just take it easy on the loud music. Mental fatigue can actually hit you faster and worse then physical fatigue. Loud music in doses is good, but a constant go with it could tire you out quicker.
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Long distance driving, how do you stay awake?
- Thread starter garybUK
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Get a ton of sleep before you set off, and keep a few red bulls handy in the car. Thats all you can really do...
I have learned never to drink caffeinated drinks on road trips
The benefit of a caffeine boost is small compared to the diuretic effect that makes you have to piss and I'll say nothing is worse then having to piss but can't when you are on the interstate with no exits for miles. That is pain my friends
On second thought, ride a motorcycle. Impossible to doze off on those things lol
Hey all,
Does anyone have any tips on good ways to entertain myself/keep awake on a long distance drive back to my hometown?
I'm looking for good types of music, podcasts, audiobooks etc, also if anybody has any good suggestions on how to stay awake that would be good.
I'm driving about 1180km or 720miles with a hour stop over on the ferry at Calais, I am driving back Thursday after work and return on Sunday, (from Heidelberg, Germany to Manchester).
It's great my trip is also co-insiding with my new iPhone 4GS 64gb being delivered to my parents address on the Friday
Ferry takes you about 2 1/2 hours all in all, so you will be on your way for more than 12 hours. Start very early in the morning so that you arrive before it gets dark. Take plenty of water with you in the car. If you notice everyone flashing their lights at you then you are on the wrong side of the road. And most importantly, if you reach a point where you need some trick to keep you awake, stop your car. Even if you are half an hour away from your destination.
Just read you plan to start after work? Don't.
Not if you start a 720 mile trip after work :-(
don't turn up the heater. i once got the tip that when driving long distances, try to keep the inside of the car cool.
but 10 minute stops after driving for 2 hours help a lot.
but 10 minute stops after driving for 2 hours help a lot.
We did 1200mi in less than 2 days.
What you eat and how much is very important.
ONE 6" Subway sandwich with NO chips, cookies or soda pop, just water will metabolize slowly and not knock you out a half hour later. Get the bottled water because it's small and you can take it with and only drink what you need.
Add even one cookie and you'll pay for it in drowsiness fairly quickly.
You'll be a little hungry but alert. If you eat until you're anywhere near full, be prepared to nap soon.
Stimulants like Coffee or Red Bull are only useful for that last extra stretch.
Drive safe
What you eat and how much is very important.
ONE 6" Subway sandwich with NO chips, cookies or soda pop, just water will metabolize slowly and not knock you out a half hour later. Get the bottled water because it's small and you can take it with and only drink what you need.
Add even one cookie and you'll pay for it in drowsiness fairly quickly.
You'll be a little hungry but alert. If you eat until you're anywhere near full, be prepared to nap soon.
Stimulants like Coffee or Red Bull are only useful for that last extra stretch.
Drive safe
-Vary your route a little. Long stretches of road are dull as hell and start the nodding off phase.
-Chew gum.
-Listen to podcasts instead of music. Keeps you concentrated on the content and your mind active.
-If all else fails, just take regular breaks and stretch your legs for about 10 minute or so. The fresh air will help you clear your head.
With all that said and done, good luck! That's one epic roadtrip you have planned there (wouldn't a plane just be easier and just as cost effective)
-Chew gum.
-Listen to podcasts instead of music. Keeps you concentrated on the content and your mind active.
-If all else fails, just take regular breaks and stretch your legs for about 10 minute or so. The fresh air will help you clear your head.
With all that said and done, good luck! That's one epic roadtrip you have planned there (wouldn't a plane just be easier and just as cost effective
)
I just saw this and had to comment. Vitamin D3 that we take in pills is biologically inactive. The molecule is hydroxylated (i.e., has an OH group added) through a reaction in the liver. It is then hydroxylated again in the kidneys before the steroid is chemically active. There are versions of the vitamin that have that first hydroxylation completed, but they're more expensive and are rather rare. It takes the body several days to accomplish this conversion; pills taken at the start of a trip wouldn't have any large impact for the better part of a week.
If you're interested in having higher levels of Vitamin D present in your blood, you should be taking the vitamin regularly. One other thing -- you should accompany D3 supplementation with Vitamin K2. This is discussed extensively in papers like COVID-19 Mortality Risk Correlates Inversely with Vitamin D3 Status, and a Mortality Rate Close to Zero Could Theoretically Be Achieved at 50 ng/mL 25(OH)D3: Results of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2021). There's one risk with Vitamin D supplementation at this level; taking K2 in tandem should address that risk. That's a highly-readable (and highly-recommended) paper.
It gets more of a problem as you get older but as you have quieter more comfortable cars too.
Don't use cruise control because you'll get drowsy for sure the less you do.
Keep the car chilly if possible. Cold air blowing on your face.
Do stop for a break every two hours and have a walk around. Doesn't have to be for long.
If you feel drowsy even stopping and shutting your eyes for 5 minutes can make a huge difference.
Once you start to feel sleepy it's too late. You can easily tune out for 3 or 4 seconds and that can be fatal.
Don't use cruise control because you'll get drowsy for sure the less you do.
