# Tips for not falling asleep at the wheel **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 3, 2009, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182 "2009-03-03T19:26:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![rainy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@rainy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rainy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/21 "2009-03-03T21:15:17Z")
Checking your blind spots frequently helps as well. That’s just the mechanism to get you to turn your head far around to either side. I’m guessing using those neck muscles increases blood flow and therefore oxygen to your head - but that’s a WAG. My college roommate shared that one with me - it’s hard to keep up for a long time, but works well interspersed with some of the others listed above. ---
**Author:** ![davekhps](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@davekhps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davekhps)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/22 "2009-03-03T21:43:52Z")
Ditto the main recommendation: find a safe place to park and take a quick nap. I find that I don’t need more than 15-20 minutes to get enough energy to drive again. Plus, you’ll _feel_ better once you start driving again. IME, just trying to fight it will mean you’re going to spend 20 minutes or so tired before you cycle back to feeling full strength/second wind. That’s 20 minutes on the road you might as well be a drunk driver. Thus, spending 20 minutes taking a nap isn’t just better for you, it can save a life (your own or others). That said, if you’re ever stuck between exits and still drowsy, the best trick I’ve learned in recent years has been mentioned: don’t just listen to loud music, _SING_ to loud music. Be a buffoon, be goofy. It’ll keep you going for a little while longer. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/23 "2009-03-03T21:46:13Z")
I hate the feeling of drowsy driving, so I know what you mean. Audiobooks are what work for me. They keep me from being bored. You would think that highway speeds could keep one’s attention, but not me. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![silk1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8edcca/32.png) [@silk1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silk1976)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/24 "2009-03-03T21:52:18Z")
Powernaps. I’ve driven while drowsy many times, and last year I was on a stretch of highway that I just couldn’t snap out of being drowsy (cold, loud music, shaking my head, pinching myself). Took a powernap for the first time, and was fine after that. Now I’m a big fan. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/25 "2009-03-03T22:36:27Z")
Many years of long-distance driving speaking. Drive until you start feeling sleepy. Pull over and take a short nap. When you wake up, four words: Corn nuts and Coke. Shoot as much of the Coke down as you can for the caffeine/sugar blast, then head out on the road, popping corn nuts and sipping on another Coke. You’ll be wide awake for hours. I guarantee that it’s impossible to chew corn nuts and doze off at the same time. You might break a tooth, but at least you won’t fall asleep at the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Cornelius\_Tuggerson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cornelius_Tuggerson)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/26 "2009-03-03T22:52:53Z")
I used to get drowsy, and sometimes even drift in and out during my evening commute, and also sometimes during presentations and meetings at work. Turned out I wasn’t getting enough sleep duh :smack:, doc put me on sleeping pills and I haven’t had that issue since. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/27 "2009-03-03T23:05:17Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Well, caffeine. But other than that, listening to favorite, high-energy songs is good (especially if you’re driving alone and can sing along at top volume). Sometimes, cold wind in the face can help. > > (But I figure it goes without saying that when one is feeling like that, one should not be driving unless absolutely necessary.) Just to add to this (from personal experience): I like Dire Straits, but they do NOT make good long-distance driving music! ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/28 "2009-03-04T01:37:36Z")
Naps, get out and walk around the car, even just gassing up can help. Food and drink are also useful, but what works best for me is talking and/or singing. I only sing if I’m alone, and I don’t let being alone stop me from talking. Yep, I’m that crazy girl talking to herself on the highway (I secretly hope people will assume I have a handsfree cell phone!) I tell myself stories, or pretend I’m telling someone I know about something that happened, or I explain things to myself. I try and figure out how stuff works, or explain how an HPLC works or something that I happen to know, but could always use a mental refresher on the details! My car knows all kinds of stuff now! ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/29 "2009-03-04T02:54:58Z")
