Getting used to operating at night...any advice for downtime routine and sleep?

I wish I could help you but it kicks my butt too. I'll stay tuned to this thread with you for the answer. Good question, should make for a good thread.

I know when I don't get sufficient sleep prior to a shift a nap during the mandatory does wonders. A brisk walk is helpful too, but no substitute for sleep. It's a constant challenge, it seems.

 

I'm not going to lie. The first day is the tough one. As a long time 'vampire' driver, I don't have all the answers, but I might have a few.

My advice: if you can hang with staying up all night the day before, do it. And do things that wear you out. Wash the truck, polish your wheels, rake leaves, shovel snow... whatever. Every time you think you're going to fall asleep before you need to, go take a walk or a shower. Make yourself darn thankful when it is time to climb in the rack and zonk.

If you don't have time to prep like that, it is considerably harder. We, as human beings, are not programmed to be awake at night and sleep during the day. Being in front of the curtain after daybreak is a killer for me. My body dumps all kinds of chemicals on my brain in reaction to the sunlight to wake me up and I find it hard to unwind enough to sleep.

If you absolutely can't sleep, you need to be super careful. Those hours between 0300-0500 are rough. Exercise. Water. Gum. Nap on your break. Moving your seat to something safe but unfamiliar. Audio books. Clenching and relaxing muscles in the seat. Rolling the window down. Chewing sunflower seeds. Doing trip math in your head. Calling your honey. There's a million little tricks. But none of them - not one- work half as well as a good night's sleep. Too much caffeine and energy drinks/shots and chain smoking only make it worse in the end.

So, do yourself a favor, beat yourself up and go without the sleep the day before you start your shift. That way, if you do fall asleep a little earlier than you intended, you don't have 80k pounds behind you.

 

Oh, and for all you companies trolling these forums...

Night drivers should NEVER be required to train, take a pee test or jump through any of your other stupid flaming hoops during the day while we're trying to sleep. Leave us alone, or we'll log it on duty. Where's your hot load goin' then?

*cough*
Ok, I feel better now.

*drags away soap box and gets back in truck*

 

I use to drive nights. I got pretty good at being able to set my alarm for 13 minutes and actually got a good little snooze in there. Although it was mountain driving, so there was lots of shifting and steering to help keep me awake.

 

I used to have these problems as well. For the first few nights do what miss elvee said as far as activities. Then when your about to drive, make up a big thermos of coffee. Soda doesn't cut it as you'll up but quickly come down. Straight black my friend. When your about a couple hours prior to your shift ending, switch over to water.

KH

 

If nothing else the urge to pee will help keep you up.

 

I came off the road in 03 when my company closed down and took a night shift line haul job. I like to think I was a pretty hard runner, but line haul kicked my tail. That lasted about three weeks...had to quit before someone got hurt. Daycabs are awful...