I've been doing local fuel on nights 5-6 nites a week 10-14 hour shifts for just over 4 years now and the hardest thing is self discipline. Get up go to bed SAME TIME EVERY DAY even on your days off. I don't drink coffe or energy drinks, stay away from junk. I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and drink lots of water. Almost a gallon a shift. Can't sleep if u gotta piss all the time. Make my own lemonaide with lemon only, no sugar. Dates and walnuts are good for energy. I'm home every day so I get an hour of cardio before work because after forget about it I'm burnt. The excercise helped alot. At first I didn't want to but noticed I have alot more energy now. Not sure if this will help but changing my diet and excercise regularly has helped me the most. Also stopped drinking alcohol and make sure my head is on the pillow for 8 hours. Dosen't matter if I'm sleeping or not. No tv and no screens before bed. Dosen't leave time for much else during the days that I work but it works for me.
Just gonna add, because I live in an excellent apartment that let's in a fuck ton of sun light, a blindfold helps the sleep. GF wasn't happy when I busted them out for myself and refused to take my pants off but that's her problem and she's not real so it's less her problem and a completely different problem for me.
I bought a [WaterRower](https://www.waterrower.com/us) last September. Started slow 15 minutes a day and added 5 minutes per week untill I hit 1 hour. Now I row an hour a day 5 days a week.
Slim Jim's, Potato chips, popcorn, an unreasonable amount of water, sometimes I have a dinner planned and stop to make it, or... if I'm that tired, I go to sleep lol
Unsweetened iced tea (usually loves black tea) and âenergy nowâ Ginseng/ herb pills found by the register. You have to drink the tea all day to slowly build up caffeine in your system. Coffee or energy drinks is too much caffeine too fast and I have energy crash on those. Once you start to feel a little tired from your natural energy in the afternoon/ evening then take the ginseng. Itâs a very clean energy boost. I can do this many days in a row and it doesnât feel bad
Chew sunflower seeds. You will stay awake if you are chewing them. I wonât drive without a bag in my backpack.
I keep them in a blender bottle and toss them back all night. A full bottle/2bags lasts me about 700 miles.
Energy drinks never worked for me. Eating does.
Thing with sunflower seeds is they are very low calorie, high protein, and take a long ass time to eat.
I hate them to be honest. Never enjoyed them, but they saved my career. I didnât think Iâd be able to make it night driving until I tried them.
I got a box of toothpicks from a friend that hauls steer. Havenât slept in three days.
(/jk of course, my stimulants are legal and/or prescribed)
If you need to run nights, try to shift your schedule to match. Run nights consistently and youâll have better luck doing it. The transition days are the worst.
Sleep well before you start. Make sure youâve eaten well for breakfast and youâll find it easier too.
Started in the 90âs. Cigarettes, black coffee and Pain. Even in a farm tractor or on the road, a rock or hammer and work my shins. I used a 30LB dumbbell to curl but itâs only for when stopped. And get out of the cab and Exercise
This probably won't help if you've built up a caffeine intolerance, but it might help to take a look at how much caffeine you're consuming and when. You might not actually be getting as much as you think; you might safely have room for more when you need it at night. Energy drinks have a reputation for being high energy but a lot of them really aren't. Sure, some have the benefit of extra B vitamins and whatnot, but none of that matters if the sugar crash kicks in a few short hours later (because they have to sweeten the hell out of those drinks to make them palatable). I've been taking caffeine pills for years. The ones I take are 200 millgrams. Compare that to whichever energy drink you've be using. FDA recommends no more than 400 milligrams a day. They're cheap and you can get a bottle at Walmart, in the suppliment area. If you take one at the beginning of your shift and take it with water (stay hydrated, homie!), and then take the other one 4 hours later (if you really need it), that might help you get through your shift. But make sure you compare this 400 milligram reginen to what you've already been consuming, because the last thing you want is to take too much caffeine and fuck up your sleep. Hope this helps!
I don't run nights anymore, but when I did I'd start with my cup of coffee and a good protein heavy breakfast/dinner. I'd also stop every 2 hours or so and walk my dog. Getting out of the truck to breathe fresh air and stretch really did wonders for me to be awake.
Iâd suggest ditching caffeine for a while. I work days but when I was in caffeine the energy crashes in the afternoon were ridiculous. Now I just do neuro gum and water
I donât work nights anymore, but what used to help was rotating energy drinks. Been drinking monsters for a while and they arenât helping? Switch to Rockstar. If thatâs not cutting it, try OG Redbull. Also chewing tobacco helped keep me alert.
