Driver Lifestyles

No, Insomnia Doesn’t Mean You Should Just Drive All Night...

At some point or another, the chance that you’ll have--or have had--insomnia on a short-term basis is high; close to 100%.  In addition to that, around 60 million people deal with insomnia per year.  Insomnia isn’t necessarily just a passing thing, though.  There are a number of different types, causes, and symptoms associated with it that get treated in a number of different ways.  In other words, the whole thing can be complicated.  

Of course, sleep is important.  The DOT and CSA 2010 rules regarding commercial driving recognize this.  Perhaps more importantly, common sense recognizes this as well.  So, what to do if you’ve got insomnia?

As you’ve guessed, the short answer is that it depends.  The answer to this question lies in determining where the insomnia comes from.  Fortunately, there are a number of resources available--including your doctor--to help you get your insomnia taken care of.  The first step in finding the source of your sleepless night might be to determine what kind of insomnia you think you have.  There are three types:

Transient Insomnia: This type typically lasts for less than a week.  It can be caused by any number of things, like changes in your sleep cycle, changes in where you sleep (and this would commonly be related to trucking, I imagine), stress and/or depression, or perhaps by an altogether separate disorder.   Acute Insomnia: Acute Insomnia is generally defined as an inability to sleep or consistently sleep well for a period of a couple weeks to a month.   Chronic Insomnia: Chronic Insomnia is the type that you’ll often see portrayed in late-night television ads, where the sufferer has trouble sleeping for a period of more than a month.  Chronic insomnia can be its own, primary disorder, or it can have other causes.  People who report chronic insomnia mostly report exactly what you’d expect: an inability to sleep, muscular fatigue, mental fatigue, and the possibility of hallucinations.  Additionally, some report double vision, and in rare cases, people perceive things in what might be considered “Slow motion.”   The fact that there are varying types of insomnia means, logically speaking, that there are numerous treatments and remedies that go along with that.  Some work better than others.  As many cases of insomnia tend to be related to other extenuating circumstances, the most reliable treatment for insomnia is that those issues causing one’s sleep problems be treated and eliminated first; this will more than likely take care of, or at least significantly reduce, any problems related to insomnia that the patient has.  

Many doctors will suggest that behavioral therapy is also a reliable treatment for insomnia; essentially, this is intended to help patients modify their behaviors to include things that promote sleep and to eliminate behaviors that inhibit one’s ability to sleep.  There are relaxation techniques, reconditioning, and certain sleep therapies that are likely to help reduce one’s insomnia.  

Milder cases of insomnia may not require “Treatment” per se, but rather a conscious effort to practice better sleeping habits such as relaxing before bed, avoiding caffeine, getting exercise every day, avoiding heavy meals late in the day, and if you have issues with worries at the end of the night, it’s a good idea to do what you can to alleviate those before bedtime (many resources I looked at suggested making to-do lists, but if that’s not for you, there are endless possibilities relating to alleviating day-to-day worries).  

You’ll notice that I haven’t covered sleeping pills yet--there’s a good reason for that.  Most of the medical-related research I looked at seemed to indicate that folks should first try behavioral changes before resorting to using pharmaceuticals that induce sleep.  Of course, once you’ve exhausted all other possibilities, you’ll want to confer with your physician on your sleeping issues--and don’t leave any details out; since insomnia is commonly caused by outside sources like stress et al, letting your doctor know about these things is vital to getting the correct treatment and/or drugs that will best take care of your insomnia.  

As you may already know, there are numerous pills and drugs available exclusively for sleep.  While I’m not going to cover any of those with any real depth, I do think it’s important to note that many “all-natural” dietary supplements and herbal remedies tend to be quite a bit less effective than they indicate on their labels and in their advertising; they often quote or refer to scientific studies that are either weak on actual proof or indicative of not much more than the placebo effect at work.  That said, the placebo effect is actually a pretty powerful thing--so if you can somehow convince yourself that they’re working and they work, problem solved.  Otherwise, I’d recommend saving your money (because those supplements can be really expensive).  

As for drugs, however, there are some sleep aid pharmaceuticals that are rapid-onset and don’t have many of the common side effects of most sleeping pills, like drowsiness the next day.  You might consider asking your physician about such drugs if you’re at wit’s end with your insomnia.  Almost all the research I looked over warned folks against using over-the-counter sleeping pills not only because of these kinds of side effects, but also because they often lose their effectiveness over time.  

All told, insomnia is a reasonably broad topic that can barely be covered by the space available here; at the same time, it’s a common enough ailment that we actually know quite a bit about it--and this is partially because it’s generally a symptom of other issues as opposed to its own isolated problem.  The moral, of course, is that if you’re driving with insomnia, you’ll still want to rest--and if you’re having trouble sleeping in the middle of nowhere, do your best to relax.  It helps.  Seriously.  

http://trade-jobs.suite101.com/article.cfm/how-to-sleep-in-a-semi-truck
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/insomnia/article_em.htm
http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/insomnia-symptoms-and-causes
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/insomnia/DS00187