5 ms·

I agree. If this is something like e.g. narcolepsy, you should see a doctor. There are a few low-risk prescriptions worth looking into. When I used to pull 18

I agree. If this is something like e.g. narcolepsy, you should see a doctor. There are a few low-risk prescriptions worth looking into. When I used to pull 18 hour days, I would also notice myself getting tired behind the wheel, but never fully falling asleep. My low-tech solution to this was to set an alarm for 10 minutes after I started driving and setting the alarm volume to max. Then, the alarm would go off in the middle of my drive, usually surprising me and jolting me awake since I'm obviously not paying attention to the time. Then, snoozing the alarm would make it go away for another 10 minutes, and so on until I made it home. This is probably not the perfect solution but it worked for me. Obviously the better long term solution is to a) not do 18 hour days and b) address what is making you so sleepy and stop it from happening.

ogre_codes 6y ago
> When I used to pull 18 hour days, I would also notice myself getting tired behind the wheel, but never fully falling asleep. This is fairly similar to what would trigger it with me. My solution was to ensure I have passengers or let someone else drive.
smeyer 6y ago
It's hard to imagine that you were alert enough to safely drive even with the alarm. I'd urge anyone in a similar situation to stay off the roads; your ability to work 18 hour days is less important than the safety of everyone on the road.
- nexuist 6y ago
  Yeah, what helped me is that on those nights I elected to avoid the highway and only take city roads, so lots of traffic, red lights, stop lights, etc. that allowed me to drive slowly. The downside is that sitting at stop lights made me sleepier, hence the alarms. Avoiding highways was what saved me I think; a mistake at 20mph is far less expensive than a mistake at 80mph. But certainly you're right; the obvious answer is to avoid driving or as another commenter said, carpool!

ogre_codes 6y ago

> When I used to pull 18 hour days, I would also notice myself getting tired behind the wheel, but never fully falling asleep. This is fairly similar to what would trigger it with me. My solution was to ensure I have passengers or let someone else drive.

smeyer 6y ago

It's hard to imagine that you were alert enough to safely drive even with the alarm. I'd urge anyone in a similar situation to stay off the roads; your ability to work 18 hour days is less important than the safety of everyone on the road.

nexuist 6y ago
Yeah, what helped me is that on those nights I elected to avoid the highway and only take city roads, so lots of traffic, red lights, stop lights, etc. that allowed me to drive slowly. The downside is that sitting at stop lights made me sleepier, hence the alarms. Avoiding highways was what saved me I think; a mistake at 20mph is far less expensive than a mistake at 80mph. But certainly you're right; the obvious answer is to avoid driving or as another commenter said, carpool!