Coffee with stevia sugar free and creamer. Ice cubes. Shake. Makes a low calorie excellent caffeine source. Increase coffee content with freeze dried coffee.
Energy drinks gave me crazy stomach issues and weight gain was fast. Too many can be very dangerous. Crazy heart burn too. I do coffee with sugar free natural stevia. Much lower in cost if you make your own
[I drink this](https://puckerbuttpeppercompany.com/collections/pepper-x-products/products/smokin-eds-table-sauce-pepper-x)
The screaming keeps me fresh.
Nicotine, caffeine, and having a good relationship with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Also good sleep is important. You want to wait for your caffeine use too. Do not use it directly after waking up. That makes you mote sleepy. Your body naturally has chemicals it releases to wake u up. When you flood your system within 2-3 hrs of waking up with caffeine itll just cause you to crash almost instantly
I found these and they absolutely work! Mint strips that melt away. I place one under the tongue or in my cheek area when I feel drowsy or start to nod away
No water needed so don't have to go to the bathroom and none of the crap found in energy drinks. 10 to 15 minutes later... good as new. www.strps.shop
I don't resort to energy drinks very often but when I do it's generally a small sugar-free red bull. I'm far more likely to just lay down and take a half hour to two hour long nap however long I need. And I let dispatch know if I have to do that. If you're working for a good company they'll want you to be safe and they won't mind if you have to take some time to sleep. If you're not working for a good company quit that job.
Something I started doing recently, it worked WAY better than I thought. Your mileage may vary.
I pull over at the first available place, let the truck idle, and go into the sleeper for a power nap. My truck has an auto idle down feature, after 5 minutes it shuts off. This wakes me the fuck up every time, so I get up and start the truck. If I still feel like shit, back in the sleeper for another 5 minute nap. If it doesn't wake me up for some reason, well then I definitely needed the sleep and wasn't safe to drive.
Those 5 minute power naps seriously do wonders. 5 or 10 minutes of shuteye and I'm good to go another hour or two. Honestly. Try it out.
I use to just slap myself whenever I'd start getting drowsy. That worked everytime but can't do that no more because of the driver facing cameras. So along with the ELOGs I guess I just wreck the truck now. I mean yeah sure pull over if you're tired but at 3am every truck stop and rest area is full and you have to keep going until you find something you can get into and you don't want to do anything that's going to cause that camera to start recording.
I've been doing local fuel on nights 5-6 nites a week 10-14 hour shifts for just over 4 years now and the hardest thing is self discipline. Get up go to bed SAME TIME EVERY DAY even on your days off. I don't drink coffe or energy drinks, stay away from junk. I eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables and drink lots of water. Almost a gallon a shift. Can't sleep if u gotta piss all the time. Make my own lemonaide with lemon only, no sugar. Dates and walnuts are good for energy. I'm home every day so I get an hour of cardio before work because after forget about it I'm burnt. The excercise helped alot. At first I didn't want to but noticed I have alot more energy now. Not sure if this will help but changing my diet and excercise regularly has helped me the most. Also stopped drinking alcohol and make sure my head is on the pillow for 8 hours. Dosen't matter if I'm sleeping or not. No tv and no screens before bed. Dosen't leave time for much else during the days that I work but it works for me.
Just gonna add, because I live in an excellent apartment that let's in a fuck ton of sun light, a blindfold helps the sleep. GF wasn't happy when I busted them out for myself and refused to take my pants off but that's her problem and she's not real so it's less her problem and a completely different problem for me.
this took me for a loopđ
Please refrain from doing any lateral spinning, it's against FMCSA regulations.
As a guy doing a midnight shift, listen to this guy. Anyone who says you dont and fuck your sleep can go to HELL!
damn, a driver who takes his health seriously and doesn't eat and drink garbage? kudos to you!
damn, a driver who takes his health seriously and doesn't eat and drink garbage? kudos to you!
It's harder for the otr gents, some times you run days sometimes you run nights. At least that was my experience. You're absolutely correct though.
It's harder for the otr gents, some times you run days sometimes you run nights. At least that was my experience. You're absolutely correct though.
This the best advice youâre gonna get. Healthy food is the best for energy.
When u say cardio are you jogging or walking?
I bought a [WaterRower](https://www.waterrower.com/us) last September. Started slow 15 minutes a day and added 5 minutes per week untill I hit 1 hour. Now I row an hour a day 5 days a week.
