A big reason why i made this post is because for example this morning and tomorrow. Last night like my regular schedule i got about 5 hours of sleep and tomorrow im going to be lucky to get 5. This is partly due to my fiance work schedule. And mostly due to her step father. (Insomniac who believes if he can only get 4 hours of sleep then everybody should only get it. I know. I know we gotta get out and im working on that.)
(shes tried to explain to them that i pick her up so itd be preferable to leave at 10 the latest. However they dont listen and last nightshe was scheduled for 2315 and tomorrow its 0000.)
If i get 7-8 hours consistently im fine and great to function. Even longer if i take a 15 minute nap around 1300. I want to see if sleep is able to be obtained in the 7-8 hour mark by mainly trip planning or if its a normal occurance.
Reaper I have followed most of your posts so I kinda get where you are in this process and the limiting factors you are dealing with. Once you are a trucker, your life will no longer revolve around the required errands and schedules of others. Believe it or not, you may actually get your 7-8 hours every day without fail. The variables occur as your clock rotates, and you are sleeping at different times of the day. I am a devout day driver. My dedicated assignment enables a more consistent sleep cycle, however some days I am starting at 0500, other days 1100-1200. When I dock-out at noon, many times I am not able to sleep until well past midnight. Even though that's only a 6-7 hour difference, it pushes your sleep cycle well into the next morning. It will take you some time to get used to it, grabbing quality sleep when you can as opposed to a set schedule of "lights-out" every night at 2200.
My sleep schedule is not as random but fairly unpredictable. Some nigjhts im lucky to get to bed around 10. Others i get to not sleep at all and i take my two breaks half hour each at work as a quick nap. I am fine with random sleep schedules this is my first job that has steady same shift hours. All my pther jobs have been random. I feel like tbe truckers life is the best life for my fiance and i for health, maturity, and sanity. I have my nose to the grind stone for studying the high road and cdl manual. I have memorized the in cab prettrip inspection except for actually looking at guages and watching the needles move.
(I have three cardboard boxes that have guages and switches drawn on them. My fiance acts as the instructor and the needle readouts since they are just pictures. Amazing help from my girl.
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Being able to sleep when you need to is part of what can make or break you as a trucker. Not everyone is going to be able to manage to get into a job that has semi-regular hours.
However, I have found that if I run as hard as I can, as long as I can, I'm ready to sleep when I'm done at the end of every day.
The problem for me is when I can't run as hard as I can. Sitting on my butt and practicing my thumb-twiddling skills tends to screw up my sleep schedule.
For instance, I finished a 34-hour break two days ago at 0330. I drove 160 miles, unloaded, drove another 140, took a 10 hour break (the one I discussed above), then unloaded again. Drove 80 miles to a Petro to washout and fuel and send a Transflo all at one location, then drove another 60 miles to a Purdue plant. Now I'm going to have to sit until 2200 to get my loaded trailer when I have 8 hours drive time left on my clock. Sitting on my butt when I have hours to drive is annoying as fork.
I slept fine last night, but I've only been awake about 10 hours now, with a catnap or two in the sleeper at the receiver as well.
Now, today, I can probably manage to get to sleep. I'm not feeling particularly wired and I don't have a problem running around in my head wanting to be solved.
Some days, in this same situation, I might have a really screwed up sleep cycle and struggle to get to sleep, but, fortunately, I can function on 4-5 hours sleep. I also have audiobooks if I need help staying awake. If audio books don't keep me aware enough, I pull off the road in a rest stop and snooze for an hour or two, which will get me right for the rest of a day's driving.
Don't think that you have to push for every mile or hour you can, like I do. If I am kept busy, I will knock out a full 70 in five days and be happy about it. A lot of drivers only drive 9 hours a day, and drive every day of the week. If you run like I do, you need to be able to have a more flexible sleep schedule more often. If you run on recaps, you can adjust your sleeping schedule day-by-day, to some extent, but even then, sometimes, you just get handed a load that is going to mess you up.