Stop somewhere safe and rest when you start to nod

You have an hour to go. Your eyes are heavy, the window is down, the music is up, and the plan says you can still make it. Each thing you are trying is something you may have heard works. This page is for the moment it stops being a dull road and becomes sleep.

If you start to nod at the wheel, stop in a safe place and rest until you are no longer drowsy; nothing replaces sleep, and fresh air, snacks and the radio have not been found to work.

This page is for the drive that is making you sleepy. If your trouble on long drives is an aching back, finding a toilet or planning stops, it is not covered.

Sleepy, or just bored

The CDC lists the signs: frequent yawning or blinking, trouble remembering the last few miles, missing exits, drifting from your lane, or hitting a rumble strip. If any of those is happening, treat it as sleepiness and not as boredom. One person warns why you cannot count on noticing in time: micro-naps are involuntary, and the driver cannot consciously stop them.

What to do

The CDC’s report says the only safe thing for drivers who start to feel tired is to get off the road and rest until they are no longer drowsy. The UK Highway Code says much the same: if you feel sleepy, stop in a safe place, and not in an emergency area or on the hard shoulder of a motorway. One person warns against stopping on a highway shoulder to stretch your legs.

Some people say a short nap is the answer, and some suggest about 15 minutes. One person says arriving late is better than crashing. Some people also do jumping jacks at a rest stop; the CDC’s line is to rest until you are no longer drowsy.

The sources checked here do not name the best place to sleep, and people differ. One person suggests parking away from prying eyes at a store, mall or hotel car park; one person warns against sleeping at rest areas as dangerous for people who are not truckers. If you are unsure, the UK fire service’s line is to find a safe place to stop as soon as possible.

Where coffee fits

Some people use caffeine, such as coffee or an energy drink, as a way to combat drowsiness. Others say it is not a substitute for rest, and that stopping is the only safe choice. The two official lines differ in weight. A UK fire and rescue service calls two cups of strong coffee or a high-caffeine drink followed by a nap an emergency measure, and says that if you are still tired after it you should stop driving. The CDC’s report says the only safe thing is to rest, and does not mention caffeine. Read together, caffeine is at most a short bridge taken just before a nap, not a way to keep going without one.

The tricks people use, and what is known about them

Many people suggest audio: audiobooks, podcasts, comedy or music, to keep the mind busy on a dull stretch. One person says spoken word holds attention better than music, and another says comedy is better than a standard audiobook for staying alert when you are tired. One person says to test your audio on a short drive first, because for some people a steady talker is hypnotic and makes them sleepier. The page on borrowing an audiobook for the drive has more on this.

Many people also suggest keeping the body busy: chewing gum, snacks such as sunflower seeds, singing loudly, cold air. The CDC’s report says that turning up the radio, opening the window and turning up the air conditioner have not been found to be effective. For gum, snacks and singing, no authority was checked for this page.

Some people suggest giving the mind a task: narrating what you see, counting things, or word games. One person warns against watching video while driving and says to use audio only.

Some people say these help with a dull road. One person says that once real sleepiness has set in, no trick works, and the only safe choice is to stop and sleep.

Before you set off

• Sleep. The CDC says adults aged 18 to 60 need 7 or more hours a night, and its report found that drivers who snore or sleep six hours or less were more likely to say they had fallen asleep while driving. People differ: one person says six hours is enough for a short drive, and another says five or six hours is not enough for many people after a work shift on a monotonous road.
• Timing. The Highway Code says to avoid long journeys between midnight and 6 am, when natural alertness is at its lowest. Some people prefer leaving at 5 am so that the drive feels faster, cooler and less crowded; that falls inside the Highway Code’s hours.
• Breaks. The Highway Code recommends a break of at least 15 minutes after every two hours of driving. One person stops every two hours for ten minutes to stretch and walk, and one person says four hours between stops works if you enjoy driving.
• Stops and days. Some people suggest planning your stops in advance, so you do not arrive tired and search for somewhere to sleep. One person strongly prefers splitting an 11-hour drive over two days to ease the stress and the night driving; another says 11 hours in a day is manageable with two drivers.
• A second driver. One person suggests taking turns driving. One person warns against trading sleeping shifts with a partner, because a partner asleep beside you makes it harder to stay awake.

When it keeps happening

If sleepiness behind the wheel keeps coming back, or you are tired in the day after enough sleep, take it to a doctor. The CDC says to talk to a health care provider if you regularly have problems sleeping, and its report names drivers with untreated sleep disorders and drivers who take sedating medication as being at higher risk. The NHS lists feeling very tired in the day among the symptoms of sleep apnoea and says to see a GP if you have them. One person says that sleepiness at the wheel can be sleep apnoea, where breathing stops during inactivity, and that treatment can resolve it. In the UK, the government says that if a sleep condition with excessive sleepiness is confirmed you must not drive until you are free of it or your symptoms are under control and you are strictly following any treatment.

Who this page is not for

If you drive at night or on long shifts as a job, the CDC names you as being at higher risk, and this page does not cover the rules on hours or what a workplace should provide.

If you take a medicine that makes you drowsy, the CDC lists sedating medication as a risk. This page does not say which medicines do that; ask a pharmacist or doctor.

If you are driving and about to nod off right now and cannot stop at once, this page does not have a better answer than the one at the top: find a safe place to stop as soon as possible.