How to Stay Awake While Driving

If you are someone who is planning to drive a long distance, especially if it's a night journey, you need to start preparing at least a day in advance so that it goes on smoothly, without any hiccups! Also, while driving, you need to take rest, continuous breaks in between, as it will help you in staying awake and alert during your trip. Scroll down for some more useful tips for staying awake while driving.

Sleep Well
First things first. When you are planning to drive long distance, make sure that the previous night, you sleep for at least eight to nine hours. In case you are taking the trip during the night, an afternoon nap of an hour or so will help you keep energetic and alert during your driving spree.

Eat Less before Driving
Before going on the long drive, make sure that you take a light meal. The more you eat, the more you tend to feel sleepy. So, avoid overeating and also, avoid carbohydrates in the meal, as they too make a person feel sleepy.

Change Position
After every few hours, change your position by adjusting your seat a bit. If you keep on sitting in the position you are comfortable in, you might start feeling sleepy after a while. So, to avoid that, keep on changing your position!

Sip on Water
Keep on sipping water during the journey. One caution though - see to it that the road you are taking, has enough rest rooms!

Take Snacks
Keep some light snacks with you to munch on. Sunflower seeds, almonds, pine nuts, peanuts and other low calorie, high-protein delicious stuff will help you in staying awake while driving.

Have Company
Having company always helps. Firstly, if the other person knows to drive, you can have him drive in between and take rest yourselves. Secondly, striking up an interesting conversation with the other person will help you stay awake.

Listen to Music
Listening to songs of your favorite singer and singing along is another trick for staying awake. Blasting the music is a distraction which will certainly not let you fall asleep.

Keep the Windows Open
Keep the car windows open for a while, every now and then. The strong wind against your face will help you in keeping alert and awake during the drive.

Splash Water on Face
This one is a sure shot winner amongst all the ways to stay awake. Splash cold water on your face whenever you feel sleepy. It will keep you up and alert!

Undertake Exercise
When you stop at any of the gas stations, undertake a quick, on the spot jog for a few minutes. Exercise will boost your energy and thus keep you awake.

Listen to Audio Books
Another tip on pulling an all nighter while driving is to listen to audio books. Listen to books on subjects you find interesting. These days you get everything, right from poetry, to information on stock markets to humorous skits on CDs, so choose something according to your taste and keep awake listening to it while driving.

Besides these, there are two other things that you should always keep in mind while driving long distances. Firstly, you should not take any medicines before driving which tend to make you drowsy. Secondly, if while driving, at any point you feel drowsy or extremely sleepy i.e. you find yourself yawning, your eyes feel strained, you are unable to focus, etc., immediately take a break! This will avoid any kind of mishaps while driving.