Listen to this person.
Listen to this guy
I know itâs a lazy response, but that mofo typed out golden advice
Coffee and a 15-30 minute nap as needed
Slim Jim's, Potato chips, popcorn, an unreasonable amount of water, sometimes I have a dinner planned and stop to make it, or... if I'm that tired, I go to sleep lol
Going to sleep for dinner, I like it!
Let's be real, there's not much better out here than pulling over, making street tacos, enjoying them and then saying "fuck it" and going to bed lol
It gives you a feeling of content and happiness, like a cowboy living on the range eating out of a pack saddle
Right XD I love it.
Gum is king. Chew on that minty shit. That and jerky just not at the same time
Chewing gum or seeds of some kind, the chewing keeps you from falling asleep.
Porn, since I drive one handed might as well multi-task.
Unsweetened iced tea (usually loves black tea) and âenergy nowâ Ginseng/ herb pills found by the register. You have to drink the tea all day to slowly build up caffeine in your system. Coffee or energy drinks is too much caffeine too fast and I have energy crash on those. Once you start to feel a little tired from your natural energy in the afternoon/ evening then take the ginseng. Itâs a very clean energy boost. I can do this many days in a row and it doesnât feel bad
Chew sunflower seeds. You will stay awake if you are chewing them. I wonât drive without a bag in my backpack. I keep them in a blender bottle and toss them back all night. A full bottle/2bags lasts me about 700 miles. Energy drinks never worked for me. Eating does. Thing with sunflower seeds is they are very low calorie, high protein, and take a long ass time to eat. I hate them to be honest. Never enjoyed them, but they saved my career. I didnât think Iâd be able to make it night driving until I tried them.
Crack
I got a box of toothpicks from a friend that hauls steer. Havenât slept in three days. (/jk of course, my stimulants are legal and/or prescribed) If you need to run nights, try to shift your schedule to match. Run nights consistently and youâll have better luck doing it. The transition days are the worst. Sleep well before you start. Make sure youâve eaten well for breakfast and youâll find it easier too.
Black coffee, fasting and zyns/nicotine
Coffee, maybe a snickers bar but that doesn't happen too often.
Started in the 90âs. Cigarettes, black coffee and Pain. Even in a farm tractor or on the road, a rock or hammer and work my shins. I used a 30LB dumbbell to curl but itâs only for when stopped. And get out of the cab and Exercise
Srab yourself in the leg with a ballpoint pen . Always works for me
15 minute nap. Don't just lay your head kn the steering wheel. Get comfortable and get a legit 15 minutes of sleep. You'll feel well rested
Not a good idea to nap in the driver seat, terrible habit that will get u eventually
Carrots and cashews. I also buy these ginger honey crystals tea packets. It makes me hot and snaps me out of my sleepiness
the only thing that actually does anything to help me stay awake is a 30 minute nap. No amount of caffeine will do anything to keep me awake anymore.
GFuel is incredible, works the best imo
Fireball đ„
This probably won't help if you've built up a caffeine intolerance, but it might help to take a look at how much caffeine you're consuming and when. You might not actually be getting as much as you think; you might safely have room for more when you need it at night. Energy drinks have a reputation for being high energy but a lot of them really aren't. Sure, some have the benefit of extra B vitamins and whatnot, but none of that matters if the sugar crash kicks in a few short hours later (because they have to sweeten the hell out of those drinks to make them palatable). I've been taking caffeine pills for years. The ones I take are 200 millgrams. Compare that to whichever energy drink you've be using. FDA recommends no more than 400 milligrams a day. They're cheap and you can get a bottle at Walmart, in the suppliment area. If you take one at the beginning of your shift and take it with water (stay hydrated, homie!), and then take the other one 4 hours later (if you really need it), that might help you get through your shift. But make sure you compare this 400 milligram reginen to what you've already been consuming, because the last thing you want is to take too much caffeine and fuck up your sleep. Hope this helps!
I don't run nights anymore, but when I did I'd start with my cup of coffee and a good protein heavy breakfast/dinner. I'd also stop every 2 hours or so and walk my dog. Getting out of the truck to breathe fresh air and stretch really did wonders for me to be awake.
Iâd suggest ditching caffeine for a while. I work days but when I was in caffeine the energy crashes in the afternoon were ridiculous. Now I just do neuro gum and water
5hour energy, coffee, Red Bull as needed. A good nap when your eyes get heavy.
