Fatigue help!
Posted by audhd__@reddit | Truckers | View on Reddit | 37 comments
I drive locally for about 3.5yrs now. I wake up at 3:45am, drive 45 min to get to my work at 5am, grab my truck, and then drive another 45 min to get to my delivery area.
The past few weeks, I have had SO much trouble with driving fatigue. It is a *struggle* to keep my eyes open on that second 45 min drive. I thought maybe I needed to fix my glasses prescription - nope. They gave me eye drops thinking I had dry eyes - nope.
I’ve had zero lifestyle changes. I mean, I was out of work from Nov-Feb on injury, but I figured my body would get used to it again by now. I’m probably not getting enough sleep, but are any of us?
Any suggestions on what I can do to help? I’ve tried gum, sunflower seeds (which help a bit), blasting music, cold air… and pulling over for a bit obviously.
Outrageous-Trip-7376@reddit
I been feeling tired too , and I have the sweetest class A job around I believe , I live 15 / 20 min from my job , I wake up at 3:30am , leave out at 4:30 , get to my truck / job by 5 am , 80 miles to my delivery area , 3-5 stops at most , and very light palletized deliveries to maybe 2 stops then 1-3 no touch pick ups , and work 7-9 hours a day , and I be tired even on day I sleep 7-8 hours , but bee only sleeping 5-6 hours a lot lately cus my gf or my dog even keeping me up smh but also I feel like I always have low energy , been taking vitamin D , and gonna see what else I can do to increase my energy
J_cam202@reddit
Chew some gum. Get more sleep. Drink a strong coffee. Be a man.
shhhdidyousmellthat@reddit
Not helpful.."Be a man"...gross!
J_cam202@reddit
Lmaoo
shhhdidyousmellthat@reddit
Says the guy who probably transports little girls for sex work
J_cam202@reddit
The hell is wrong with you
Kenworthsteve@reddit
Get More Sleep
Until you get into a better routine, get out of the truck and walk around a bit , stretch.
Long term, healthy lifestyle, food, exercise, lack of devices and sleep.
Good luck
45 minutes commute....sucks. Ouch
Critical_Opening_526@reddit
That's what's killing him
Minus 2 hours of your 10 hour.
Home, shower, eat takes an hour. Leaves him 5 hours to sleep and get up again.
anxious_polarbear@reddit
He drives locally. Probably doesn't put in 14 hours every day.
westknight12@reddit
Doubt it, i drive locally, dunp trucks, i work anywhere from 12-14 hours a day. Its pretty Standard, even locally
anxious_polarbear@reddit
Depends on the job.
westknight12@reddit
Absolutely. I personally had mostly local jobs, beverage delivery, steel industry, food, and construction. All except beverages was 12 hours or more. Beverage was 10 in general. But thats something i dont need to do 12 hours. After 6 hours you feel like you worked 12
KoalaOfTheApocalypse@reddit
This is the only correct answer so far.
PlymouthSea@reddit
That's the life of anyone living in Orange County and having to commute into the IE (Fontana, San Bernardino, etc).
SonOfaBiscuitEater@reddit
Get your thyroid checked. I have the same issue. I sometimes get to a receiver and have to take a 15 minute nap before I do anything.
Microshlongg@reddit
I got more sleep doing regional and OTR than local. I did local for 4 months and hated life. I went back to OTR and actually felt human. Add more time during home time to catch up on things and have a lifestyle than local.
tonythebutcher13@reddit
You sitting around anywhere? I run nights and youd be surprised the wonders a short 15 or 20 minute nap can do
theblackoctopus23@reddit
This does it for me. It's a nice little reset so I'm not struggling for the rest of my drive. Also as another has mentioned, get an apnea test if you haven't yet.
Kenworthsteve@reddit
Agree on nap. I just went to home nightly, and had the option to keep my sleeper truck, so I did. Occasionally a nap is a real good thing for me. I don't need a nap everyday but when I do I do and I'm not going to sleep slumped over a wheel. I know that's not an option for most but for me it worked out real well
tonythebutcher13@reddit
I wish I had a sleeper sometimes because like you said sleeping in a daycab sucks, problem is if I got a sleeper they'd make damn sure I used it.
melovemelongtimee@reddit
Get on modanafil it’s meant for shift workers
Scribblefool@reddit
Have you tried fasting? There's many types that might help and fit for you. It can help your sleep, wakefulness, and many health benefits. I'd definitely look into it.
deezkeys098@reddit
Have you tried the super spicy sunflower seeds? Or super spicy chips? It’s hard to fall asleep when your mouth is burning! My grandpa used to carry 4 jalapeños in a plastic bag in his ice chest when he was trucking all different colors in case he got sleepy he would eat one
anxious_polarbear@reddit
Use a wearable to track your sleep (i.e. smart watch and phone).
