Our daughter fell asleep on the way to San Diego with a piece of chicken not quite bitten off sticking out of her mouth. Hard for adults to do though.

Nuts/chips/crunchy salty stuff works fro me. Engaging conversations will keep you awake and alert.

If all else fails start practicing your pit maneuvers to get the adrenaline up.

I always stay caffeinated well, which helps to stay alert. That said, I would not drive more than 10 hours and I would plan two naps of 30 minutes about half way and 3/4 of the way.

I would refrain from stringent (cardio) exercise the day of your drive and the day before. My worst driving trips are usually coming back from grueling hunts or hikes. Then I am physically tired and have to pull over for naps ever 3 hours!

G

copious amounts of caffeine blows up my guts. and that isnt good for anyone involved.

coming back from idaho, i drove straight 15 hours. got mildly tired but no real issues. stopped for piss stops, eats, and fuel. the real key was to have a copilot willing to stay the eff awake..conversation keeps me up and awake easy.

no huge carbo loading on the way either..that bigmac will wipe you out 30 minutes after you swallow the last bit of goodness.

My uncle would do this on trips back to college. He got back once and his room mate asked him why his gums were bleeding. Stripped the enamel off his teeth. Careful.

I find speeding works great...

Just drive fast enough and you won't have any problems staying alert. ;)

On my trips from Finland to Nürburgring I've learned that about 120mph in pitch black night gives you just enough adrenaline to stay awake.

The way I go:

Have the car packed and ready to go, including full of gas the night before.

Have your food, drinks..etc in an ice chest in your fridge.

Have the coffee machine set to brew 10 minutes before you get up.

Go to bed early. Do the math for your drive so that you can shut it down when it gets dark. Your trip about 900 miles, 13 or so hours. Dark o'clock is around 7pm now. 7pm - 13 hours = 0600 is the latest you want to start. Personally, I would be up at 0400 and rolling by 0415.

Get up, shower, fill up your gigantic coffee thermos, grab your ice chest and roll.

I have found it is much easier/safer to drive in the dark after you wake up from sleeping than it is late into your drive the next evening.

Be safe.

What helps me are peanut M&Ms..I eat the 1st 5-10, the rest, I'll keep one on my tongue and let it sit there till it dissolves, then I eat the peanut..A combination of the chocolate and the concentration of not cracking it with my teeth keep me awake....

Couple of bumps always does the trick. Just nothing in excess...

Yes, particularly when combined with driving naked. A sure fire way to have an interesting road trip. :D

angela

I like stick pretzels. I can make a bag of those last an easy 1,000 miles.

He swears they keep him awake. I like pickles, I just don't think eating a pickle while driving is going to do much good for me anyway. Sounds like a good way to a bellyache! Maybe that's how they work.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned this yet. Roll down the windows and get some fresh air in the car. Keep the A/C off recirculation mode. Stop trying to breathe CO2.

This will be the first year in the last fifteen that I haven't driven at least 50k miles for work. I finally pulled over and took a nap for the first time ever a few weeks ago. I sleep horribly in hotels but this one was bad. So no sleep for two days plus mind numbing interviews and I was beat. Left Chattanooga just after lunch and by Huntsville I was in bad shape. Pulled over and set the cell phones for thirty minutes. Felt like a new man when I woke up. No issues for the rest of the ride.

Back to the open windows...my opinion is modern cars are simply sealed too well. Not enough exchange of air. Soon enough your just breathing what you exhale. I feel myself nodding off I pull down a window. Couple of minutes later and I'm good to go.

One more reason to love my Porsche. All that fresh air leaking in.:) I drove LA to Houston in three days. Day two was 16hrs of driving. My co-pilot was 9yo so I did it all. Never once got drowsy. Water, snacks and coffee. Stay away from heavy meals. Get out, walk around a bit. Blast some tunes.

J

Made it there and back. Home safe and sound, but tired!
The drive out wasn't too bad. Stopped once and tried to sleep in back seat of truck. Not sure that helped.
I need a sleeping spot in my trailer.
Drive home, right after driving a 100 minute enduro, was much harder. I think towing the heavy load might make it doubly more exhausting, maybe more.
Thanks for all the advice. I DID like the chocolate covered espresso beans. Like drinking coffee, but no bathroom breaks every :15.

driving long miles back in the good ol days when the freeways were being built late 60's early 70's it was all peddle to the metal, 1100 mile trips were 12-14 hrs. No one out there and when a set of lights came up behind that was catching you it was either another fast car or a trooper and you know it instantly cuz he would pace you for a mile and hit his lights, ding a 5.00 ticket that had to be paid at the nearest justice of the peace in the nearest town and you better have cash.

While the trooper and justice drink a cup of coffee you leave only to get back on the freeway and peddle to the metal. Never had a problem with tiredness at 100 plus.

In the 80's and 90's did 600 to 800 mile drives in vans with 8-10 ski racers in the back all exceptionally good students and gifted athletes that the minute the van was full and leaving town, the first order of business was stop at the store and load up on beer, party all the way to the next race. I then found another trick in staying awake, sip on PBR and I was more than awake for the drive. My simple rules of the road were, no stops for anything other than gas, puke out the window and save those bottles for relief, girls were the exception, they had to wait till the gas station.

The good thing about the vans were they were the cheap ones so when the trip was over a water hose cleaned the van out.

Usually I just drop the windows, heat on the feet, cold cola. The one time that nearly got me was back when crossing PA on the Keystone Shortway during endless miles of road construction, after midnight, fresh dark asphalt, flashing construction beacons that were hypnotising.

I have a problem of falling asleep suddenly. I'm told I can be talking and fall asleep in the middle of a sentence. I've scared the bezeezus out of myself more than once on long trips. I told my doc and he prescribed Provigil. It really works. 50mg every 3 hours or so and I'm as alert as a normal person.

I was waiting for someone to suggest THAT! :D

angela

These - I love stopping for roadside markers, get out of the car, stretch, look at your toes - and you might learn something.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_RHk5fP6iA9...320/ghsign.jpg