Keep the car chilly if possible. Cold air blowing on your face.
Do stop for a break every two hours and have a walk around. Doesn't have to be for long.
If you feel drowsy even stopping and shutting your eyes for 5 minutes can make a huge difference.
Once you start to feel sleepy it's too late. You can easily tune out for 3 or 4 seconds and that can be fatal.
After 10 years, it’s likely he’s already got there! Or he didn’t!
For me the best solution is coffee -- and lots of it. It helps to keep you awake and eventually forces you to take a rest stop.
This has actually been on my mind lately and generally of concern.
Recently, I’m looking at possibly taking a supervisory position with a different agency, however; it’s an 1hr40min away from my residence (One way, it’s 105mi). Now, I would have to commute until we can re-locate and build.
The entire drive consists of highway, which is a good thing. When I made the commute with my interview last week, there’s part of me that probably would not have been disappointed if they wouldn’t have moved on with me in the process, simply because of the commute being long. (It went really well by the way.)
The problem I have other than just the commute, is how long will I continue to keep making this commute, until we can sell/build, which could be a year or longer in this market.
For me, it’s a safety thing, because I don’t want to get drowsy behind the wheel and be a danger to others and myself. There’s some really good ideas in this thread, one specifically I like about the podcast, because you focus on what they’re saying v.s. the tone of music for example.
When I was talking to my wife about it, I told her other than inclement weather, I should probably try to take a short break where I stretch and get fresh air for about 5 to 10 minutes. Or, if I know I’m particularly exhausted that day, just get a hotel and stay the night if need be.
Anyways, I’m particularly excited about working for this agency west of Detroit, however; there’s ways to be proactive staying safe behind the wheel for a longer commute, but you can’t try to override yourself physically and keep pushing, that’s where accidents occur.
On a quick sidenote, this is why I want to go all-electric with driving, so I can save time by not stopping at gas stations, and no scheduled maintenance.
Recently, I’m looking at possibly taking a supervisory position with a different agency, however; it’s an 1hr40min away from my residence (One way, it’s 105mi). Now, I would have to commute until we can re-locate and build.
The entire drive consists of highway, which is a good thing. When I made the commute with my interview last week, there’s part of me that probably would not have been disappointed if they wouldn’t have moved on with me in the process, simply because of the commute being long. (It went really well by the way.)
The problem I have other than just the commute, is how long will I continue to keep making this commute, until we can sell/build, which could be a year or longer in this market.
For me, it’s a safety thing, because I don’t want to get drowsy behind the wheel and be a danger to others and myself. There’s some really good ideas in this thread, one specifically I like about the podcast, because you focus on what they’re saying v.s. the tone of music for example.
When I was talking to my wife about it, I told her other than inclement weather, I should probably try to take a short break where I stretch and get fresh air for about 5 to 10 minutes. Or, if I know I’m particularly exhausted that day, just get a hotel and stay the night if need be.
Anyways, I’m particularly excited about working for this agency west of Detroit, however; there’s ways to be proactive staying safe behind the wheel for a longer commute, but you can’t try to override yourself physically and keep pushing, that’s where accidents occur.
On a quick sidenote, this is why I want to go all-electric with driving, so I can save time by not stopping at gas stations, and no scheduled maintenance.
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It may have been that the 5000 IU pills were pure placebo. Or maybe he figured out the latency of Vitamin D supplementation at some point. Perhaps he'll comment.
In any case, the paper has pertinency far beyond the question being discussed 10 years ago here. For some strange reason, public health officials have failed to address things we can do to aid our own immunity. Getting Vitamin D dosages in this range is consistent with what humans would have had while evolving in the tropical environments zillions of years ago. If this paper is correct, about 95% of humanity is deficient in their Vitamin D dosage. Fauci noted in 9/2020 that he takes 6000 IUs of Vitamin D daily. It would have been nice if NIAID could have made a recommendation sometime [early!] in the pandemic to scrutinize supplementation levels, but that has never happened. Our RDA is calibrated on the Vitamin D in 1 TBSP of cod liver oil, and it's past time to get over that rickety standard.
John Campbell covers the and many issues of the pandemic quite well on his YT channel. A recent interview with a GP in Israel is educational:
I was amused that several posters jumped into the discussion without noting the rather long pause.
Hey all,
Does anyone have any tips on good ways to entertain myself/keep awake on a long distance drive back to my hometown?
I'm looking for good types of music, podcasts, audiobooks etc, also if anybody has any good suggestions on how to stay awake that would be good.
I'm driving about 1180km or 720miles with a hour stop over on the ferry at Calais, I am driving back Thursday after work and return on Sunday, (from Heidelberg, Germany to Manchester).
It's great my trip is also co-insiding with my new iPhone 4GS 64gb being delivered to my parents address on the Friday
Thanks
Gary.
Coffee. Loud stereo music. And I occasionally slap myself awake. Whap whap whap!
Yep, coffee, listen to murder mysteries on HLN (Sirius Radio chan 117), or last resort 5 Hour Energy which works like a champ! I was surprised at how well listening to a murder mystery would snap me out of driving fatigue.