THExPILLOx@reddit
I'm not sure it'll help you. But last year I went crazy trying to figure out why my eyes were painful. Changed my prescription, eye doc suggested eye drops, same shebang.
Apparently (insert my age here) is the year when my eyeballs finally said "wear sunglasses you piece of shit"
I thought it was fatigue as well, but wearing clip on sunglasses solved the problem entirely.
anxious_polarbear@reddit
Everyone should wear sunglasses when it is sunny, at every age. UV rays can burn your retinas just like they can burn your skin, and very bright light is also harmful. We just don't have cat eyes.
ndelte7@reddit
I do Audiobooks and Podcasts, songs get repetitive and old, but audiobooks keep me engrossed in a story and podcasts make me think, all while leaving me able to stay alert and watch the road.
mestizomilitia@reddit
Get more sleep or get a sleep study to check for apnea…maybe your quality of sleep is suffering because of obstructive sleep apnea. Or pop some nicotine pouches. Lol
Say_My_Name_Son@reddit
Exercise! You don't need a membership to a gym or equipment. Basic body weight stuff and some walking or cycling will trigger your body in good ways.
On the road...here's my secret weapon: audio that engages you or humors you. I used to train for long trail running races, like 50+ miles, which means many many long and possibly boring training runs. I found that listening to podcasts on topics that interested me (astronomy, biography interviews, there was a "how I built this" series on how companies or products were invented (the one about how Fritos was started is cool), news digests, or.....on trail running) kept my brain thinking about the topics instead of the discomfort and monotony of left foot - right foot - repeat. Joe Rogan has a variety of people on his show...it can be a lot fellow comedians...but there are also many interesting folks from politics, science, health care, MMA fields of work...and even infamous guests like "Freeway" Ricky Ross (the REAL Rick Ross).
Humor: it's hard to be drowsy when you are laughing out loud. Listen to stand-up comedians. Go with some old and some new: Dave Chappelle, Rodney Dangerfield, Katt Williams, Don Rickles, Nate Bargatze, Andrew "DIce" Clay, Shane Gillis (his Trump impressions are so good).
Medical... Get a checkup. There could be something occurring that needs attention.
Stay safe.
huuke@reddit
Power nap for 10 minutes. Set the timer on your phone and sit there with your eyes closed
Acrobatic_Ocelot_461@reddit
You've got to make time to get rest. I'm used to work crazy overnight hours, but I made it a priority to get 7-8 hours sleep, and plenty of days off were spent sleeping. If you gotta go to sleep at 6pm that's just the way it is. I've heard driving tired is as bad as driving drunk, take a nap on your 30, even slumped over the steering wheel is better than nothing. Don't be that driver that falls asleep on the road and kills someone.
Put your phone down and sleep.
Zealousideal_Try4171@reddit
It is hitting you right around sun up? I struggle at sun up if I’m just boring driving on the freeway or straight highway and might have to get out for a 5 min quick stretch and walk around the truck.
Spitfire954@reddit
I used to feel like I was hit with a tranquilizer about an hour after eating. Turns out I cannot have any bread products. So breakfast burritos and sandwiches were putting me to sleep and I’d drink tons of coffee to try to compensate. It’s something that got worse and worse as I got older and I didn’t figure it out until I was 30.
Chiknlitesnchrome@reddit
Go to bed earlier, what you are experiencing is fatigue accumulation, and you may only be getting 30 minutes less sleep than your body needs, however your body isn’t recovering and you are multiplying the effects when you do it 5 days a week
TruckerBiscuit@reddit
Just started drinking yerba mate instead of coffee. I get a nice long ride with no jitters. Great for overnights. Might have to go to a health food store to find it in cans but it's lower sugar than Monster &c and costs about the same. Now I don't roll without 10-12 cans in my truck (am OTR...out for weeks/months at a time).
Coffee is okay and all but man alive this mate stuff is a delight!
ChiTruckDGAF@reddit
CPAP.
CakewalkNOLA@reddit
Rooster booster works every time.