[redcruiser]

Originally Posted by earthian

It was worrisome. Then i took a sleep study and was diagnosed with sleep apnea. For those who don't know what is sleep apnea, see this:
If any BHPians want to understand more about this, feel free.

Thanks earthian for this information.
I guess i may be suffering from this Sleep apnea as I snore too much in my sleep.

But i don't feel fatigued or drowsy in the morning or have any kind of headache.
I am thinking to video record my sleep to know if am really suffering from this.
Nevertheless will start doing some Yoga to get over my snoring.

[bhardwhu]

Originally Posted by redcruiser

Thanks earthian for this information.
Nevertheless will start doing some Yoga to get over my snoring.

Although off topic but Yoga, especially Kapalbhati and Ujjayi for 6 months helped my parents get relief. Wish you good luck!

[dark.knight]

There are three factors that cause or are capable of causing damage as much as drunken driving, the key reason will be the same - BAD driving.. but the factors that cause bad driving are different.

Alcohol - causes drowsiness, numbs the central nervous system and cuts out rational thinking. Result - bad driving and accidents. Solution - DON'T DRINK!!!

Sleepiness - causes drowsiness as a natural side-effect, central nervous system is slowed to a grinding halt and thinking, what thinking? Same result. Solution - get 7-8 hours sleep which the body needs, keep a Gatorade handy (NOT caffeine as that flushes out liquids from the body, the last thing we need when driving is another body organ putting pressure to stop the car).

Emotions - yes, anger, sadness and frustration are parts of life.. just dont let them take control of your driving even for a second. They are as deadly as drinking and driving or sleepiness when driving, only that there is no law against driving under extreme emotions and the public awareness on the issue is zilch. A neutral mind or even a happy mind will do wonders to your road-trip.

Monotony - I've observed this myself, when you're on the road too long, something changes. Its surely not the same style of driving you began with, the body and mind numbs out a bit and you become a passive driver moving along the speed of traffic and just, on auto-pilot. The key is to re-ignite the mind and do active driving again.. by that I mean we should do predictive driving, scan all 4 corners of the vehicle continuously and simply not take ANYTHING for granted. Indian roads cannot afford us that luxury.

Safety for myself and others is the only thing that is important for me when driving and I'm happy I've evolved to that state. I don't want trouble and I don't want to give trouble either. I'm a teetotaller (mainly because I hate the taste) and I hardly drive over 15 km at a time these days so I'm happy for that. However I see many people driving after a "sloshed" "hard-party" night out.. in my eyes they are hard-core criminals and should be subjected to rigorous imprisonment. We talk of safety here in the forum and all the safety features in a car like ABS, SRS, ESP, LCA, HHA, TCS etc.. there is one important safety feature before even getting into the car - DDD (Don't Drink & Drive).

Great thread, read it people!

[hserus]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

Monotony - I've observed this myself, when you're on the road too long, something changes. Its surely not the same style of driving you began with, the body and mind numbs out a bit and you become a passive driver moving along the speed of traffic and just, on auto-pilot. The key is to re-ignite the mind and do active driving again

A cabbie I know told me that when driving chennai bangalore he prefers going through the Chittoor Kolar route because it has ghat and two lane sections and generally more traffic, so he has to stay alert and drive actively, whereas on the golden quadrilateral through vellore - hosur, he just has to keep his foot down and cruise along for long periods of time.

[Bigzero]

Great thread!

I have been doing Pune-Mysore fairly regularly once or twice a year over the last few years.. The routine had been to leave Pune at around 5 and reach Mysore at around 6.30.

around 900km overall, and the last 200 through mostly undivided roads, and at the fag end of the day.

The last drive in May was a bit of an eye-opener for me. Though I shared the driving load with my wife, I realised that for some reason Pune-Kolhapur was taking longer than usual, and we had to give sufficient breaks with the kids getting increasingly restless sitting in the car for long durations. So all of this, plus a bit of comparatively sedate driving, meant that we turned out at Hiriyur at around 4.30 pm ( we started at 5.45 am or something, again a bit of delay.. ).

