Tips for maximizing sleep on the road
When you’re on the road, it’s hard to tell when that sweet beautiful sleep will come. That’s why it's important to take some tips along with you on your next long haul to help make sure you’re getting enough rest while in the truck.
Make the best of any sleep time you have
When working as a truck driver, you may find yourself working late nights and early mornings so most of the sleep you’re going to get will be inside your truck. If it's your time to sleep or if you’ve found some extra time and decided to catch some z’s, make sure you make the best of it. Take some extra steps to try to make yourself as comfortable as you can so you can get as much undisturbed sleep as possible. Invest in some earplugs and a face mask, it’ll do you a big favor when you must get some sleep during the day. The earplugs will keep out the loud traffic or dogs barking outside but won’t block out the sound of your alarm going off. Investing in a good travel pillow will do you big favors as well. There are inflatable pillows and pillows that compress down to a small size if you’re limited on space but try some out and see which is the most comfortable for you and enables you to get the best sleep. It wouldn’t hurt to put on some relaxing nature sounds in the background to help you fall asleep.
Make yourself feel safe
Another reason sleep might be difficult to get while on the road is safety. It's not easy for everyone to get to sleep if they aren’t comfortable in the environment they are in. Take some steps that are necessary for you to feel as safe as possible in the environment you will be sleeping in especially if you are parked in an unfamiliar area. One idea for making yourself feel safer would be to get covers for your windows that you can put up while parked. One fear of sleeping in your car/truck is having people coming up to your window and looking inside or having nightmares about creepy horror movie characters standing at your window when you open your eyes. But all these fears in the back of your mind by covering your windows and not worrying about it. Don’t forget to remove them after you wake up. If you’re really paranoid and window covers aren’t enough, you can even get motion sensor activated lights or alarms that alert you when someone is getting too close to your car/truck. This of course will interrupt your sleep, but at least you’ll sleep well knowing you won’t sleep through someone messing with you or your stuff.
Control your food/water intake
Having control of what goes in (and out) of your body while spending time on the road is a whole blog on its own but it's important to see how your food and water intake can affect your sleep. Take some steps such as eating your heaviest meals during the beginning of your day and having healthier meals when you know you’re going to have to be sleeping soon. If you know you’re going to want to take a nap after you have your lunch, maybe don’t have that double bacon cheeseburger with chili cheese fries and a shake, but maybe have a turkey sandwich or a chicken salad instead. Save the cheeseburger for after you wake up. Also try to drink all your liquids well before you know you’re going to have to sleep and maybe don’t have a large drink with your lunch if you have to nap after.
Getting the right amount of sleep while on the road takes some practice, but if you follow some of these tips it might make it easier for you. Most importantly, we want people to know that Sisbro cares for our drivers. We’re like family and we want you to be rested and healthy for every journey! If it’s time for a change look no further than Sisbro and drive where you matter!
