It’s a holiday weekend here in the United States — and lots of people are taking an end-of-summer trip. The roads were extra crowded yesterday and this morning as people headed out of town for summer’s last hurrah.
One danger of road trips is getting sleepy when you’re behind the wheel. And it isn’t just vacationers who are at risk! Folks who work third shift, people who drive long distances every day, and people who don’t get enough sleep are at risk for heavy eyelids while on the road.
Here are some things you can do to help stay awake and alert during a long drive:
- Get lots of sleep the night before if you can. The excitement of a trip can make this one tricky, but do your best to get some rest.
- Plan to have more than one driver if possible. When I drove cross-country last May, I did half the drive alone and half the drive with a friend. It was much easier having a driving buddy along! With a second driver, you can continue to make progress while one driver rests.
- Keep the temperature inside the car nice and cool. If it gets too warm, you may find your eyes getting heavy!
- Plan to be off the road between midnight and six a.m. Chances are, those are your normal sleeping times — your body will want to be nodding off instead of paying attention to the road.
- Figure rest breaks into your travel time. Try to stop every 100 miles or so to stretch your legs and get some fresh air.
- Don’t pull over at the side of the road for a rest — make sure you stop at a designated rest area. This is a much safer place to park the car!
- Start your journey early in the day while you’re still alert and fresh.
- Keep drinks or snacks handy — sipping a drink or nibbling a healthy snack can help keep you awake.
I did a lot of things wrong on one drive from North Carolina to New Jersey. I got on the road at around eleven o’clock at night — I’d been trying to stretch my vacation out as long as possible. So when I left, I was already tired and fighting the sleepies. One thing I did right was to pull off at a rest area when I got too tired to go on and nap for a few hours in the parking lot.