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

I"m a linehaul driver and run nights. OP, I was trying to read your post, but it was hard to follow at times. We are diurnal beings. As another poster mentioned, when the sun comes up and our bodies are exposed to light, chemical reactions happen. When it's dark out, chemical reactions happen. This is why no matter how well rested you think you are after sleeping during the day, there will be times during the night when you want to just go to sleep.

One thing I've found that helps is to establish a consistent sleep schedule. I know other linehaul drivers that flip their schedules on the weekends to be w/ family. I tried that, didn't work well for me the following work week. My family knows that night driving is a temporary sacrifice until I land a consistent day time linehaul schedule, and that even on my weekends off, I can only really spend time with them in the morning and evening. I'm sleeping during the day at home, up all night by myself. I stick to my night schedule even on my days off. Being consistent with a sleep schedule is huge, not full proof, but probably the best thing you can do for yourself.

Caffeine should be consumed in moderation. Eat lightly during your shift. If you take naps, whether on your 30 minute break at work, or during your time off, don't go beyond 20-30 minutes, or you could wake up in the middle of a deeper sleep cycle which could make you groggy. Too many naps, naps that are too long, or too close to your scheduled sleep time during the day, could throw off the daytime sleep schedule you've worked hard to attain. And yes, it's work to get there.

If you choose to stay up in order to crash, keep in mind that sleep debt is cumulative. It could take some time to balance out. Personally, I chose to stay up all night when switching to nights, since I did this over a holiday vacation. I made the mistake of dragging it out longer that it had to be, because I would cave in and sleep for a bit in the middle of the night, when I was supposed to be up. It's taken me about a week to start feeling better on my nocturnal schedule, and the last thing I'd do now is take a nap in the middle of the night, ruining what i worked hard for.

Funny enough, when I was given the opportunity to cover a temp day schedule a bit ago, it was nothing for my body to switch from nocturnal to diurnal. That's what the body wants to do.

As somebody also pointed out, there are little tricks you can do to stay awake at night, but do not allow yourself to become dependent on stimulants, and make sure if you're drinking coffee, don't drink it too close to bed time. I stop drinking coffee about 5 hours before I'm supposed to sleep during the day.

Best wishes to you!

 

So are you LTL? Who are you working for, may I ask?

 

After driving only at night for the better part of the year, know that you will get used to it. Take naps of you have to. Find a way to occupy your mind. Listen to some NPR or something that is similar to television in that respect. Don't actually watch a television while driving unless you want to be charged with criminal negligence. Haha uh, also eat light. Drink some coffee. Break up your trip in segments. It's all about hacking your mind in some stupid but effective way. For example of you smoke cigarettes ( I don't) , smoke only one every hour. It rewards you for getting the work done. Outside of screwing around at shippers and waiting around for nothing to happen, at this job, getting your work done consists entirely of sitting in one place and not moving. It's like a paid time out. Eventually, you are just existing in the truck for a period of time each day and it blends into your life. It stops feeling like work.

In my situation , caffeine is my addiction. I drink a moderate amount of coffee at predictable intervals. By time the thermos is empty I am off work. Combine it with listening to predictable radio shows that last a long time , and the night goes fast. With a night schedule, Coast to Coast might be your best friend. Nothing like listening to those schizophrenics rant on with paranoid ideas for three hours a night.

Also so there's no traffic so it's great.

 

You must realize that you will have no problem adjusting to night driving. You will however, absolutely hate "day sleeping." Get some ear plugs and an eye mask and maybe use some melatonin to reset your circadian rhythms.

 

The best way is to advance your internal clock forward. Staying up later and later each nite and sleeping in as long as you can . You see I have the opposite problem as I am nocturnal my natural circadian rhythm is up til about 0400 sleep till about 1200 .

I've had jobs in the past that required me to work a day shift and my body hates its. I can get the best nights sleep a person could ask for and I still get tired and groggy. Over the years I've discovered through experimentation and research, that the best way to get my body back on nights was to advance forward instead of trying to short myself on sleep and then trying to sleep in the evening.

But if your a true lark and not an owl it will be rough on you and you'll need to as regimented as I have to be for day shift work. Good luck.
Oh buy the way since your not a coffe drinker those little 5 hour energy drinks work pretty well or at least the extra strength ones do the regular didn't do much for me.
Well its 0345 bout time to hit the rack

 

Probably the best way to go about shifting your sleep schedule, if you have the luxury of a greater period of time to do the shift.

 

I feel your pain. I used to struggle with driving from 3-6 am. I pull dry and reffer vans so some weeks I'm day driving and I have weeks where my appointment time are 2:30 am. Everyone has pretty much covered ways to keep your mind occupied, excerise, and caffeine

what at accually happened with me was I needed to get a sleep study done because of the new laws and ended up with the ole cpap machine. I hated it but after a week of using it I have no problem driving at any hour of the day as long as I get atleast 6 hours of constant sleep

so maybe look at the quality of your sleep also. Do you snore, toss and turn, or get up to piss all the time are signs of not getting quality sleep. Good luck to you