I get it, the holidays are a busy time of year. Year-end deadlines, shopping, decorating, Christmas parties, and over indulging in food and drink can be blamed for not getting the sleep that you need. Or maybe you believe that you can get by on just 4 or 5 hours a night all year round.
A new study released by AAA speaks to the contrary. The purpose of the study was to identify a relationship, if any, between driver sleep deprivation and driver errors that resulted in car accidents where at least one vehicle was disabled and had to be towed from the scene of the accident and accidents that required medical personnel to be be called.
Researchers studied accident data available from accidents that occurred between July of 2005 and December of 2009. The final sampling of drivers and accidents consisted on 7,243 drivers and 4,571 crashes.
The most startling statistic from the report:
Drivers who had 4 or fewer hours of sleep within the 24 hours preceding the accident had an 11.5 times the crash rate compared to drivers who had slept for 7 hours or more. As bad as that sounds, this number may be much too low because data for crashes that occurred between midnight and 6AM were not included in the study.
Experts on sleep disorders recommend that a healthy adult aged 18-64 should sleep for 7-9 hours within a 24 hour period and that 9 or more hours may be needed for a young adult, people who are ill, or individuals recovering from sleep debt. Sleep deprivation has been shown to slow reactions to stimuli, decrease the accuracy of responses, and lead to long lapses in attention. Some sleep experts have even concluded that “individuals who have had 2 hours or less of sleep are not fit to operate a motor vehicle”. Many experts have concluded that a sleep-deprived driver is just as dangerous as a drunk driver.
How Do I Know if I’m too Sleepy to Drive?
Just like a drunken driver isn’t the best judge of their abilities, sleep-deprived drivers tend to ignore the warning signs of extreme fatigue that can lead to an accident. If you are driving and having a difficult time keeping your eyes open, drifting in and out of driving lanes, or you are not able to recall the last few miles driven, you are too tired to drive safely. When on long trips, AAA recommends the following strategies to ward off fatigue:
- Always drive during times that you are normally awake.
- Schedule a break every 2 hours or every 100 miles. During the break, get out of the car walk around and drink plenty of water.
- Avoid heavy foods that make you feel like taking a nap.
- Travel with an alert passenger and take turns driving.
- Do not take medications that cause drowsiness or other impairment.
What Can I Do?
Sleep experts recommend that healthy adults get at least 7 hours of sleep each night. The best strategy to ensure a good night’s sleep is to go to bed and wake up at the same times every day, including weekend days. Do not rely on “catching up” on sleep over the weekends. You can not replace lost sleep.
There is an app on the iphone that many find useful. The app actually requires you to set a bedtime and a waking alarm. It also calculates your bedtime for you based on recommended sleep recommendations.
If you continually wake tired, you may need to see your doctor. There are several medical conditions that interfere with quality sleep. Poor quality sleep can also be caused by daily habits, such as cell phone use near bedtime or eating certain foods before bed. Your health professional can provide information to help you change your habits.
If you are injured in an accident that involves a drowsy driver, call The Thomson Law Firm for a FREE consultation. The call is free by dialing (540) 777-4900.
