Can't Sleep

[Magneto]

Alright this is for all you freight dogs out there. Have any of you ever worked a long night and gotten home ready to hit the sack and you just can't fall asleep? I'm living that nightmare right now.

I don't know if maybe it has something to do with me going to bed with the sun already up or what but it is pissing me off. This is the first time this has happened.

What I'm afraid of now is that when I go back to work tonight I will hit the wall, dead tired. No pun intended. Any ideas or suggestions on how to prevent this from happening in the future?

 

[apu]

I used to put blankets over my windows to trick myself into thinking that it was night. Worked pretty well.

 

[Airpiraterob]

the sleep cycle.

are you taking naps at any other time of the day? even a 30 minute or hour nap in a recliner somewhere? if so.....don't do that.

otherwise, i'll ask how long have you been doing the current schedule youre doing? <how long on the job?>

keep in mind this. i talked to a sleep therapist a while back about my former schedule and she couldnt believe i was alive. you have to have a full nights sleep. short term cycles of split sleep are alright but constant permanent schedule of splitting sleep is not healthy and your mind will suffer as well as your body. do it long enough and youll find yourself getting sick more often and nodding off at altitude for 5 seconds at a time. as well as your personal alarm clock adjusting to waking you up every 4 hours preventing you from sleeping more than that.

good luck.
coffee.....coffe.....coffee...

 

[wmudriver]

F'ed up sleep cycles

I always hope to get home before the sun comes up so I can fall asleep while its still dark but that never seems to happen.
To try and fall asleep when I get home from a trip I shut the house up so its dark and watch some boring TV...that always seems to work. Nothing like blinddate or MXC on Spike TV.

 

[CrewDawg]

I had this same problem when I was in tech school, I was on the night shift so to help us sleep during the day we would put aluminum foil over our windows. This method worked for me.

 

[AK737FO]

Bitter memories...

Dude, I feel your pain... you are in for a long night tonight.

I spent many years as a FR8 Dawg, fly all night, sleep (or don't) all day. It stinks...

I came to the conclusion long ago that some guys can adapt to the grave yard shift pretty easily, while others of us will stuggle with it no matter what we try. I know that I am one of those guys who will never be able to work the grave yard and stay well rested, healthy and happy. I just can't sleep during the day.

Here are some things that I use to do.
Quad shot of espresso in a thermos. "Up time" herbal supplements. Tin foil on the bedroom window. Sleep with ear plugs and phone turned off. While flying, take your shoes and socks off (no problem for single pilots ops) and put those toes on the cold floor. If your plane has an auto pilot, you can hang a stop watch with a timer alarm around your neck, set it for about 5 to 7 minutes, take a snooze and when the alarm goes off, check that all is well, reset and repeat. If you don't have an autopilot then the altitude alerter will provide one for you - O the memories are so painful!
Other ideas I used (again single pilot) was to sing songs really loud, a spontaneous yell or scream from time to time, pinch your arm till you can't take it anymore, and yes - even the occasional self administered face slap will help for a few minutes.

An all nighter with a crew is easier, but I still end up with my chin on my chest from time to time.
Good luck tonight, fly safe, and find a day flying job ASAP!

 

[Guillotine007]

uh....i would not take a quick nap during flight, how many of us have slept through alarm clocks...i know i have.

Klein

 

[SquirrelDog]

Best ways to sleep

Best way is to start your nap before sunrise. Next is to make your room like a cold cave and hibernate for the winter. I this doesn't make you catch z's then there is the last resort. Now, if you don't mind the side effects of short term memory loss and sleepiness for a few hours after your up then pony up and take a couple tylenol PM's. This if for the must have to sleep occasions. Usually way after sunrise.

Hope it helps, does me!
SD

 

[Hose A. Jiminez]

CANT SLEEP???

Have you tried rubbing one off? Works for me everytime.

 

[ACT700]

I keep emailing Mr. Burns to get his a$$ in gear and get that "sunblocker" working!
Then I won't have to put blankets over my windows.

Seriously, the key is, schedule permitting, to get to bed before the sun comes up. I love winters!

Good luck.

 

[OPECJet]

I haven't flown a regular night run in a long time, around 2 or 3 years, but the tendency is still there to not go to sleep until at least 4 in the morning. Makes getting up to fly an early trip a really painful thing. When the company went to flying all on demand stuff, those 5 am calls to go fly really sucked since I just gone to bed most of the time.

