[alpha1]

I don't think I have faced this because I don't like to start early on drives

But yeah I have faced similar problem EVERY TIME when I have a darned flight to catch at 6 am. That must be due to the stress.

This one (long drive one) looks more of excitement stuff keeping you from sleeping

[kaushik_s]

Same problem here, and it doesn't even matter if it's a long drive or a simple TBHP drive. If I have to wake up early (anything before 6am) then I won't get good sleep at all and sometimes no sleep at all. But if I have to start the drive by say 7am (and for this I'll have to wake up by 6/6.15) around then I'll get a nice sleep. It's definitely psychological effect about the anxiety to get up early for sure. The brain just don't allow me to fall asleep. So I prefer to start the day before and drive thru the night. I normally go to sleep only by 2.30am and so it's never a problem for me to drive thru the night (unless ofcourse I'm tired or something) or atleast till 4am in the morning.

[airguitar]

Wait till the excitement wears out

On my first long drive years back, I woke up at 4.30 AM every single day those 5 days. Now the start is never earlier than 7.30 AM - and I find that I enjoy the drives better having slept well.

[specialist1968]

Every time I go out for a long drive. I will pledge that I will sleep well on the night before. That rarely happens. Thought it was my singular problem. However, I find that most team bhpians face the same (being like minded). The lack of sleep drives up the blood pressure! and takes the joy out of such drives. More than that, the fear that you may feel sleepy during drive keeps bothering.

Thank you for bringing this to light.

[gkrishk]

Like most of the replies in this thread I too find it difficult to sleep the night before a long drive. The excitement and anticipation, like everybody wrote, may be the reason.
However I think it is also related to age. Younger people tend to sleep sounder and for longer hours than older people.

[Dr.Sav]

Although I may be late in replying but it might prove useful to someone. Read patiently till the end.
This, I have written after practising myself and by the experiences of those whom I have advised.

The human brain is a masterpiece that works in a comlex manner but nevertheless it can be fooled and tricked. Optical illusions and memory games are proof of what I'm saying. So what is it that is fooling the brain to induce the adrenal gland to secrete adrenaline and increase anxiety? It is pure excitement that harbors stress, fear of under-preparation, anticipation of obstacles and so on. The trick is to fool the brain into thinking that, like brushing, bathing, dressing, working, et cetera, even the trip and the driving is nothing but a habitual exercise.

Careful analysis and execution of certain elements can eliminate each of the reasons that promote anxiety. The major work that has to be done is on the aptitude and attitude for the trip as is with everything that we do in life. (Now this can be done regardless of whether the trip is pre-planned or impromptu.)

For the aptitude:

At all times -
- Keep a decent bag with all necessary ownership/legal/travel documents needed with other accessories. I have a cute black sling bag that contains the following at all times so I just have to pop it in the car when I have to go without a second thought: all papers (RC book, Insurance, PUC, Last 2 alignment reports, Battery warranty, my pan-card photocopy as ID proof, a blank page), a torch with extra batteries, a car inverter, stereo panel, CDs, USBs, 2 spare headlamp bulbs, a photo-pen, mosquito repellant, toothbrushes, blades, first-aid, duster cloth, wax-polish and spare coins. Since the bag is decent, I can carry it to any party too. This way all the car valuables are with me all throughout my journey.
- The standard toolkit should always be in the boot along with the jack-tommy, et cetera.

A few days before the trip -
- Make sure the route is finalized and checked for updates. Our 'heaven' teamBHP does that wonderfully.
- Check alignment, wheels and tyres, general maintenance, servicing.
- Keep money for the toll organized properly.

On the day of the trip or one day prior -
Take the car on a spin to check some last minute discrepancies, et cetera.

Actually there's a lot more you can do if you follow some of the threads on this site.

For the attitude:

- What I do is meditate daily, not just for the trip but for life generally. Just a few minutes before you retire and a few minutes before you leave the bed after waking up everyday, make a list of sure-fire encounters in the day, general anticipations and how you would tackle them. It's like anticipating the opponent's moves while playing chess. Chances are that with practice, you will get a few anticipations on target and you don't have to tax your mind on those 'cause you've already planned/rationed for it. All that remains is execution. This has always proved beneficial for me because I've been meditating for a long time and hence have been successful in anticipating a lot of on-road encounters/adventures and almost mishaps with good accuracy.
Since I do it on a daily basis, I don't suffer the anxiety before/on the day of any trip because all situations now are well thought of and already under control.
- If the trip is planned before a few days, what I do is try sleeping and waking up for a few days exactly at the time I would need to sleep and wake up on the day of the trip. After a day or two, the body adjusts to the sleep pattern and then I'm not sleep-deprived on the D-day.

And since everything is taken care of, the anxiety vanishes and you can sleep peacefully.

These are a few things that worked for me and my friends who followed them.

Have a safe, peaceful and relaxed trip.

