How to stay awake at night while driving
According to official statistics, every fourth accident that occurred at night is due to the fact that the driver fell asleep at the wheel. The main reason is fatigue, so every motorist should know what to do when you want to sleep behind the wheel.
How not to fall asleep at the wheel: tips, effective ways, myths
A long night trip is a serious burden for both an amateur and a professional driver. Monotony, minimal visibility and sleeping fellow travelers lull the driver's vigilance and cause a desire to fall asleep. You need to know which methods help fight drowsiness while driving, and which of them are myths and do not have the expected effect.
Periodic stops
It is recommended to stop every 200–250 km during a long journey. After that, you need to get out of the car for 10-15 minutes, get some air, this will help drive away drowsiness and relieve fatigue.
Coffee and tonic drinks
One of the very first ways to fight sleep is coffee, which you can take on the road with you or buy at any gas station. This is a really effective method, but only if coffee is not contraindicated for the driver. Keep in mind that there are many counterfeit products, so it is better to use natural ground coffee, rather than instant or coffee drinks.
For some people, a cup of coffee or strong tea is enough to cheer up, while for others, even half a liter of such drinks does not work. In addition, decoctions of lemongrass, ginseng, eleutherococcus are well toned. The duration of tonic drinks is up to 2 hours. Drinking more than 4-5 cups of coffee a day is harmful, it negatively affects the heart.
Do not forget that coffee contains theobromine, which relaxes and lulls a person after a while. So drink carefully.
Seeds
Eating foods such as seeds or nuts, crackers can help. During their use, a person performs additional tasks that break the monotony of movement and the body begins to work more actively. The main warning is not to overeat, as the feeling of satiety causes drowsiness.
Concentration of attention
At the first signs of drowsiness, in order to cheer up, it is recommended to concentrate. You can determine the brands of oncoming cars, count poles or signs, this will help diversify the monotony of traffic and drive away sleep. You can't focus on a single element, such as markup.
Citrus
Citrus fruits contain a large amount of glycolic acid, which has a tonic and invigorating effect. It is recommended to cut a lemon or orange in half and smell it periodically. You can cut citrus fruits into slices and put or hang next to the driver. To get an even greater effect, you can eat a slice of lemon. Such actions help to activate the body for 3-4 hours.
Do not eat up
Before any trip, including at night, cannot be transferred. It is better to take food with you, it can be pies, sandwiches, dark chocolate. You don’t need to eat a lot of food, just enough to kill drowsiness. In addition, during the journey it is recommended to drink a lot of ordinary water or other drinks.
Music and singing
Cheerful music and singing of songs helps to invigorate the body. You can not listen to calm music or audio books, as this will have the opposite effect and you will want to sleep even more. It is recommended not only to listen to music, but to sing loudly. At the same time, the flow of blood to the lungs increases, and remembering words activates the brain.
To cheer up, some drivers turn on music that they usually do not listen to and that annoys them, this also effectively drives away sleep. An interesting and active interlocutor can replace music and singing. An interesting conversation not only distracts from sleep, but time passes faster. It must be remembered that with severe fatigue, even the loudest and fastest music will not be able to distract from sleep, so you need to stop and rest.
cool temperature
It is usually cool at night and often drivers turn on the interior heating even in the warm season. It is impossible for the car to be hot inside, as this causes drowsiness. In hot weather, it is also not recommended to use air conditioning. It's better to open the window. Fresh air will enter the cabin and the body will be enriched with oxygen, and when it is not enough, you want to sleep. Washing with cool water also helps to drive away sleep.
Charging
Physical activity helps to drive away sleep. You can perform simple exercises without getting up from the wheel. To do this, tense and relax different muscles. At this time, you need to open the window so that fresh air enters the cabin.
You can stop, go out, squat, push up from the ground, make any few active movements with your arms and legs. This helps to activate blood circulation. Some people take off their shoes, rub their ears, massage their eyeballs, such a massage also allows you to tone up the body and drive away drowsiness.
Energy drinks and pills
The action of energy drinks is based on caffeine and various additives. They begin to act faster than natural tonic drinks and for a longer time. The danger is that such drinks act individually on the human body. If you do not immediately feel their effect, then you should not increase the dose, you need to look for another option. Such drinks are unhealthy and should not be abused (more than three doses per day).
A more convenient option is energy pills. They take up little space and can always be at hand. It should also be taken into account here that such drugs increase the load on the heart and should not be abused. Energy drinks cause a quick surge of strength, but after a while there is a sharp dip, as a result of which a person feels overwhelmed and drowsy, so they should not be abused.
Electronic fatigue alarms
Modern cars are equipped with fatigue alarms. Electronics monitors the driving style, the behavior of the eyes, and if it notices that the driver is falling asleep, it turns on a sound alert. If the car was not equipped with such equipment by the manufacturer, then it can be installed additionally. It is similar to a Bluetooth headset and when a person starts to “nod”, it emits a loud signal.
other methods
When driving in urban mode, gases and an oily film settle on the windows and optics of the car. During the day they are almost invisible. At night, such a film refracts light and this makes the eyes more tired. Additional fatigue also causes drowsiness. Before a long night trip, wash the windows well, both inside and out.
It is also worth buying yourself some snuff - with strong smells, drowsiness will quickly recede.
Another reliable way is to wash your face with cool water. This will cheer up even a very tired driver a little.
Video: how not to fall asleep at the wheel at night
Each person is individual and has a different fatigue threshold. It is necessary to use the method of combating drowsiness that effectively helps you. It is important not to miss the moment of drowsiness, and take action in time. Sleep is the best cure for sleep. If you really want to sleep and nothing helps, stop and rest, usually 30-40 minutes is enough.