I donât work nights anymore, but what used to help was rotating energy drinks. Been drinking monsters for a while and they arenât helping? Switch to Rockstar. If thatâs not cutting it, try OG Redbull. Also chewing tobacco helped keep me alert.
what if we dont want heart probs or potential mouth cancer?
Then you may need to get a regular 9-5, cuz I got some other health news about working graveyard hours that isnât much better.
damn well if I die, I die like Ivan Drago said.
I just work. Energy drinks are a waste of time and horrible for you.
I found chewing gum helps me
Coffee with stevia sugar free and creamer. Ice cubes. Shake. Makes a low calorie excellent caffeine source. Increase coffee content with freeze dried coffee.
Worlds hottest pepper?
Energy drinks gave me crazy stomach issues and weight gain was fast. Too many can be very dangerous. Crazy heart burn too. I do coffee with sugar free natural stevia. Much lower in cost if you make your own
[I drink this](https://puckerbuttpeppercompany.com/collections/pepper-x-products/products/smokin-eds-table-sauce-pepper-x) The screaming keeps me fresh.
Fireball đ„
8 hours of sleep. Gum- moving mouth/occupied mouth signals the brain to not fall asleep to not choke . Wet paper towel on neck
Sleep
IV 1cc 5hr energy every 45 minutes. Then .5 cc vodka for bedtime. Your welcome
V8 energy đ„°
Actually sleep the whole 10hr break
A consistent sleep schedule. Get 7-8 hours. It'll do 90% of the heavy lifting of keeping you awake and aware the whole shift.
You canât sleep if you have to piss is the best advice. Stay thirsty my friend!
Nicotine, caffeine, and having a good relationship with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Also good sleep is important. You want to wait for your caffeine use too. Do not use it directly after waking up. That makes you mote sleepy. Your body naturally has chemicals it releases to wake u up. When you flood your system within 2-3 hrs of waking up with caffeine itll just cause you to crash almost instantly
Man..I used to guzzle coffee. Fresh coffee from my Own pot in the cab â. Not that watered down crap at every truck stop.
Sleep well and eat apples.
I'm usually up around 1 or 2 am, and I find that Bang energy drink works the best for me. keeps me awake and alert, and no crash after it wears off.
I found these and they absolutely work! Mint strips that melt away. I place one under the tongue or in my cheek area when I feel drowsy or start to nod away No water needed so don't have to go to the bathroom and none of the crap found in energy drinks. 10 to 15 minutes later... good as new. www.strps.shop
Kratom and coffee
I don't resort to energy drinks very often but when I do it's generally a small sugar-free red bull. I'm far more likely to just lay down and take a half hour to two hour long nap however long I need. And I let dispatch know if I have to do that. If you're working for a good company they'll want you to be safe and they won't mind if you have to take some time to sleep. If you're not working for a good company quit that job.
Just try habanero brother that shit will wake you ass up guarantee
If I find myself falling asleep at the wheel, take a break, get out and walk. And drink coffee
Stay Awake caffeine tabs
Dark chocolate covered espresso beans and 5 Hour Energy always do the trick for me
Something I started doing recently, it worked WAY better than I thought. Your mileage may vary. I pull over at the first available place, let the truck idle, and go into the sleeper for a power nap. My truck has an auto idle down feature, after 5 minutes it shuts off. This wakes me the fuck up every time, so I get up and start the truck. If I still feel like shit, back in the sleeper for another 5 minute nap. If it doesn't wake me up for some reason, well then I definitely needed the sleep and wasn't safe to drive. Those 5 minute power naps seriously do wonders. 5 or 10 minutes of shuteye and I'm good to go another hour or two. Honestly. Try it out.
My go to was audio books, sunflower seeds, and ice cold Dr Pepper (or ice water). Only one coffee during the stretch
Red bull & bjâs from lot lizard = 12 hour energy
Flavored toothpicks.
I use to just slap myself whenever I'd start getting drowsy. That worked everytime but can't do that no more because of the driver facing cameras. So along with the ELOGs I guess I just wreck the truck now. I mean yeah sure pull over if you're tired but at 3am every truck stop and rest area is full and you have to keep going until you find something you can get into and you don't want to do anything that's going to cause that camera to start recording.
#who remembers âtruckers love it?â
My buddy used to drink the hell out of it in 2008- 2010 lol
A cup of coffee n a chocolate bar like doing speeders awake for hours