According to statistics, up to 20% of the motorist accidents are caused by drivers who suddenly fall asleep while driving. Each year, approximately 100,000 vehicle accidents are mentioned to drivers falling asleep at the wheel actually. Driving from 2 to 7 increases the risk of a driver for accidents. What are the causes behind this phenomenon?
Apart from possible accidents that pilots had to deal with during the duty, they also have to deal with the alarming health impairment of their work. Through time, the drivers are put at greater risk of suffering from many life-threatening diseases, including diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Recent research shows that a large proportion of the motor accidents recorded are caused by excessive daytime sleepiness and other sleep-related disorders.
Sleep disorders
A group of conditions that are mainly characterized by disturbances in quality, time and amount of sleep a person to sleep. When treated, the result is normally to daytime sleepiness and can dramatically affect the quality, overall health and safety of patients. In addition to daytime sleepiness, common symptoms of sleep disorders include increased movement during sleep, irregular breathing, abnormal sleep behavior and difficulty sleeping.
The most common forms of sleep disorders including narcolepsy, insomnia, restless leg syndrome, obstructive sleep apnea, the disorder behavior of rapid eye movement, hypopnea syndrome, periodic limb movement, delayed sleep phase syndrome, night terrors, sleep terror disorder, pavor nocturnus and bruxism.
Causes of drowsy driving
According to a study conducted in Sweden, sleep disorders are very common for professional drivers. Results of the study with 116 participants showed that 23 percent are experiencing pronounced diurnal somnolence, 29% have restless leg, 19% are diagnosed with sleep apnea and 28% of them are having trouble falling asleep.
Because of their irregular working hours that prevents them from getting an adequate amount of sleep regularly, professional drivers are at greater risk of developing sleep disorders like sleep apnea and insomnia. This increases the risk of suffering major accidents that can cause injury and even death.
There are certainly a lot of factors that can contribute to excessive sleepiness while driving. These factors include the breakdown in circadian rhythm, sleep disruption, lack or loss of sleep, chronic sleep debt, fragmented sleep, undiagnosed sleep disorders, intake of sedatives medicines and alcohol consumption.
Compared to ordinary drivers, long-distance drivers, professional drivers, shift workers and those who have been diagnosed with sleep disorders are at a higher risk of suffering from fatigue-related accidents.
When taking a rest drivers?
Professional drivers are responsible for life. Professional help is a job that requires optimal concentration all the time. When the drivers are not always adequate amount of sleep regularly, their readiness and response time are greatly affected. In fact, accidents can occur.
When drivers should stop and take a break?
-When blinking very often
-When you have heavy eyelids
-When you have difficulty focusing or remembering
-If you’re daydreaming and yawning repeatedly
-If you are drifting from the proper lane or tailgaiting
-If you feel irritable all the time
-If you feel restless
Modern lifestyle with work related factors such as shift work are seen as major contributors to disorders that are experiencing professional drivers. Alcohol intake and too little sleep actually provide the same effect as drivers. The negative impact of these unhealthy lifestyles includes slow reaction time, poor coordination, be aggressive or Moody, reduced alertness and impaired vision and judgment.
What are the benefits of getting an adequate amount of sleep regularly
Sleep is a natural process that is very beneficial to the body. Actually lowers a person’s susceptibility to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and other diseases. It helps people with depression and helps maintain good health.
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