On the other hand, when I was flying air ambulance, I was the only one awake AND alert on those late night / early morning trips. At least until about an hour before sunrise.

 

[Nolife]

zzzzz.....

After flying all night long, 10pm- 9am, I used to work out. I'd get home feeling good and pumped, then take a nice relaxing shower and stay up as long as I could. Usually about noon or one I passed out and got about 5 or 6 hours sleep. Somedays more some less.

Several times though after a good nights sleep I'd still fight the sleep monster on my last leg. The monotony of the flight would take over and there was nothing I could do. I even hung my head out of the window, like a dog, only to be awaked by a dragonfly at 160 knots. Nice bruise on my forehead for about one week.

Two guys at my former company actually got busted by ATC after going miles of course in the wrong direction and not answering thre radio.

Night cargo is tough... only the insane, very lonely, depressed, and lost souls do it for any length of time

 

[OPECJet]

You got hit in the head with a dragonfly??? I hate to laugh at that, but.....

I used to fly an airplane that had a vent window like the ones on the Slowtations. During the summer if I was in the right seat I would push the seat back as far as I could and put my foot out the window. The air coming off my shoe would hit the guy in the left seat cooling him off, while some of the would shoot up my pants leg cooling off the important equipment there. Some sort of bug hit my shoe while doing this and wound up shooting up my pant leg. No bruise and no stings though...

 

[Magneto]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will definately try some of them. Well, I survived last night and I actually wasn't even that tired. Thank goodness for second winds.

I actually have adapted quite well to the night schedule. I find myself really struggling though on the weekends when I try to go to a half day/night schedule to spend time with the family. Oh well, such is the life of a freight dog.

 

[Wang Chung]

Get this book: "Fatigue in Aviation; A Guide to Staying Awake at the Stick" by Caldwell (publisher is Ashgate).

It's outstanding - it has the latest info and it just came out. It also addresses some myths and B.S. about sleep and fatigue.

I don't miss my freight dog schedules, especially the unscheduled stuff. Not one bit.

Wang "Human Hactors Geek" Chung

P.S.:

are you taking naps at any other time of the day? even a 30 minute or hour nap in a recliner somewhere? if so.....don't do that

Dude, if you are tired because of your schedule, take naps when you can get them. Just give yourself some recovery time after you wake to spool up.

 

[fly2002]

well i've done the night cargo schedule now for nearly a year. I will leave my company for Mesa Airlines. I can't stand the sleeping in shifts anymore. My schedule has me not working on the back side of the clock...it has me working two clocks. I sleep for 4 hours...wake up....work for 3 more...then TRY and sleep an additional four hours. So two complete "shifts" of sleep.

I haven't seen a cloud i've flown through in over a year. My battery is always half-charged. As mentioned above ...some can handle the wierd sleep....some cannot. I have found myself constantly tired..lacking basic motor skills...dangerous behind the wheel....and that's after landing a 23k pound airplane only minutes before.

I don't even fly much...about 1.8 a day...that isn't anything. It is all handflying....but like people on this board say....it's all about the sleep. What is daylight? What are friends? Family?....all of these things you will miss out on paying the "night cargo" dues. I look like i'm on drugs just going to the store to buy a pack of smokes!!! Geez...i'm trying to think back on this mornings flight....I remember the landing...everything else is seriously a blur.

I cannot even imagine some of the guys on here that attempt to have a "normal" schedule weekend. I ALWAYS stay up till at least 4:30am on the weekends. I can't FORCE myself to sleep...ya just gotta let is happen. Do i close the shades in the day? Yeah....I don't put up blankets/ aluminum etc. like my captain does though. I DO go into hibernation mode though. The apartment has to be cold.....lots of covers on the bed. I even used nyquil for a while...just a really small shot when i got home. By the time it was to sleep...it had taken effect. Ok i'll stop ranting. I am glad i did the night cargo thing though. I'm also glad that i flight instructed for a year as well. Next week is my last week and I am thankful. Clouds...sun...warmth..daytime!!!!! I've learned a lot about myself...and what i want to do with my life as far as flying is concerned. No more cargo....no more night shifts.. If FedEx or UPS call in a few years....they can shove it. That type of flying...while terrific (career goals) for some....it's not for me. Ok...sorry for the rant guys/gals...this thread just kinda sucked me in based on my own experience.
East coast guy

 

[DitchDriver]

Staying awake

A fellow freightdog suggested eating sunflower seeds, worked wonders for me... while bag lasted.

