How to Stay Awake While Driving

Today I drove about 1000 miles in 14 hours. Naturally, I felt sleepy sometimes. I’m conscious of the danger of driving when you’re almost falling asleep, so I developed some practices to avoid these types of situations.

The most popular way to avoid getting sleepy when driving is to drink an energy drink or a lot of coffee. It’s a useful technique, but it’s also not the best on your health.

My two preferred methods are to either listen to a podcast that demands some concentration or play a music that I know the lyrics so I can sing along. The first method is the one that I use the most. On top of making me stay awake, I'm learning stuff and reflecting about things that interest me. The focus on the content of the podcast will keep you awake.

If the previous techniques don’t work for you stop driving. Stop somewhere, turn off your car, and fall asleep wihile holding the car’s keys in your hand. When the keys drop off your hand because you passed out, you’ll be good to go.