I wish I had an on/off switch in my head

[Tobin S.]

Whenever I needed to go to sleep, I could just flip a switch in my brain and set a timer for it to come on again later and then automatically fall asleep. I would then be awake when I needed to be and feel well rested.

I got up at 9am Pacific and have been awake all day sitting around waiting for a load. It will probably be ready at about 1am. I've tried to get a nap in a couple of times, but no dice. I will probably feel fine until I get hooked up and get 30 miles down the road, then I will get sleepy. It never fails. Then I'll have to stop and put myself behind on the run because I'll be too tired to drive.

:boring:

[Brickbat]

1. That's exactly what happens to Mr. Brickbat.

He's awake right now (9:30 p.m.) after sleeping all day after a 11 p.m.-11 a.m. shift. This morning he goes to bed at 11:30 a.m. Gets up at 7:30 p.m. for supper, but can't go back to sleep because he's, you know, awake after 8 hours of sleep. He's pretty sure he'll get a 1 a.m. call. Get into bed and lie there not sleeping until 12:30 a.m., when he dozes off and then the phone rings? Or stay awake to make his body go into "time to be up now" mode?

I wish there were sleep banks for people who need it.

[Tobin S.]

2. I worked third shift for 3.5 years

I never really got used to it, I felt like crap half the time, and it took a toll on my social life. I think that's a hard shift to work for most people. I have to drive at night sometimes now, but because of the way the log book rules are I can get switched around over the course of a long haul. Most of the loads I haul are over 2000 miles. My sympathies to Mr. Brickbat.

[Brickbat]

6. The hard thing is, he's not on the third shift.

He's on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He has 10 hours of rest after he clocks out, and then the phone can ring any time. He's not senior enough to have a set schedule. It's hard for him to say on a Monday that he can go to school conferences on Tuesday.

We knew this when he took the job, and so far the payoff has been worth it. Some calls are harder than others, though. A 5 a.m.-5 p.m. through Northern Minnesota on a gorgeous fall day? No job is better. 1 a.m. to 1 p.m. in a blizzard? Not so much.

I admire the hell out of your writing and feel sympathetic toward you when I read it because I know how hard Mr. Brickbat works. Transportation is a bitch goddess with rewards and punishments -- it's like there's no middle ground.

[Tobin S.]

10. I appreciate the compliment

:thumbsup:

[MiddleFingerMom]

13. I worked third-shift for about 6 years...

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...and may have never been happier nor healthier.
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Skeleton crew of 6 in a call center -- MAJOR clients, but after around
2 AM or so, we sometimes went 2-3 hours without a call.
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Management allowed us to sleep -- we were ALL nightowls and greatly
preferred that shift (but didn't TELL them that -- as they were paying
us a higher shift differential in pay).
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Have always had trouble with mornings -- even when it was a routine
for years and years -- never got used to them.
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I slept far fewer hours when working that night shift -- just didn't seem
to need as much sleep.
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But I would almost CERTAINLY fall apart working some sort of swing
shift where I had to adjust my nights and days every few weeks or
months.
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.

[redwitch]

3. Sleep banks! What a great idea!

This insomniac would totally use such a service.

[Brickbat]

7. And this Olympic sleeper would make a deposit in your name.

:)

[MiddleFingerMom]

12. Sleep banks? Olympic sleepers?

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I LIKE the way (yawn) you think!!!!!
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Olympic sleepers... if there was such a thing as a
professional sleeping league -- you would see me
making the Pro Bowl each and every year.
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NEVER have had any trouble sleeping -- and learned
in the service to sleep when I could and wherever
I could (one memorable rainy/freezing night without
anything more than a poncho, I ended up held up by
two treebranches under my armpits and slept like a
baby AND woke up as if I had been in a comfortable bed.
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.

[Brickbat]

19. I'm the same way -- I can sleep anywhere, and drop off at any time.

Sometimes I think *I* should be the one working on the railroad, because I can stay awake when necessary and then sleep when I get a chance. Mr. Brickbat has trouble doing that.

Olympic sleeping could have all sorts of events: The short nap, the long nap, the long nap relay, "resting my eyes" sprints, the overnight marathon; and then some of the extreme events, including what you described -- military napping, as well as office napping, classroom napping and "sleeping when the baby sleeps."

[redwitch]

4. I am on the road lots as a sales rep.

Power naps in Thruway rest stops after a sleepless night. Ugh.
Can't drive drowsy though, better to get there late than not at all!

[Tobin S.]

8. "Can't drive drowsy though, better to get there late than not at all!"

Exactly. I've had employers try to make me drive when I was too tired. I don't know what they were thinking. Maybe they thought I was just lazy. The surest way you can get your freight strewn across a corn field and your truck laying on its side is to drive when you are too tired. As if this job wasn't hazardous enough.

[tigereye]

17. glad you are safe!

Enjoy your road stories. Thanks!

[redwitch]

21. As someone who drives a compact car...

thanks! Your big rig would smoosh me!

[gmoney]

5. Do you have an iPod?

If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, there are some excellent white noise applications that work great with earbuds, and they have timers and alarms so you don't oversleep.

If you have a regular MP3 player or even a CD, there are good white noise, guided meditation, or even light hypnosis that could work for you. Just a little help to concentrate on my breathing works great for me.

Or maybe you've already tried them and they don't do the trick for you.

[Tobin S.]

9. I don't have anything like that

My truck doesn't even have a CD player; a damn cassette player in a 2007 model truck. I don't know what the deal is with that.

[gmoney]

11. You can probably get a basic MP3 player for maybe $30

http://www.amazon.com/Coby-Player-Radio-Drive-Black/dp/B00134ZC1Y/

[jobycom]

14. You could try finding some of my longer advice posts...

They'll put you to sleep within a few minutes.

[Crystal Clarity]

15. That can't be an easy schedule Tobin

If I was in possession of an on/off switch, I'd give it to ya in a heartbeat. All others (except my SO) would have to pay big bucks...

Hey, can you imagine how much $ someone could make selling such a device? :think: Gosh, I could use one myself right now, evidenced by this thinking-out-loud gibberish... lol. I've been up since 3:30 eastern.

Oh well. I suppose all I can do is send you good vibes and this... :hug:

[tigereye]

18. I've been getting up early to get my kid off to the bus, and I am amazed at

how many people on the leftcoast are up at the same time - 3 am/4am...

[cwydro]

16. Me too. nt

[Tuesday Afternoon]

20. me too. insomnia sucks.

stay safe, Tobin.