Managing sleep schedule?

^^^ THIS.

I learned a saying from a good friend of mine in Hong Kong, as we traveled throughout Asia on business. It always amazed me that as soon as we squeezed into our coach class seats on an airplane or into a 3-wheel taxi in Bangkok he'd drop right off to sleep. He was also wide awake and alert at every meeting.

"Sleep when you can, where you can."

That was his mantra. It's a good skill to have as a trucker. The "where you can" as a truck driver means finding a safe place to park, you always have a comfortable bed in the sleeper berth.

One thing to add regarding taking naps, your ideal nap should be 90-100 minutes for best recharge of your body. The reason for this is sleep comes in 90 minute cycles, taking you through all four phases of sleep. This includes REM (Rapid Eye Movement) dream state and the dreamless deep sleep. Ever wake up from the middle of sleep and it is HARD to get awake and alert? You probably set the alarm or had someone wake you up in the middle of deep sleep, which is the WORST time to be awakened.

Sleep cycles are a biorhythm, you have to "catch that wave" in order to get right to sleep. Ever want to watch the end of a movie or football game when you are sleepy? By the time the movie or game finishes and you go to bed then you can't sleep? It's because you missed the wave, and now you'll have to wait until the next 90 minute wave comes before you can drop off to sleep. For this reason if I'm driving and feel sleepy tired I'll IMMEDIATELY look for a safe place to park to take a nap.

As an OTR driver frequently my sleep schedule "flips". One day I'm starting out at 2:00 am (my favorite time) and the next day I'm starting out at 5:00 pm. You have to be able to make those adjustments. Often I KNOW before I start a shift after a flip that I'll be tired at some point and will likely need to take a nap. On those days I will plan to stretch out my 30 minute break to 90 minutes as necessary.

Regarding 10 hour breaks, I try to minimize non-sleep time and get to bed asap after finishing my post trip. For this reason I've learned to be efficient with showering if I'm going to shower during my 10 (instead of showering during a 30 minute break). My shower bag is packed and I can get in and out back to the truck within 30-40 minutes. Laundry or longer chores I save for times my schedule is going to flip and I have longer than 10 hours to work with. I DON'T watch a movie or do anything that might want to keep me awake during a 10 while under load. The responsibility during a 10 is to SLEEP. Usually I have my alarm set for about 30-60 minutes before my 10 hour break is up to give me time to take care of personal business, prepare my day's snacks, review the day's trip plan, and be ready to concentrate on my pre trip and driving.

 

Yes I know and I preferred the 8/10/15 rules
The reason I said it would be mayhem is we have more inadequately trained and skilled drivers on the road then we ever had, could you imagine what it would like with all these drivers running around with an AVERAGING of 5 hrs sleep and sleep debt kicking in. Not to say a lot aren't already

 

It might take some time to get into it. I usually add a couple hours for traffic depending on how long the run is.

I think two of the biggest things that will give you that tired feeling is oversleep and dehydration. easy to be affected by both and not even know it.

 

For about 64 years, until 2003 breaks were no longer than 8 hours; statistically there are way more wrecks today than pre 2003. If you've truly been driving for 24 years you would recognize this. I'm calling your bluff, I bet you haven't been out here for more than 5 years. I f you have, you surely don't talk like it.

 

He shouldn't need to research anything if he's been out here for 24 years like his profile says. I don't buy it.

 

They are not incorrect or misconstrued; in fact, fatigue related crashes are one of the top issues in the industry right now. The FMCSA is confused because they thought their hours of service rules changes I.E. 8 hours to 10 required off duty before driving would decrease crashes.. It has done the exact opposite and to be fair, the 14 hour rule may be more to blame in this instance. This HOS law change also put more trucks on the highway to make-up for the work shortage due to lack of productivity (more trucks sitting longer). Irregardless, if things were the way they were pre-2003, 8 hours off with no 14 hour work day, no mandated 30 min break yet included the 34 hour reset (new HOS law which was good) there would be less crashes. Statistics have proven this. You and I and everyone else are more vulnerable than ever on the roads because of these ridiculous laws. As a new driver you don't understand this yet, but if you were in the industry pre-2003 you would understand. Nobody forces you to drive when you are tired. That's illegal and dangerous; however, it goes back to time management. 10 or 8 hours is a long enough period to rest. If you are still tired then sleep some more. But a trucking company has bills to pay just like you do and if that 10 hours (what the law mandates) isn't enough of a break for you then they may look for someone who will do the job with the minimum 10 hour break.