 If you have to operate a tractor in the sun or during hot weather, you can be at risk for a heat-related illness. Symptoms of heat-related illness cannot be ignored. The results can be deadly. The good news is that heat-related illness is preventable, but you must be proactive. Wear cool, lightweight, light-colored clothes. If possible, do as much work in the early morning hours or towards sunset. Stay out of the direct sun as much as possible. The most important thing you can do is drink plenty of water, but drink a little at a time. Don't guzzle it. A little at a time, but all the time. Keep well hydrated. If you're sweating a lot, sports drinks will replace the electrolytes you're losing. A cup of water every 15 minutes is a good rule of thumb. Don't use the new high-energy drinks as a water substitute for hydration. They actually increase your need for water, as do all liquids with caffeine. Heat-related illnesses include conditions such as heat rash. Allow the skin to dry. When the temperature is high, make a pact with a fellow worker. You watch his or her behavior for signs of heat-related illness, and they will do the same for you. You may not recognize the signs in yourself. The signs for progressively more serious heat-related illnesses are cramps in the arms, legs, and stomach, or you may feel faint. Stop what you're doing and rest in a cool spot. Again, drink water, and if someone has a water spray bottle, they should spray you. Heat exhaustion is a serious illness, and help must be immediate. Heat exhaustion may develop in less than one day, especially if you haven't become acclimatized, or it may take several days of hot weather. You may feel weak, fatigued, with a headache, blurred vision, dizzy, with a high pulse rate, extreme sweating, nausea and vomiting, clammy and moist skin, and slightly elevated temperature. Call for help. Lie down in a cool, shady place. Your fellow workers should spray you down with cool water. As long as you are conscious, take fluids a little at a time. If you fail to act on the warning symptoms for heat exhaustion, your condition can progress quickly to heat stroke. Heat stroke can be deadly if not treated immediately. Seconds count. Have a coworker call for an ambulance and notify your supervisor. You need professional help now. You might be experiencing the same symptoms as the heat exhaustion victim, but you will also be disoriented and confused. Your coworker should try to cool you off as much as possible with fans or water, even spraying you with a garden hose. Again, drink sips of water. You are in a critical condition and need immediate medical care. This operator is also in a critical condition. He is about ready to doze off and let his tractor run into a ditch, or worse. As a farmer, there are times you need to work, tired or not. Let's look at what you can do to extend your work day, and how to know when you can't keep working, no matter what needs to be done. First, how long can you work? It's not how many hours you work. It's how many hours you've been awake that makes a difference. After 18 hours awake, your body starts to reduce the amount of glucose or food it sends to the brain. And the brain starts to slow down, taking longer to react to situations. After 18 hours awake, the time it takes for critical thinking gets longer and longer until you can't make decisions in a timely, safe manner. This is when you are very dangerous to yourself and to others. What makes this situation critical is that you can still steer the tractor in a straight line, you can still make turns, you can still stop the vehicle without running into something if. And this is a big if, if you have time. If you were drunk, your fellow workers would make you stop whatever you're doing. But what they don't realize is that a sleepy driver is actually more dangerous than a drunk driver. If faced with an emergency, you might not have the time to decide what to do, to react correctly. You might, in fact, run full speed ahead into an accident. If you absolutely have to continue work, at least take a short nap, no longer than 20 minutes. Longer than 20 minutes and you'll go into a deep sleep. Generally the short nap, during a lunch or dinner break, will recharge your batteries so that you can operate for a little longer. You can't keep this up indefinitely. There are signs that your body is going to shut down without warning. They are called microsleeps. If you can't recall what you've just done, what you've experienced is a microsleep. This is your body's way of warning that your body is getting ready for a complete consciousness shutdown without warning. You must immediately take measures to provide sleep for your body and brain. You don't have a choice. There are other things you can do to help your mind stay alert in your body functioning. Eat light meals. No heavy meat, potatoes, and gravy. It's fruit and vegetables instead of donuts and cake. Drink a sports drink instead of coffee. If possible, chew on vegetable munchies like little carrots or celery. This will help you keep awake. If you have a radio on the tractor, sing along as loud as you can. Stop often for a fast walk while swinging your arms. That should help wake you up. Breaks from work, even short ones, will help refresh the body and the mind. Today, more and more workers are relying on so-called energy drinks to stay awake. Be careful. They do not reduce your need for sleep. They only delay it. Many of the drinks are loaded with sugar and or caffeine. You should ask your doctor before using the energy drinks, especially if you have heart problems or high blood pressure. Under no circumstances should you drink more than the recommended dose per day. Remember, they do not replace your body's need for sleep. Let's review the steps you can do to help stay alert and cool. If you have to work in the hot sun, be aware of the possibility of heat-related illness. Drink plenty of water. Get a buddy. Watch each other for signs of heat-related illness. If you start to have any of the symptoms, take immediate action to cool off. If a person becomes disoriented, get them to a hospital immediately. Their life is in danger. When you're tired and still need to work, first take short naps, no more than 20 minutes, during lunch and dinner breaks. Eat light meals. Snack on fruit and vegetables. Drink a sports drink instead of coffee. Listen to exciting music and sing along. Take short breaks and go for a fast walk.