There are steps you can take to prevent falling asleep at the wheel
Undiagnosed sleep apnea is a serious problem in modern life.
The mounting news of traffic and train accidents are a grim testament to this. Both the Hoboken crash in September of this year and the Metro North crash of 2015 resulted in fatalities and a significant number of injuries and both were linked to cases of undiagnosed sleep apnea in both of the train’s engineers.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) estimates that approximately 29 million US adults suffer from sleep apnea, most of it undiagnosed. There are a number of serious complications that come from having this condition without realizing, including an elevated risk of seemingly unrelated conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s. What’s more, having untreated sleep apnea is almost guaranteed to lead to sleep deprivation, which can have serious consequences on the public’s health, particularly in the form of drowsy driving.
According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA), drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as drunk or distracted driving, yet it doesn’t seem to get as much attention as the latter two. The NHTSA reports that an estimated 100,000 crashes, 71,000 injuries and 1,550 deaths are associated with drowsy driving every year. With reported sleep deprivation rates being at an all-time high, is it a surprise that drowsy driving may be close to epidemic levels?
Even though most of us do it every day, driving is a complex task that requires full attentiveness and a high level of cognition for the constant decision making involved. When you have been awake for 18 hours or more – which is the case for many who are chronically sleep deprived – your level of cognition is comparable to what it is when you have a blood alcohol level of 0.08%, the threshold for being considered legally drunk. In fact, even just one sleepless night can impair performance as much as a blood-alcohol level of 0.10%.
As with drunk and distracted driving, there are things you can do and behaviors you can adopt to prevent driving drowsy. Here are five tips to help you avoid drowsy driving and sleep deprivation:
1. Have a cup of coffee
It may seem like a no-brainer, but the jolt in alertness that comes from a cup of joe may be just the kick you need to get you safely to your destination. The amount of caffeine that is in two regularly sized cups of coffee has been shown to increase alertness for several hours. There is a lag period before caffeine typically kicks in, so try to have your cup of coffee at least 30 minutes before you begin to drive. Please remember, though, that caffeine is fine in the short term, but coffee is not a long-term solution for staying awake while on the road.
2. Pull over for a nap
If you’re on a long drive and you still can’t shake heavy eyes and a hazy head after a caffeine fix, you can’t count on a road-side energy drink or coffee to do the trick. Though liquid stimulants may give you just enough energy to cram for finals, they won’t cut it as a singular solution for perking up while on the road. Instead of hitting up the next truck stop for pick-me-ups, pull over on the highway shoulder or find a nearby parking lot and have a 20-minute nap. Rest allows for the re-uptake of free adenosine – the nucleotide that is sleep promoting – so it can be reused in Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) , the high-energy molecular compound that runs the show, physiologically speaking. You may even consider taking a nap right before you take off on a prolonged drive or road trip. It’s not worth staying on the road to make those extra few miles if you’re feeling sleepy.
3. Know the signs
I’m not talking about yield or stop signs (but if you’re driving you should definitely know those too!) -- knowing the physical signs of tiredness that are particular to driving can help. If you notice that you’re drifting between lanes, blinking or yawning frequently, driving inappropriately close to other vehicles, hitting the rumble strip along the highway shoulder, not able to concentrate, missing exits and traffic signals or nodding off you should pull over immediately and take a rest.
4. Drive with a friend or take a cab
On a longer road trip, be sure to bring a pal with you for both the company and to keep you in check for drowsy driving. When it comes to preventing being asleep at the wheel, the buddy system is an excellent option. The person in the passenger seat can nap when not driving, or they can monitor the behavior of the driver, taking note of any of the above signs of drowsiness. Plus, having someone to talk to – even if it’s just arguing over the playlist for the next ten miles – can keep you alert and awake. Even in the case of shorter trips, when you’re feeling tired, get your friends and family involved in your drive home. After a longer than usual meeting or study session that went well into the evening, call your partner or parent and ask them to come and pick you up. Also, if you are too tired to drive you can always catch a cab.
5. Get to the bottom of it: are you sleep deprived?
Many of us are so used to feeling distracted, tired and irritable that we assume that our daily malaise is normal. But guess what- all of those are signs of sleep deprivation. According to a report that was published this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 50-70 million US adults have a sleep or wakefulness disorder. It seems we are entering an era of modern life that is synonymous with being under slept. If you think this might apply to you, engage your family physician or dentist in a conversation about your sleep patterns or sleep hygiene. It may be that you have behavioral patterns that are inconsistent with healthy sleep, such as consuming a high-fat diet, reading or watching TV right before bed or drinking alcohol after dinner. However, your sleep deprivation may be due to more serious conditions like sleep apnea, in which case you must be assessed and treated by a physician or dentist who specialize in treating sleep disorders. This is particularly important for professional drivers who operate heavy machinery or who are on the road for long stretches of time, where the risk of crashes – with potentially fatal outcomes -- is increased when sleep apnea diagnoses go undetected or are untreated.
Drowsy driving is just as dangerous as distracted and drunk driving. But we can take the necessary steps and act responsibly before we get behind the wheel. Drive safe!