL Better to lose your head so you don't know your feet are missing.:smt044

 

Are prescription sleeping pills permitted?

 

[QUOTE="Hang - Man";3732540]Who could sleep after that comment ! LOL Better to lose your head so you don't know your feet are missing.:smt044[/QUOTE]

At least he didn't say in the drivers lap lmao!

 

That changes the whole question...

 

The OP never actually said its the noise that wakes them up did they? Might be the motion, bumps, stops, possibly the other driver is a "late braker" or "lane diver" or a "wanderer". When I teamed, the first few months, I was only able to do more than cat nap until sheer exhaustion took me under. My codriver had some depth perception issues as well as the attention span of a goldfish. He was all of the above...waiting until the last minute to hit the brakes, which always caused that extra hiss of air, woke me up every time. As well as each time he hit a bump, rumble strip, road turtle, or veered instead of gliding over while changing lanes. Seemed like every five minutes I was tensing up because of something I heard or "felt" the truck doing that it shouldn't have. Tensing up, is not conducive to falling asleep.


It takes a good bit of $ to do, but if you can get about a three inch memory foam topper, and a memory foam/latex pillow, it really cuts down on the jostling, jouncing, bouncing, feel every bump and pothole feeling. That helps a lot. Plus...its your bed, and its worth investing in to make it as comfortable as you can. Before long, you will find yourself wishing you were in "your bed"...even when you are at home.

 

ok never mind....i sooooo misread the title to this......

 

When team driving it was VERY rare for me to ever get a "solid" 7-8 hours of sleep at a time. Usually I'd sleep well for about 4 hours, then need to get up and request a "leg shaker" break. Then back to bed for maybe another 3-4 hours.

Regarding the issue of top bunk, just don't. I've tried that, and because you are farther above the wheels any time the truck hits a bump first with the steers and then with the drives the forward and back movement can be very violent. Sleep is out of the question.

Even in the bottom bunk that forward and back motion is still strong enough on rough roads it can even be painful when your insides are jostled about. I've found that sleeping on my side is the solution, along with having a really good mattress topper (like the memory foam) and a big pillow to place toward the front that will keep the harness system away from your face and provide a comfortable "landing pad" if there is any strong braking action.

Most of all in order to sleep well you need a really good partner that knows how to drive smoothly.

Regarding sleep "aids", I avoid them. When I drive I eat very little, wanting to end my shift hungry, then I eat a good meal and hit the rack and fall asleep. Being relatively hungry when I drive keeps me more alert. Eating a decent meal when I finish helps me sleep.

 

Co driver that can shift and doesn't slam the brakes

 

Once you both learn to drive like you have a fish bowl sitting on the dash, you'll be OK.
We're both pretty careful not to disturb the other if at all possible.

This takes some thinking - lots of room in traffic, avoid holes, gentle braking and smooth shifting.

You'll be OK.