Sleep Acclimation?

Years ago when I drove there was no HOS enforcement so you just drove till you wanted to fall over.
When that tired you will just sleep no matter what.
Then when you wake up you would go again.
Not the best way by a long shot but I managed and it worked.
With the way things are now I don't think I could do it as I cant sleep on command.
I had to be at my destination or dead tired to be able to sleep.
Perhaps once you are in a schedule it is better but some just seem more apt at this then others.
In my day it was common to use stimulants to keep awake.
Perhaps now it is more common to use some sort of sleeping pill in order to fall asleep?
Anyone know if this is common?

 

My buddy & I teamed for a short time due to some tanker/hazmat acid loads/high priority to be delivered from the East Coast to West Coast, back to back. He used Nyquil and had no problems sleeping or getting up when it was his turn to drive.

Yes, I remember the old pill popping days & there were many dramatic wrecks back then & lots of health problems and heart attacks. Some of us are still around and healthy, but we are very fortunate. Probably blessed with good genetics. Whew, leave Nashville for California; sleep 2 hours in Amarillo and that was it. Then hope for a quick turnaround and a quick nap, and make it to the casino's & chicken ranches in Nevada before any serious sleep. Wouldn't want to go back to those days; might not be so fortunate next time.

 

Melatonin seems to help me sleep when my sleep schedule gets out of whack.

 

I've had good luck with Nyquil; not so much with Zquil. You may want to trying taking melatonin (a sleep inducing hormone - Google it for more info) half an hour before you need to sleep.

The human body wants to sleep when it's dark and be awake when it's light; some people can adapt to altering this natural sleep pattern and others, like me, can't. Numerous sleep studies have proven that not adhering to the natural sleep cycle is injurious to a person's health and longevity.

With that long-winded preamble behind us, the long & short of it is that you're screwed. Hauling freight is a 24/7 operation and it's highly unlikely that the load planner and/or dispatcher is going to give a large pile of poop that you're going to have to drive all night to get a load of cat toys to Joe's Cat Emporium.

I've been hauling auto parts for awhile and the automakers rely on JIT (Just In Time) delivery. I never minded listening to Joe complain about a late delivery of cat toys but with auto parts, some late deliveries can cost the carrier 25K per hour, and a lost contract, if late delivery shuts down the production line. Surprisingly, people won't buy cars without windshields.

At this stage of my life & career (near retirement), I can afford to refuse loads that require me to run hard overnight; fire me and I'm 15 minutes away from another driving job with a different auto parts carrier. I may lose a few bucks but I don't intend to risk my life for a job.

The 'fire me if you don't like it' concept isn't of much help to you at the start of your career so here's what I do to adapt to hard, overnight runs that I'm willing to take. Once I know that there's enough time in the run for me to get at least some sleep - even an hour can make a big difference - I'll leave as soon as I can. When I'm too tired to drive any further, I park & sleep. If doing so screws up my logbook, no big deal; I've got plenty of logbooks.

Obviously, my cavalier attitude towards logbooks is illegal and of no use if you're saddled with electronic logs. The day I have to use electronic logs is the day I hang it up for good. There hasn't been a load of cat toys or auto parts yet that have been worth risking my life for. BOL

 

I took Sominex when Iwas running teams. It worked well, I could sleep for 8 hours while the truck was moving.

 

Want a tip?

Bring ear plugs with you.

Helps keep you asleep.
...you'll see

Stay away from using drugs
Drugs are for wimps

 

Supplements help. Puritan website has good prices; that's where I get mine. Sometimes they have a sale, buy 2 bottles & get 3 additional bottles free. Drugs-med is another excellent site for supplements; I use that site also.