Sleeping at the wheel
Yesterday I had a bit of a scare. I fell asleep at the wheel while going 70 mph on the interstate.
Luckily it was just for a second and the rumble strips woke me up, but things could have been much worse, especially if I had drifted into the other lane rather than off of mine.
Now, I am not usually a person who falls asleep at the wheel. As a matter of fact, I am what I call a "driver." A driver is a person who loves to drive, who volunteers to take the wheel when a group gets together for dinner or a road trip. I enjoy driving (especially in Florida...nice flat state makes for easy roads). And usually all I need to stay awake is to sing along with the radio...but lately that has not been working.
Yes, I know I am stressed from trying to complete the move and get the apartment cleaned up, but this is very not like me to have issues behind the wheel. And yesterday wasn't the first time that I have felt so drowsy that my driving was affected. And I don't want to be dangerous behind the wheel, but that's what I am. But I now live 45 minutes away from work, so guess what? I'll be driving long distances every week day.
Tonight should be the last time I have to go to the apartment. Then I will be able to carpool to work with my mother and having another person in the car should help me stay awake. It's because when I am this tired (I am tired all the time now, or so it seems), and I get behind the wheel on a mind-numbing drive, even singing along with the radio fails to keep my brain active enough to not go asleep.
And the strange part is, I know I am getting some sleep. For instance, last night I went to bed at 10:30 p.m. and I semi-woke up at 5 a.m. My alarm was set for 6 a.m. but my mother was making noise in the kitchen so I woke up from that. At the least I got 6.5 hours of sleep. At best, I got 7.5 hours of sleep. So why do I still feel like crawling under my desk and conking out?
Any how, if anyone has suggestions on what could help me stay awake when behind the wheel, I am all ears. Coffee doesn't do much for me anymore, so that's not going to help. Perhaps once the last of the stuff is out of the apartment I can just relax and breathe...maybe that's all I need, some breathing room. *sigh*