Staying awake

[grafxman]

So you're on a long boring trip down an interstate and you're getting very drowsy. I've tried various things over the years and so far what works best is eating a pound of baby carrots. They're munchy, crunchy and I've found it impossible to go to sleep while eating. I also drink some Mello Yellow which has a lot caffeine. What do you do to stay awake?

[Audrey]

Pull into a rest stop and nap/close my eyes about 20 minutes. (:

A pound of baby carrots? I'd explode. They are so good though.

[Norm201]

Originally Posted by grafxman

So you're on a long boring trip down an interstate and you're getting very drowsy. I've tried various things over the years and so far what works best is eating a pound of baby carrots. They're munchy, crunchy and I've found it impossible to go to sleep while eating. I also drink some Mello Yellow which has a lot caffeine. What do you do to stay awake?

What Audrey says is best. But if it's not too bad I usually blow cold air on my face with the A/C or window. Eating is good also.

I'll never drive if I'm tired. I had one too many close calls when I was young.

Allow me to bore you with a story. I was in my early twenties, courting my now lovely wife of 39 years. She was living in the dorms at Buffalo State College while I was a live at home commuter. One night I stayed later at her dorm room than usual (12:00 pm, I know it's not that late an hour) to visit her. Left to go home via the Buffalo Skyway.



Right about in the middle of that bridge I started nodding off. I jerked awake as my front tires started to climb this type of retaining wall



Fortunately it was on the inside of the bridge and I gained control quick enough to prevent any injury or damage.

Ever since that time I always got her home by 12:00 pm. I never told her about the incident until years later. She could never understand why I always left her early, but her parents were very pleased with me.

[Flagstang]

I stop a take a nap most of the time.

if its not to bad I get a large drink with extra ice to crunch on.

I also heart rockstar

[jonl9]

A guy I used to work with many decade ago told me the secret of staying awake was a big jar of peanut butter and a table spoon. Feel drowsy, take a table spoon of peanut butter, it'll keep you occupied for a while....

[grafxman]

The odd thing is when I try to nap somewhere it doesn't seem to work out. In the SE USA it's almost always very hot so the windows have to up with the A/C running. That's probably not safe. Even so, once I'm parked the highway noise is gone and I'm no longer lulled into sleepiness. In cooler weather with the windows down the bugs eat me up.

[Flagstang]

[Pennut]

There is no substitute for sleep. If you are feeling very drowsy, best to pull over. I tried to keep going when I was tired once to the point where I actually started to hallucinate. I learned my lesson and won't push it. Just not worth it. A woman I work with, her 18 year old niece died when she fell asleep at the wheel and crashed her car.

Unfortunately now some highway rest stops are limiting time you can spend at the rest stop to 3 hours.

In my experience Dr. Pepper seems to have more kick than Coke or coffee.

[TJK.40]

I try to sing what i'm listening to. That keeps me awake better than A/C or open windows.

Also sometimes I take a bite of a chilli pepper... Trust me, after that you won't fall asleep!

[RaefWolfe]

Blasting tunes keeps me awake. Nothing like Daft Punk to keep you invigorated.