[noopster]

The doctor speaketh

You're absolutely spot-on: reduce the anxiety and a good night's sleep is inevitable. However, the night before a big trip is always very exciting and even on my last one a couple of weeks ago, I ended up waking up every half an hour or so from 1.30 am till I finally gave up and got out of bed at 3.30 (alarm was set for 4 am). I had stolen an hour long nap the previous afternoon that made it much easier for me. Drove almost the whole day, with an afternoon break when my friend took over and I just closed my eyes and rested. Everything went fine!

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by Dr.Sav

all papers (RC book, Insurance, PUC, Last 2 alignment reports, Battery warranty, my pan-card photocopy as ID proof,p.

??! Is the alignment report a legal necessity? How do you anticipate you will require it?

DL is enough as an ID, why carry PAN card?

--Ragul

[amit_mechengg]

aah, so there are equal number of friends facing the same problem i have.

i thought i am the only idiot who is too much anxious before going to morning long drive.

but even though i dont sleep well i never feel sleepy during driving. i feel very fresh.

[akas_chauhan]

same for me. I know i can't sleep. So starting at 2Am tonight.

[Dr.Sav]

Originally Posted by Ragul

??! Is the alignment report a legal necessity? How do you anticipate you will require it?

DL is enough as an ID, why carry PAN card?

--Ragul

Good question Ragul, but as you see, I'm one of those people who follow certain practices as a safety and imperative measure rather than just compliance with the law.

Though the alignment report is not a legal necessity, the previous reports gives the tech an understanding of the history of alignment issues. If it is a recurring one then he may tackle it differently. Sometimes they also ask you to replace a certain part in the suspension that may be the problem causing area. It is useful even in regular alignment but can be handy in case you have to replace a set of wheels/tyres in emergency on a trip due to various issues (like the car pulling to any one side after a nasty pot hole, et cetera. It's just like carrying your medical history report to the doctor so he knows what common ailments and allergies you are prone to and what treatment do you respond to well. But all this is only useful if you align your car at a professional place and not a tyre shop. Trust me, they don't do a good job in the name of free alignment. Their techs are not as trained as the pros.

The PAN card till recent developments was considered as one of the legal proofs of photo ID where one had to submit two separate IDs for address, age and photo. The ration card is no longer accepted and that leaves us with only the PAN card (the passport is another option). Now I'm not just talking about tackling travel issues here but it also comes handy while tackling various pesky government departments while in need. For example, once I was enjoying the sunset with my wife at 'Rajmachi point' in Khandala when cops and the local moral brigade thought that we were just lovers or something else (we do look unmarried although being in marital bliss for 5 years) and started troubling every couple around. Thank God, I always carry our legal marriage certificate copy in my wallet so we were let off. The remaining couples had to spend the night at the police station. The cops then also asked for my ID proof and although I had my DL, the PAN card put him off immediately. You never know when what will be a life saver.

[PM - B]

One Word for most people.

ADRENALINE.

PS: Mods, do not delete.

[himavanth_m]

Since we will be sleep deprived anyways in the morning, it is better to leave at night itself so that the time you are awake thinking of next days drive, you will actually be driving.
This is what I have started doing after a couple of failed attempts to sleep at night when there was a next days driving at 4 am.

note: this should be done only if one is sure that the road is safe during nights and one is experienced in night drives.

[silverado]

Defination of Long drive can differ from person to person, vehicle to vehicle.

For me , a drive of 470 Kms in my 18yr old Padmini has been my longest in a day yet.
i only managed 4 hours of sleep before that drive.

As everyone has mentioned here - EXCITEMENT surely is the biggest factor.

Your mind tries to think of several scenarios which you might come up on a long drive.

You start thinking of getting past those scenarios.
You start dreaming / planning about the trip , about the roads which you will encounter.

You also start thinking about things like which songs to play and stuff.

Ultimately you are excited since you will have material to share on TEAM BHP

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by PM - B

One Word for most people.

ADRENALINE.

PS: Mods, do not delete.

I don't allow it - it doesn't stir up anyways for the first 45 mins of driving which is the exit from the city. Besides better not allow it to stamp your foot on the accelerator pedal needlessly. Only when a good stretch of road presents itself, I let the mood take over - but its more like responding to my "protesting car" and allowing it to run free and let it loose for a while.

Originally Posted by himavanth_m

Since we will be sleep deprived anyways in the morning, it is better to leave at night itself so that the time you are awake thinking of next days drive, you will actually be driving.
This is what I have started doing after a couple of failed attempts to sleep at night when there was a next days driving at 4 am.

note: this should be done only if one is sure that the road is safe during nights and one is experienced in night drives.

I too have been thinking about this - leave at 2030hrs and check-in somewhere 100kms away from the city by 1AM. But the disadvantage is the price of hotel room may cost one tankful of petrol.

--Ragul