The ‘Do’s and ‘Don’t’s of Staying Alert At the Wheel

pensive in cocoons fitover sunglasses, which create a haven for your eyes.

It must’ve been a record-long afternoon yesterday. Orders poured in and we were running around the warehouse getting them all shipped out while replying to emails and souping up the site. And after I tapped out in the evening, I had one of those checked-out drives home you realize you can’t even remember as soon as you’ve killed the engine in your driveway.

Now it’d be all but unnecessary (not to mention a tad hypocritical) for me to rehash just how important staying alert and aware while driving is. We’ve heard some version of it since we got our licenses: we owe it to ourselves and the general travelling public to make sure we’re in a clear, distraction-free headspace behind the wheel.

I know we’re none of us perfect in or out of the driver’s seat, and I know no one’s impervious to the ol’ “highway hipnosis,” but yesterday’s commute got me thinking about steps we can take to get our heads right while driving—as well as common practices we might want to avoid. So, we’ve compiled a list that might come in handy for general use or for an upcoming summer road trip. You might be surprised by what can help and hurt stay alert on the road!

DO

Stay hydrated. Drinking water will help keep you alert and focused behind the wheel. When your body gets dehydrated, you have less energy and less focus. And if you drink more water, you might end up making a couple more pit stops, which’ll allow you to…

Take a break. Get outside, walk around a little bit, and get the blood flowing. Stretch out your legs and back out; feel the wind and see the sights; and maybe just take a quick catnap if you’re in a good spot. It’s always nice to give yourself that extra time just in case you need to stop for a bit, and it’s even nicer traveling without a set schedule.

Have a cup (or two) of coffee. Some folks might tell you different, but I’d feel dishonest if I left it off. Researchers have found, too, that having a cup or two of coffee can enhance your focus and motor skills for up to two hours—just don’t overdo it, and remember to stay hydrated! (And if you’re out on the west coast looking for an excuse to stop at an In n Out, know that those folks brew up a positively nuclear cup.)

Have a snack. Eating some healthy food will give you some good energy to keep you focused on the road. Just try to avoid a bunch of sugar. Generally, fruits, vegetables, and nuts are good road snacks. Sunflower seeds give you a little something to do, too.

Crank the tunes and sing your heart out. Bonus points if you roll the windows down, and bonus points if it’s Bob Seger. Just don’t get too carried away on the steering wheel drum fills!

DON’T

Try to whiteknuckle your way through. When push comes to shove, if you’re getting tired, get off the road. It’s always worth being a little late.

Shotgun a Monster—or really any energy drink, or any souped-up specialty coffee drink for that matter. These drinks tend to have a ton of sugar in them, which’ll get you wired for about fifteen minutes before it pulls you right on down. Foods like bagels, too, tend to have a lot of carbohydrates that can break down real quickly into sugars, doing the same thing.

Go it alone. Bring a friend along to keep you company on the drive. Road trips are always more fun with another person, and they can help keep you up and engaged while driving. Plus, you can split the drive time as well as the gas bill.

Get mad. I know, it’s tough not to do sometimes on account of everyone’s a worse driver than you are; however, road rage doesn’t help anyone—it just raises tension in a social space unnecessarily. Keeping your cool on the road will help keep you and everyone around you safe, and keep you in a good headspace for driving.

Get on the horn. Being on the phone in any way is a huge distraction—not to mention illegal in a lot of places. And in a setting where every second counts, even glancing down to check your GPS or change the song playing can prove a critical mistake. Always make sure your route is set on your GPS before you take off, and maybe make a playlist with a bunch of your favorite road tunes, too.

We here at Live, too, know how much a good pair of sunglasses can reduce eyestrain from road glare, helping to keep you comfortable and aware on the road. Many Cocoons wearers have found, for example, that our amber and yellow lenses, developed to perform in variable light conditions, help ease their eyes and sharpen their sight and mind while driving.

Many have also found long-term comfort for their eyes in our wildly popular line of Twilight Night Driving Fitovers (pictured right), which are specially engineered for driving at night with signature AR lenses that block 100% of harmful UV light and over 60% of Harmful Energy Visible (HEV) light—all while providing a comfortable 93% light transmission. These glasses, in other words, reduce scattered blue light and improve contrast without darkening or impairing your vision, making them the ideal tool for driving at night.

So whenever you’re hitting the road, and wherever you’re going, we’ve got you covered with a lens just right for you. Just remember to keep it cool and stay safe!