Tom DiSalvi’s Sleep Golden Nuggets

Tom DiSalvi is vice chairman of the board of directors at the National Sleep Science Foundation. He is also vice president of safety, driver training and compliance at Schneider National. This article contains excerpts from his contributions during the NAFMP Driver Series webinar on sleep hygiene.

• Drivers need to understand why sleep is important. That’s the foundation of a motor carrier fatigue management policy. And that’s also the foundation of a safety culture. Appeal to their values.
• Using a fan both at home and over the road can achieve two functions of sleep hygiene: Keeping you cool and blocking sound stimulation with consistent white noise.
• Making the bed a sleep trigger is all about consistency. If you sleep on the road on a sleeping bag, it will be different than sleeping at home. It will be better if you bring sheets, blankets and any other things you use to sleep at home to simulate the home environment and make it a smoother sleeping experience while on the road.
• Sleep apnea is not only a short-term safety risk; more importantly, it’s a long-term health risk. Treating it will help you live a healthy life and eliminate excessive daytime sleepiness. Treatment will help you get the restorative sleep needed by getting the oxygen-rich blood to all your organs. This way, you are no longer waking up to gasp for air more than 100 times an hour. With sleep apnea, even if you sleep for 10 hours, you will wake up not feeling refreshed.
• Getting home safely to be with your family is top priority. Engage your family about the importance of sleep and sleep hygiene practices. Avoid the temptation to change your schedule to adapt for family life if that will force you to get back to work not rested. This is one of the biggest challenges in our industry.
• You must know yourself to identify fatigue. That’s why you need to be trained to identify objective signs of fatigue. I know I’m fatigued when my eyes start to burn, or when I’m fidgeting or can’t get comfortable Those are my triggers. You must discipline yourself to get off the road as soon as the trigger goes off.
• Sleep is a physiological need. Microsleeps are your body telling, “I can’t wait for you anymore – I’m going to sleep now.” The brain will be shutting off even when the eyes are open. It’s like your body is telling you, “I need sleep whether you give it to me or not.” It’s the same as holding your breath; the body forces you to breath, so it will force you to sleep.
• Avoid shift start variations. It’s so easy to have a random irregular route trucking environment. There are a lot of variables that may be causing you to have a longer or shorter day; avoid that. When unavoidable, help drivers adjust their schedules; do it slowly, over a period of time.
• Fatigue management is a very important aspect of a highway safety program. I recommend that everyone use the North American Fatigue Management Program to implement or enhance their program.

Visit the North American Fatigue Management Program website at nafmp.org.