Fatigue after driving hours

Do you have any medical issues that contribute to this?

 

Eating a decent breakfast every day makes a huge difference in your energy level over the course of time. So does staying away from hamburgers and greasy heavy food.

 

You are absolutely right. I bump up on 14 far more often than my 11 hrs of driving. It's just the way it is. Going for walks and taking small breaks throughout the day helps a lot

 

Driving style can contribute to fatigue. Driving local I was hammered when I got home until I just went with the flow.

 

With 8 years of experience, your stamina levels should have gotten better, unless:

1. Your "driving style" is causing excessive stress that a regular sleep schedule isn't enough.
2. You are fighting your "Circadian Rhythm" (body clock)...creating that unnecessary stress and fatigue.
http://www.nigms.nih.gov/Education/Factsheet_CircadianRhythms.htm
3. You are simply putting in too many hours at the wheel and other "work" factors.
4. You have personal issues at home, or with family that are causing additional "stress factors" you are including in your work activities.

One or more of the 4 points I've listed above need to be addressed!

 

#1. Eat. If we don't get enough calories in our diet, our bodies think we are in a famine and our metabolism slows down. meaning we produce less energy, and we take our time doing it. Eat breakfast. Breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day. Stay away from high fats and processed sugars(bacon from a pig and pancakes w/ syrup=bad choices). Poached egg, turkey bacon, whole wheat toast, yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit (if in a can , NO ADDED SUGAR) good choices. Eat six small meals a day. It is hard to do, both time wise and just eating that often. We humans wern't made to eat three large meals. The way we process our food, 6 small meals is easier on our digestive systems. Plus, all the protien that we get or can get out of our food is gotten out in 3 hours, so if a muscle is needing some protein and none is availible from our digestive system, it gets it from a muslce that that hasn't been used to its full capacity in a while. That in itself make you worn out.

#2. Water. Most important thing for life. You can live a long time without food, not so much without water. It cleans the body from the inside on a cellular level, getting rid of things that make you lethargic. Water, just plain water, nothing added, is the best for the purpose of liquid in our diet. Normal maintaining intake level is 1 oz. of water per 2 lbs. of body weight. Higher of course depending on your enviroment and physical work output.

#3. Exercise. Exercise will raise your metabolism, meaning you will be able to create more energy quicker. That means less tiredness. Exercise for the sake of exercise. Not , well today I walked into the truckstop twice and a rest area three times. Those are things that you are already doing, and you are tired still, so it ain't helping. It isn't hurting either, but the exercise we need comes in 2 forms. Cardiovascular and resistance training- I.E. weights, big rubber bands, your own body weight. Cardio 3 times aweek(every other day), resistance 3 times a week(every other day). Take one day off, do what ever you like and eat whatever you like.
Cardio should get your heart rate up to 80% for your age and weight, 20 minutes minimum. Fast walking can do that. Fast walking uphill does it quick and really fast walking uphill can stop you and make you puke. Don't think that you have to run to get any benifit. Running is good if you can do it and do it for 20 mins. Notice I said running, not "jogging". Jogging is too jarring, where running, at full stride and maximum arm pump is smooth. Jogging is bad for your joints and your back and you can acclompish the mission with walking, which is really, physicalogiclly, just a slow run.
Resistance. You don't need a gym or weights to do resistance training. Just know which muscle you want to exercise and use a little imagination. I use my own body weight and resistance bands. Upper body every other time and lower body every other time. Abdominals can be exrcised at every resistance workout, they are a different type of muscle and their recovery period is much shorter.

So cardio is about 20 mins a day, lower about the same(there are really only 4 muscles there-calf, quads , hamstrings and gluts) and upper is about 30. Chest, shoulders, back,neck, triceps, biceps and forearms.

My week looks like this:
upper/ cardio/ lower/ cardio/ upper/ cardio/ day off.
The next week switch upper and lower.

If we don't take care of our bodies, where will we live as we age?

 

those that point to stress or driving style may have a point. do you drive tense ? relax ,let your body bounce loosely in the seat . don't fight the bumps. and RELAX. lol. let your mind wander ,(not too much!), enough to let the worlds troubles go away.

it works for road driving , but not city too well.

 

Get sirius/xm and listen to comedy.Works well for me.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-relief/SR00034