Staying awake and focused

Well my medical degree is in a bit of limbo but if I were you I’d try eating a little better and keeping the blood sugar up and if that didn’t work I’d go see a doctor. At 23 years old a 10-12 hour day shouldn’t wear you out like you describe.

Folks take it from an old wheel man, Don't ever sleep in a chair. You will get use to it then when driving
it will be easier to fall asleep at the wheel.

^solid advice right there

Lunch and snacks bro lunch and snacks.

Agree on the diet. Good food at regular intervals is my advice to combat fatigue. Small amounts of coffee spread out over the day and plenty of water. No nicotine.

Yep lunch, but not too heavy. I like two sandwiches spread an hour or so apart. Maybe a bag of chips because I like the crunch. No fruit for me, it's just sugar. Some veggies and dip is the usual snack. Do you snack, I do. At 23 I was always hungry and had to constantly eat to avoid low blood sugar.

Zewnten said:

Yep lunch, but not too heavy. I like two sandwiches spread an hour or so apart. Maybe a bag of chips because I like the crunch. No fruit for me, it's just sugar. Some veggies and dip is the usual snack. Do you snack, I do. At 23 I was always hungry and had to constantly eat to avoid low blood sugar.

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I eat more snacks during fall , and winter. Summer I focus more on hydration.

I eat no breakfast, just gives me heartburn. Then a light lunch, maybe some cold cuts and carrots and cheese. Back when I started this regimen I was thinking and working real slow for about 2 weeks but I got through it. I needed to lose some weight is why I started. But I think it put me into a place where my brain is not dependent on what I just ate for its energy source. Now I can work pretty independent of food, no breakfast and miss lunch, no problem, 1 meal a day is OK. But I do not make a habit of it.

During my teen years and early 20’s,I was working 7 days for years.Mostly doing 12/14 hour shifts,and hard ones at that driving equipment with out sound suppression or aircon etc.
I would be on a D8H for instance,or a TS24 (with those screaming Detroits) burning my right knee against the engine panel,and I would regularly start to go drowsie and almost fall asleep at around 11.30 am give or take.How anyone can drop off with a D8 converter howling away is a mystery to me,but I seemed to manage it.
The funny thing is,I’ve never been a good sleeper even now approaching 50.I can’t power nap or sleep on a plane etc,but if I do get a really good nights sleep,my mind is fuzzy and pretty useless.
Go figur.

I'm a huge nap fan. I try to take a nap on my work lunch after a small bag of chips and a small pack of trail mix. I sleep like a crazy person though after years of off-shift work, then having kids when I was working a 230-11pm shift and going to bed at 2-3am, but I'd wake up around 6a to watch my little ones. Nowadays it's pretty common to wake up at about 430a, nap at lunch (or at least close my eyes for half hour or so), go home and maybe nap again and then stay up until around midnight. On the weekends it's usually easy for me to stay up until 2a, then sleep until 8 or 9. I was very nervous that I'd get sleepy while driving on the RV trip but that didn't end up being an issue at all.

treemuncher- that commando coffee idea is great!

Are you really getting sleepy or you getting road hypnotism? If it's hypnotism, pay more attention to your surroundings.

I agree on the good nutrition, and I know how difficult it is to eat well on the road or somewhere with no services. It's easy to eat the calories, but it's very difficult to get the necessary nutrients without over consuming calories.

Greasyfitting said:

I eat more snacks during fall , and winter. Summer I focus more on hydration.

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still gotta eat, my go to during the worst heat has always been some trail mix for snacks and a PB&J for lunch. Keep it cold in a cooler and it helps give a nice break. Take you about 20-30 minutes in the AC in the cab for a lunch break and try to do it about the time it feels right to you.