The last 2 hours was horrible, as it was dark and we were on undivided roads with headlights blinding us completely. This plus the fact that both of us were a bit fatigued and a bit sleepy for some reason ( perhaps the food we had, or backlog from earlier days ).

We somehow managed to reach Mysore at around 9 pm or so, dead tired from the last leg of the drive.

At that point I decided that I will not risk this drive anymore unless I plan it a bit better. Start maybe an hour earlier with sufficient sleep the night earlier ( always tough because we are always late to do the last minute shutdown activities around the house and packing etc ), and probably improve the headlights of my car ( a first-gen i20 with pathetic headlights..).

My point is - sleep and lack of concentration is the result of multiple factors - lack of sleep the night(s) before, the amount of stress during the drive, food you eat, and the duration of the drive. Even if you don't fall asleep at the wheel, your concentration levels are definitely going to be lower at the fag end of the day...

[Neil Roy]

Kudos for starting this thread. It is an "eye" opener. At the end of the day, it is all about keeping your eyes open while driving
I follow these routines religiously for my long drives.

1) Keep eyes fresh by

• Sound sleep
• Sun glasses if you are driving in day times
• Eye drops like refresh tears or tears natural, which I strategically cool using the AC vents before applying them on tolls.
• Eye cool patches like this http://www.ebay.in/itm/152236520252?aff_source=Sok-Goog

2) Keep face cool by

• Wiping my face with wet wipes
• Always having a microfiber towel wet to the touch, which I use to wipe my face - IF the towel is being chilled by AC, it is that much better.

3 Keep body relaxed by

• • Stopping after every 3 hours max or two hours minimum.
  • Getting out of the car and stretching legs and shoulders.
  • Stopping the car and enjoying breath taking views that Mother nature might be kind enough to show me and taking in the moment
  • Eating only fibre foods like chappattis and Rotis and avoiding rice. Rice makes you very tired after 30 minutes if ingestion and I know many people who dozed off and created accidents.
• Power naps if Iam driving solo.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_nap
We are all moto enthusiasts and we owe it to ourselves, our forum and our country for making drives that much safer and pleasurable.

[earthian]

Originally Posted by redcruiser

I guess i may be suffering from this Sleep apnea as I snore too much in my sleep.

Snoring is one symptom, but not necessarily a conclusive one. If you are over weight, snore, smoke, chances are you have sleep apnea. My suggestion is to check the following:

1. If you have a partner who sleeps in your room, find out whether your limbs jerk during sleep on occasion.
2. Whether you gasp for air sometimes during sleep. ( you stop snoring for about 10-15 seconds and then with a jerk, you start again)
3. How many times do you get up to go to the bathroom? ideally it should be zero.
4. Whether you feel lethargic on occasion?

But i don't feel fatigued or drowsy in the morning or have any kind of headache.

Head aches are not with every one. You may not feel drowsy in the morning, but would if doing some repetitive, monotonous job.

Get a sleep study done. It is worth it. And the CPAP machine is a game changer. Added advantage is that your metabolic rate could go up slightly.

[PVS]

A very informative and interesting thread on the perils of driving without adequate sleep. I despise an early morning start, as i would be left with very little sleep the previous night, tossing around in anticipation of the upcoming drive. Nowadays, I play a later afternoon departure, hit the highway and pull over into a hotel by around 9 pm; take a good night's sleep and continue with the journey next morning. And yes, there have been instances where I was drowsy behind the wheel but [**touch-wood**], I was able to maintain my concentration levels and nothing untoward happened. Many good tips on this thread, and not eating heavily during a long drive, is very apt, and I follow it religiously, during my drives.

[Red Liner]

Quick pro-tip.

I have found that having an ice-cream helps (with fruits is even better). Its loaded with Sugar, and Sugar gives an instant boost to your attention level (sugar spike). Many times, I much prefer getting an ice cream at noon as opposed to a full blown lunch to keep riding in the afternoon heat.