May have posted this before, but take it from someone who used to have a LTR and drive long hours at ridiculously stupidly early times to make work because I was trying to squeeze in love time: I highly recommend napping. If you’ve got either 30 mins to spare for the power nap or 2 hrs to spare for a longer one (nothing in between works if you’re exhausted, IME), you should really do that. That said, if you absolutely have to make it somewhere, and rolling down windows on the highway, turning up the radio, and chugging a bunch of coke is doing nothing, your only recourse is to masturbate. Seriously. Just don’t finish. When I’m exhausted, I’m not particularly horny, so it’s easy not to finish. I’ve kept awake for the last hour of a drive doing this. Fell asleep at the wheel once. Don’t intend to do that ever again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/30 "2009-03-04T03:54:04Z")
Take your shoes off and open the window. I also find that listening to talk radio or books on cd helps keep my mind alert. But that’s to keep you from getting too drowsy. But once you hit critical mass, power nap. I can’t speak for that masturbating part, though. Wasn’t that in a Steve Martin movie, or maybe a Stephen King story? His wife gave him a handjob in the car to relieve stress. Maybe you could find a passenger for that part.🙂 If not I recommend the shoe and cd thingy. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/31 "2009-03-04T04:01:21Z")
Get a Big Gulp with plenty of ice. Alternate taking sips from the cup wetting your fingers with condensation from the outside of the cup and then touching that to your eyes. When the liquid (both inside and outside the cup) has been exhausted, chew on the ice. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/32 "2009-03-04T04:07:36Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > wetting your fingers with condensation from the outside of the cup and then touching that to your eyes. ?!? Ghetto Visine = the new caffeine pill? ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/33 "2009-03-04T04:29:16Z")
> [@gang\_green](#): > > Gum. Chewing or bubble. Jolt Cola makes a gum with caffeine. It works well, without that near-cocaine buzz that Red Bull-type beverages supply. I just used some of this gum driving from NYC to Kentucky Sunday and Monday. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/34 "2009-03-04T05:38:46Z")
Licking your finger and sticking it in the cigarette lighter hole helps a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/35 "2009-03-04T05:45:14Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Licking your finger and sticking it in the cigarette lighter hole helps a lot. This. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/36 "2009-03-04T05:58:32Z")
Stop and rest, with the window or door open. As little as five or ten minutes makes wonders, both for me and my brother. The two times I fell asleep (while stopped, eh!), it lasted for 3 hours and for half an hour respectively. The 3-hour stop was on the night I was driving back home after: Saturday night, 12h shift. Sunday night, 12h shift. Go to bed Monday at 7am. Be awakened at 11am by the factory manager calling to tell me that I was needed in London after all and my flight was leaving at 5pm from an airport some 400km away. Calling Mom to send my brother with the clothes I still had at her house (all the “professional” ones at mine were in the laundry basket). Driving to Bilbao as fast as my Yaris could go and not getting a fine or anything. Spending the whole week high on adrenaline. Flying back and landing in Bilbao at11pm on Friday night. So yeah, I’d say the crash was justified, and I’m glad it was just a “sleep crash” and not a “totalled car crash”! ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/37 "2009-03-04T06:32:14Z")
Power nap for the whatever recommendation this is. sleep for 15-30 min, then walk around a bit (or a short jog) then hit the road. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/38 "2009-03-04T08:35:59Z")
> [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](#): > > That said, if you absolutely have to make it somewhere, and rolling down windows on the highway, turning up the radio, and chugging a bunch of coke is doing nothing, your only recourse is to masturbate. Seriously. Just don’t finish. When I’m exhausted, I’m not particularly horny, so it’s easy not to finish. I’ve kept awake for the last hour of a drive doing this. So when you do drop off and crash, the cops will find you with your dick in your hand, and blame it on “driver distraction” :smack: I seem to recall some research that indicated that once you were at the eyerolling _microsleep_ stage, there was nothing that could prevent you from eventually falling asleep. I commute 1 hour each way getting to work, I don’t get enough sleep, and I work out at lunchtime. So sometimes I get tired on my way home. And I always stop, lock the doors and crank back the seat for a 15-20 minute nap. And it works, every time. I often do it proactively, before I start, or just before I hit the motorway. Si ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/39 "2009-03-04T08:40:36Z")
Start a fight with your wife for no reason. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2009, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182/40 "2009-03-04T09:05:04Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > Well, caffeine. But other than that, listening to favorite, high-energy songs is good (especially if you’re driving alone and can sing along at top volume). Sometimes, cold wind in the face can help. > > (But I figure it goes without saying that when one is feeling like that, one should not be driving unless absolutely necessary.) Let’s make a game! Driving Songs! Hate to take the best first, but I’m selfish: Radar Love [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tips-for-not-falling-asleep-at-the-wheel/488182.md?page=3)