Sleep Advice

[RobbyZ5001]

I have major sleeping disorders when it comes to tourney preperation and travel. The majority of the time I leave between 12am-2am to travel to either prefish or for the tourney. I try to go to sleep around 6-7pm and it never works. I don't know what to do. I end up getting 1-2 hours of sleep then drive 5 hours then fish all day and just about fall asleep while driving home. This drives me crazy and makes it tough to concentrate in the tourney. Sleeping pills don't put me down any advice?!?

[burleytog]

Take more pills or fish more night tournaments.

[Grey Wolf]

Thy've got clinics for sleep disorders. Talk to your doctor or do what Burley said.

[ab8aac]

I too have the problem of getting over excited night before a tournament, what I do is lay on the couch and put a boring tv show on and then do really DEEP breathing exercises and that will generally put me to sleep for about 4 hours, and that 4 hours will do me fine until I get off the lake and back home.

[SirSnookalot]

Question is "How do you normally sleep"?  If good then you are probably suffering from anxiety and you just get excited.  I would still consult a specialist.

My normal is about 4 hours of sleep, body clock gets me around the same tine every day.

[J Francho]

Take melatonin.  Natural and works great.

[5bass]

Travel beforehand, stay overnight closer to the lake at a hotel or just get a hotel after the tournament. A little more money but it will solve some of your problem. If you do well in the tournament, the hotel bill wont be such a big deal and you won't kill yourself or anybody else going home.

[SirSnookalot]

Take melatonin. Natural and works great.

Natural or not I would either do an Internet search or consult my pharmacist to see if there may be any conflict with any medications you may be taking.  No disrespect to doctors but this the pharmacists area of expertise.

" An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

[Desultory]

Travel beforehand, stay overnight closer to the lake at a hotel or just get a hotel after the tournament. A little more money but it will solve some of your problem. If you do well in the tournament, the hotel bill wont be such a big deal and you won't kill yourself or anybody else going home.

X2, especially the bit about getting a hotel after the tourney if you find yourself having a hard time staying awake on the road.

[RobbyZ5001]

Good advice guys. Fivebass I would love staying in hotels or camping more if I could afford it. I will probably try that melatonin next time. If I ever have to work night shift i'm screwed. I just can't fall asleep before 11 or 12 am at the earliest.

[bassnleo]

I work shifts......It is sometimes very difficult to get to sleep at a different time than you are used to. I feel you pain.

Try this.......a few days in advance of your tourney, get up earlier than necessary. Go to bed earlier than usual. Try to get into a rythm a few days before the night you have to sleep before the tourney.

Also, I've found that being prepared is necessary. Get all your tackle, boat, etc...squared away early. That way your not lying there trying to sleep wondering if you forgot anything or worrying about getting up early to do that.

Lastly, try not to think about the fishing......I know that's tough. Take your mind off of it by doing something NOT fishing related.

Everyone's different but that's what works for me.

[BadKarma42]

A couple tylenol pm and a couple of beers will get you to sleep.

Of course, if you have any health issues refrain from the tylenol.

[Lund Explorer]

Aside from that 5 hour drive, I used to have the same issues and I usually never traveled for more than two hours.  I never completely cured the problem, but after awhile, I did figure out a couple of things that helped.

First, you need to do all of your prep work on the boat, rods, and tackle on another weekday.  I made it a habit of getting everything setup on Monday nights.  It gave me the chance to have a couple of days to pickup anything I thought I'd need for the coming weekend as well.

Second, you need to go through your day of sleep deprivation on Friday rather than on Saturday.  Try getting to bed a little bit earlier on Thursday night so you can get up during the wee hours of the morning on Friday.  By 7pm on Friday night, you will be able to zonk out for a good five/six hours.

Hey, these things worked for me.  Good Luck, and remember there's always the Wal*Mart parking lot where the retirees camp out.

[J P]

Oh wow I have the same prob. I get too excited. I could lay down for bed at 9pm, and not fall asleep till 2am. Happens about everytime for tournaments. I have done better though the last two though. Instead of prepping for the tournament all day friday for my saturday tourney, I did it on monday. Also, get in a good sleep habit. The monday I prepared, I also prepared getting in my sleep habit. I went to bed at 9pm, woke up at 5am.. I did that for the next 4 days.  Helped a lot. I suffer from minor minor epilepsy, so i need about 8 hour minimum every night or my day is all messed up. Another thing, earplugs. Helps take away distracting noises and lets you focus on breathing. Hope this helps, helped me on the last two. best of luck, I know how frustrating it can be.

[farmpond1]

The only advice that (sort of) works for me is this: don't go to bed much before you ordinarily would.  If I go to bed early, I rarely fall asleep and it only frustrates me-making the problem worse.  You might have to stay the night in a hotel or arrive a few hours later than you would ordinarily.  Or find tourneys closer to home, if you can.

Whatever you do, don't put yourself in a position where you fall asleep while driving.  You don't need to kill yourself or others for the sake of a bass tournament.

[UPS VT]

Who ever said find a Wal-Mart parking lot and sleep, was right on.  It won't cost you a penny, and believe me falling to sleep at the wheel could cost you much more.   I speak from experience.  When I was younger and dumber, well at least younger I had to work the night before an all day (from sun up to sun down) fishing derby.  I got about 3 hours of sleep, then fished all day in the hot sun.  Then being young, I drove to see my girlfriend (now wife of 15 years).  She tried to convince me to sleep on the couch, but no, I had to work the next morning so I drove home.  Fell to sleep about 1/2 way there and totaled my car.  Thank God I did not get hurt, or much worse hurt someone else by my stupidity.  There are ways to get by on the cheap, please please try and get some sleep.  

As much fun as tournament fishing is, it is not worth getting in an accident over.  I have never met a fish worth dying for.

[DINK WHISPERER]

I have the same problem man! I get so anxious and excited before a trip that i cant sleep even if i lay down early! That and the darn kids.................................................

I have found one good way to get wore out though! Dont know if i can tell ya here though, LOL!!!!      

[Zel]

Lay in bed and start reading one of those college economics books.  Will put you to sleep really fast.  That's what I did when I had problems sleeping before a tournament.

[Steven Ladner]

One word.......... Benadryl  

[Sfrazier]

A good natural way to fall asleep is to get massive amounts of exercise the night of.  Go run 5 miles lol

[fishfordollars]

I feel for you. I never get over a couple of hours sleep the night before. Just sucks and I have no clue how to help you either.

[cart7t]

A 5 hour drive before a tournament?  

I'd fish fewer tournaments and use the money saved to get a motel room or camp.  You're going to hit fatigue and burnout before noon most days.  A lack of mental alertness is not going to put you in the money often,  not too mention the dreaded 5 hour drive home.  

[Koop]

Ambien... knocks me out good.  I'm prescribed it though the CR is crap, talk to your doc about it.

[fourbizz]

A couple tylenol pm and a couple of beers will get you to sleep.

Of course, if you have any health issues refrain from the tylenol.

;D