Help me sleep...

I always use the blue valve

 

It will pass your new to it but once you get in the grove of it you'll sleep! Put the ear buds in for some noise and it will keep you from over thinking! Your mind is dictating what your body does, take control

 

A blend ... 5 mg of melatonin and 25 mg Doxylamine Succinate ("Unisom" OTC sleep aid at most Walmarts and other major stores) The Diphenhydramine is crap after regular use, and actually inhibits sleep after a while.

It can be hard to find. Often there's only 1 or maybe 2 options among the 10 or more Diphenhydramine options but is widely offered in a generic option.

 

Get some liquid melatonin!! You can find it at CVS every few weeks for buy 1 get 1 free and it works fast. Just make sure it's dark so it can work. Get an eye mask if you can't get it dark enough and it'll work great.

 

Those have a limited amount of alcohol or alcohol like compounds when mixed with certain drugs become what we call the Houston nod in a can. You don't want that in a big truck.

There is melatonian you can take but it's going to whip you. After a couple nights the tolerance or wearing off happens to some.

Sleeping as in laying there instead of stressing yourself mentally, count the tires and see how each of them are doing. Maybe one of them is a little low in air. You might pick up on that if the road surface is good.

The biggest thing you can do for sleep is to PUT. AWAY. Technology. The LCD screens emit so much light in certain parts straight into your eyes resetting or erasing your ability to shut down for sleep (Destructing your sleep clock) cranking your body and mind up riding on the internet, instant messages, googling whatever. Put the #### computers down two to three hours prior to sleep time.

You say one thing (The OP) that really disturbs me. "I can drive asleep."

Im going to take a little license and lose my temper and roar at you. Are you freaking STUPID!? Driving while sleeping is worse than driving drunk. Ima telling you are going to kill a family or a whole busload of a baseball team or something and not know it until morning.

If anyone knows about sleep white line fever etc that would be me, and that is why I am getting angry with anyone who is stupid enough to attempt to drive a CMV while sleeping. You need to be AWAKE on that wheel. Or pull the #### thing over and each of you grab a bunk talk over your schedules day by day.

Young drivers new to the industry should not be "Teaming: but rather TRAINING.... as in LEARNING..."

Teaming is for the varsity who has a little bit of experience.

 

Nothing helps me but the sleep-only "nyquil", I use generic store brand OR 1MG of Melatonin. Go easy on the melatonin. Your body makes melatonin. If you flood your body with a large dose your body gives up on making its own. Then you can't sleep UNLESS you take melatonin. I think the body normally makes well under 1MG. I've taken 1MG and it works well. I alternate between the diphenhydarmine product, nothing, and melatonin.

Everyone I know had trouble sleepng in the trainer's truck, including me. I doubt I had 1 or 2 good "nights" sleep in 2 months with the trainer. I thought after a few days of little or no sleep I'll eventually sleep. Nope!

 

Agreed. For long term use, use the lowest dosage that seems to work. However 5-10mg is not considered unsafe for short term use and in the case of the OP, 1mg probably won't be adequate while he goes through this adjustment phase.

 

You took the wrong shift. If I drive all night, I'm tired as hell until the sun comes up and I am wide awake. It also helps if you don't do 12/12 and instead utilize the full 14 you have... drive your 11 over that full 14, stopping to take breaks, resting and taking your time. That way nobody gets screwed always hitting rush hour traffic or always making the deliveries. When I teamed we were dead set on having shifts and it turned out that one of us always was having to make the deliveries... try sleeping while someone is jumping in and out of the truck sliding their tandems or the 5th wheel in some cases and the truck lurching around.

None of the things you mentioned thinking about are in any way within your control. You can do even less about them if you kill yourself and your teammate because you dozed off

 

Breathe

Breathe in through your nose, 1 2 3 4 Breath out 1 2 3 4 and repeat,

Count sheep while breathing, when finished, start over.

 

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