[GeeTee TSI]

Very pertinent article, considering the number of travelogues we read and compose in this forum. Along with the useful tips suggested, I would like to mention a few which worked for me.

1. Avoid rice and carb-heavy foods (butter, potatoes et al. We can always indulge once checked into a hotel
2. Splash water on the face, use wet tissues.
3. Up the fluids intake consciously during long day travel
4. Plan stops to combine stretch/loo breaks with a quick visual check of car (tyres especially). Avoid driving more than three hours at a stretch
5. Try to engage in conversations now and then with co-passengers, anything to break the monotony on empty straight stretches.

[rohanak1]

Originally Posted by Bigzero

At that point I decided that I will not risk this drive anymore unless I plan it a bit better. Start maybe an hour earlier with sufficient sleep the night earlier ( always tough because we are always late to do the last minute shutdown activities around the house and packing etc ), and probably improve the headlights of my car ( a first-gen i20 with pathetic headlights..).

My point is - sleep and lack of concentration is the result of multiple factors - lack of sleep the night(s) before, the amount of stress during the drive, food you eat, and the duration of the drive. Even if you don't fall asleep at the wheel, your concentration levels are definitely going to be lower at the fag end of the day...

Starting early morning on time somehow never works out as all last minute activities take considerable time. You could consider the option of staying somewhere overnight. Start from Pune at 3-4pm and halt at Belgaum or Hubli. That way you will be fresh next day morning for the drive. I did this on a recent trip to Sangli. Started at 5pm from Bangalore and stayed overnight at a hotel in Hubli.

Some tips from my side:
1) If you are driving at night, DO NOT OVEREAT at dinner however tasty the food is. While driving to Hyderabad, I overate and then the last 100kms got really tough as I started feeling extremely sleepy.

2) While driving at night, be extra cautious as you get closer to your destination. This is the period when we start feeling that we are almost there. This may cause dozing off or other momentary lapses.

3) Preferably keep some kind of music running.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by rohanak1

Starting early morning on time somehow never works out as all last minute activities take considerable time. You could consider the option of staying somewhere overnight. Start from Pune at 3-4pm and halt at Belgaum or Hubli. That way you will be fresh next day morning for the drive. I did this on a recent trip to Sangli. Started at 5pm from Bangalore and stayed overnight at a hotel in Hubli.

That is what I am doing for a trip coming up from Chennai to Tirunelveli - 9 hour journey so I'm breaking journey midway at Trichy. Mostly because I'm traveling with my kids and it is easier for them if I drive not more than 4..5 hours a day.

[driveanddrive]

I wear contact lenses full time everyday, but when I know I will be driving for more than a few hours, I follow this:

• Wear glasses, not lenses. Lenses tend to get dry because of the aircon, which in turn makes me sleepy

• Point the aircon away from my face

• Keep the temperature in the 25-26 Degree range and not lesser

• Drink water every half an hour or so

• Most importantly, start early. Somehow I am not at all comfortable driving at night, mainly due to oncoming high beam

[AVIS]

Here's a funny anecdote. Sometime during his early days in Test cricket, Kapil Dev had to play a match in Pune. He was en route from Mumbai to Pune, in a taxi. Somewhere on the way, the driver started feeling sleepy and said he could drive no further!
(Kapil had not attained star status as yet, I guess ) Kapil asked the driver to move over and drove the taxi himself all the way to Pune!

It's a good practice to periodically check if the driver is alert. If the driver seems drowsy and for some reason you cannot stop on the roadside, strike a conversation with the driver to keep him awake.

[GTO]

A Team-BHP Fan (who prefers to remain anonymous) shares this titbit. Personally, I hate taking pills and wouldn't recommend it:

Well, I wanted to share my personal way of managing a forced long drive during unavoidable circumstances. A medicine called Modalert 100 (Modafinil) can keep one in a high state of alertness and completely away from sleep for about 10 hours if taken at say 8 PM. No chance of micro sleep! However, during the last decade, I did it only twice. In some Air Forces worldwide, pilots take this medicine during extended duties.