Dr. George: Catching Forty Winks as You Drive Down the Freeway Isn’t Healthy or Smart, So Try These Steps to Stay Alert

Dear Dr. Meinig:

A recent job change has me on the road quite often and it can be day or nighttime driving. I remember quite a while ago you wrote about how to keep from falling asleep while driving. At the time I didn’t need it so I have forgotten your recommendations. Would you mind repeating the article? – B.Z.

 

Dear B.Z.:

You have a good memory; that article appeared 10 years ago, in June of 1981.

In view of some additional information about this subject, I decided to rewrite the answer to your letter. Let’s get right to it as there are numbers of factors that are helpful in preventing falling asleep at the wheel.

The seats in many cars are so soft they make it easy to slump down in them, thereby encouraging dozing off. To be alert, sit up straight, push your tail bone back into the seat as far as it will go.

After driving quite a while there is a tendency to stare at the white or yellow lines. This has a hypnotizing action so keep your eyes roving from side to side and out ahead. Once in a while brace your left foot against the floor board and push down as hard as you can, forcing your rump back into the seat. Repeat several times. You will find this relieves muscle stiffness and proves to be a very stimulating exercise.

If most of the time sleepiness occurs when you are driving in the city or heavy traffic, you may be getting gassed to sleep by the carbon monoxide exhaust of all the cars surrounding you. Don’t drive with the car vent or windows open as it sucks in those deadly exhaust gases.

[When using the air conditioner], use it on the “max” setting–even in the winter, as its filter system screens out much of the fumes by recirculating the air inside the car.

When your driving is in the country, away from the heavy smog areas, open the window and get some outside air circulating in the car or cool it with the air conditioner. Cold temperatures help keep you awake.

A number of acupuncture points when stimulated with finger acupressure are quite helpful. The first one to try is carried out by placing firm pressure with your index or middle finger to the upper ⅓ of the lip at the midline, just below the nose. Follow this with finger pressure between the eyebrows, just above the nose. Another is to fold over the lower lobe of the ear between the index finger and thumb and squeeze hard.

A quite effective awakening maneuver for women is a light, not hard squeeze of the breast nipple. For men, squeezing the penis at its base has convinced many a male of the effectiveness of acupressure!

Massage or finger squeezing pressure to the muscles at the back of the neck, about one inch outward from the midline, is also helpful. Slapping one’s face and thighs has its adherents and others find singing out loud, as loud as one can, stimulates brain activity.

A nutrition break is also effective but stay away from coffee, cokes and junk food. Their caffeine and sugar are quick stimulants, but for the long trips their eventual letdown in but a little while, makes matters worse rather than better.

Inasmuch as only these kinds of foods are available at gas stops, we carry an ice chest with a bottle or two of distilled water, some apples or other fruit, cheddar cheese, Rye Krisp and a jar full of my golfing mix of unroasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds, almonds and walnuts.

These various ideas are usually successful in warding off sleepiness.. When unsuccessful, don’t take chances, pull off the road and take a short nap. If you can’t sleep, take a short brisk walk or jog up and down the highway, swinging your arms and breathing deeply.

When stopping for gas, always spend a little time walking around the service station but do keep your eye on your car as some attendants do unscrupulous things to autos in order to get into your pocket book.

Personally, I have always been annoyed with regular automobile seats, as I have found all of them in the cars I have driven to be too soft and generally uncomfortable after about an hour of travel. After trying all kinds of wire and plastic insert seats, I recently came across a wood beaded auto or office chair seat in a Hammacher Schlemmer catalog.

When you first see them, you would swear the rather large wooden beads would be terribly uncomfortable, but it is just the other way around. They are cooler and easier on your buttocks; in fact, I understand all the New York cabbies now use them.

This list of ways to stay alert is rather long. Why not put a short version on a card and place it in your glove compartment for future use? Happy, Safe Motoring!