 

[Kaman]

Hello,
A lot of good suggestions here. I came from a military background and primarily operating from carriers. Hence, we all lived by the flight schedule and what I found worked the best when we were really pushing it was to try and establish and maintain a routine. I think that having regular hours will lend itself much better than the crazy hours we had in a CVW.
Most importantly, eat regular meals, sleep when you can get a nap, exercise and try and keep flying in a "box" only opened when you report for duty.
On the subject of naps. You will be amazed at what a 20-minute power nap can do for you. Don't let yourself sleep too long though, the military did some studies that suggested no more than a half-hour on the naps, otherwise you'll be lethargic vice refreshed. Obviously, this is going to vary by the individual, but seemed to work pretty good in actual practice. As a final resort, you could check with your AME and see what he suggests.

Regards,

ex-Navy Rotorhead

 

[de727ups]

"If FedEx or UPS call in a few years"

Don't worry...you don't beg, borrow, and steal for a job like that and it isn't going to happen.

Some of our schedules will kill you but if you are senior enough to hold a clean line then it's usually five or six on, and then you have eight or nine off to be normal. No doubt, night freight four or five days on, two or three off, is a killer. The sleeping three or four hours, twice a day, is too.

With some seniority, though, you can fly days and/or get a lot of time off. I only flew 100 hours block last year and got paid for 975......

 

[Wang Chung]

Don't let yourself sleep too long though, the military did some studies that suggested no more than a half-hour on the naps

The latest recommendations I've seen is to not limit napping time - get as much as you can, when you can. Not sure about the 30-minute studies.

Just leave yourself time to fully awaken after the nap.

...but do whatever works best for you.

 

[freighthumper]

----If your plane has an auto pilot, you can hang a stop watch with a timer alarm around your neck, set it for about 5 to 7 minutes, take a snooze and when the alarm goes off, check that all is well, reset and repeat. If you don't have an autopilot then the altitude alerter will provide one for you ---
You ought to talk to this guy i know who used to do that, and forgot to reset his alarm.......he ended up flying to canada on accident..good thing he woke up eventually

 

[Jmmccutc]

Nyquil...drink the whole damm bottle...

 

[starvingcfi]

just have your gf lie next to you and say "let's cuddle"

you'll pass right out. works every time.

 

[Dave Benjamin]

----If your plane has an auto pilot, you can hang a stop watch with a timer alarm around your neck, set it for about 5 to 7 minutes, take a snooze and when the alarm goes off, check that all is well, reset and repeat. If you don't have an autopilot then the altitude alerter will provide one for you ---

In a human factors class I learned that the really short "catnaps" are not all that productive. I can't find the textbook right now but in order for a nap to be effective I think it needs to be at least 20 minutes. Probably not a good idea if you're single pilot.

Here's a link http://human-factors.arc.nasa.gov/zteam/

 

[trfenwyd]

mmmm....sleep

whatever you do, DONT nap in the airplane.. Make sure you are exercising when you are up, a good diet (NOT ATKINS) and drink plenty of fluids. Also, I stuffed towels in the window to keep out light.

Also, if you're falling asleep in the airplane. Eat and apple, it'll keep you busy and awake for a good 20 minutes. Enough for approach and landing if necessary.

 

[DirkkDiggler]

Jerk off and take a melatonin. works great

 

[FN FAL]

If you don't want to fall asleep while flying, don't read college textbooks. I was holding for 2.5 hours on saturday trying to read that text book in the warm sunlight and it made it really tough to stay awake flying 10 mile legs real slow.

I was so groggy in one turn inbound, I undid altitude hold on the autopilot on the way to hitting the nav button to re-intercept the localizer. I caught it, but it sure gives you the shivers.

I could imagine a tired frieght dog accidently hitting the appch button instead of the nav button to fly the inbound legs of a hold, then taking a cat nap to the end of an undesired ILS...followed shortly there after by a dirt nap.

 

[CUEBOAT]

Aluminum Foil over your window and Duct Tape works wonders, i've been doing it for alomst a year now.