Managing sleep schedule?

Don't stress over it.It takes time to get into a regular sleep pattern.Right now everything is overwhelming and you're learning the job.Everyday you'll get better and better and a 10 hr brk will be more then enough time to get your rest and do other things during your brake.

 

You should go back and read my post I made after those
In a continuance of those post.

 

An 8 hour break is perfectly acceptable. Nobody is saying you can only take an 8 hr break, it's just the minimum. I don't get the fear of it.

 

Like we didn't before? I have read on here as well as heard several times on the c.b about the good old boy who just hoped in a semi back in 1971 and drove to Canada. The belief that driver were better trained back then is just the typical older generation nostalgia. I'm sure when you started the old guys back then we're saying the same thing.

 

^^^^^^^^^ total useless response

I generally only do the 10 hour reset... and I have my basic routine... clean truck,eat, shower sleep.. when I wake up in the morning I make sure everything is set and ready.. so my shower bag is already to go when I stop for the nignt.. I just gotta grab it.. also.. when I am getting to the end of my day.. I stop drinking coffee of caffeine. . When I first started.. I would be tired and still had a couple hours to go.. so I would drink coffee to stay away.. but then when I was done and parked I couldn't get to sleep...

With trucking.. it is rare to be able to fall into a set schedule.. delays at shippers or recievers.. be generally it is a regular shift in that I am on 14 off 10... just my start and end time changes.. so, again.. having a set routine in how I do things has really helped me..

 

The new drivers have no idea about the old 8/10/15 rule.

For newer drivers..... You have less flexibility now on how you can break up off duty----sleeper----and driving. For example: I got sick once on the road and was good to drive for a couple hours, then shut down for rest, I would rest and get going for a couple hours and shut down again.. I did this for about 32 hours without violating the rules. I got the load there on time due to the flexibility built in to the old hours of service rules.

Today: Tough luck......... you got 14 hours as soon as you start you pre-trip.

 

There are several things that cause you to feel fatigued...and sometimes you may need to take a reset (34) or take some hometime. There is also what is called chronic fatigue which is due to a metabolic malfunction. The body is trying to tell you to stop!

Chronic fatigue syndrome is a complicated disorder characterized by extreme fatigue that can't be explained by any underlying medical condition. The fatigue may worsen with physical or mental activity, but doesn't improve with rest.

What I found was too much caffeine drinks and those monsters and stress from long hauls can push the adrenal gland to a point of failure....Basically the body runs out of energy, no matter how much you rest it is not enough to repair the damage. It can take up to six weeks to recover from running hard (4000 miles per week) for long periods. My days of staying out 3 and 4 months with only a couple of days off proved I was getting too old to act like I was 25 (I am 56). After many years of pushing the body to exhaustion, I can tell you Chronic Fatigue is real. So my advice is to find the best routine for your body...three weeks out 4 day off, works for me. Plus I plan my trips so that I can rest a full ten when I on break...1 hr to eat 1 hr to shower and 8 in the sleeper.

During the 14 hour shift, I put a couple of 30 min breaks.

There are three things that are a must for any driver cranking out 500 plus miles per day.

Proper Food ( eat healthy)
Proper Rest ( full nights sleep)
Exercise ( get out and walk around 30 min 2X a day.)

In this business of trucking, your health is what keeps you employable and producing income.

 

Stress is very hard on you. Between being new, winter weather, caffeine, lack of exercise, and nerves it all takes a toll. Avoid too much time wasted on your smart phone, computer, video games, or watching TV. No caffeine 4 hours before your break, switch to plain water. Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, boiled eggs are a great choice for protein. Sleep and preparation are the 2 most important things. Critical to the job. Be honest with yourself and try to figure out what could be causing the problem. If that does not work, talk to a doctor and see if he/she has advice. It does take a while to acclimate to this career but as long as you are safe... it will get easier! Good luck and be careful!

 

Lots of good comments here. I like my sleep too.

I don't think you ever mentioned how much sleep you actually try to get. Do you have a sleeping problem or do you have a time management problem? Are you surfing the net instead of sleeping?

Are you wound too tight?

Does the truck stop noise bother you? Personally, I can't sleep with all the trucks idling around me so I went to earplugs and now I sleep like a baby.

Try to manage your time to allow you to miss the rush hours. Never stop on the wrong side of the city at 10 pm when you can get across that night. By doing that, you just cost yourself an hours sleep.

Try to stay at the customer if it's safe to do so. You just saved another hour.

You may find those local guys get less sleep than OTR. They work hard. A buddy of mine had a delivery route for Pepsi. He worked loooong hrs slugging those pop cases.

Do you have sleep apnea and don't know it. BTW, if I were you, I would be careful about mentioning this to your dispatch or your doctor until you are sure what's going on.

And finally, pull oversized loads.