Sleeplessness is a U.S. Epidemic: Drivers "Wide Asleep" and Ready to Snore

A couple of years ago there was a motion picture with the words "Wide Awake" in the title, however, if you are a driver in this country today, you are facing a much different problem - you are "wide asleep" and ready to snore.

Mark A. Shaw, president of AAA, Southern New England, told its publication, Horizons, that this is a very serious problem that is being studied as:

• A health risk

• An economic problem

As a health risk, Shaw cited information from the Centers for Disease Control that indicated that the public is tired. The information indicated that almost half of all Americans "don't get enough sleep for more than a week every month," he noted.

Further, and even more alarming, he indicated that there are at least "10 percent of people (who) don't get enough sleep any night."

Conceding that the pressures of the work today - where staffs are smaller and work levels stay the same - and where Blackberry's buzz all night as people get emails they are expected to answer immediately.

This is the time of night when people once actually slept or were able to get some rest. However, this is no longer the case as employees face the harsh reality that they must help their companies remain competitive in a down market.

The inevitable result, Shaw noted, is that people do not get the seven to nine hours of sleep needed to remain fresh.

Shaw also noted that work isn't the only reason folks are tired. They are also tired due to:

• Surfing the Web
• Watching high-def TV
• The length of commutes to work
• Finanacial worries

And while these are key issues for many, many more are feeling the stress of financial stress and that stress means they are not sleeping well or at all.

Folks are simply worried about finances, whether it's keeping a job or making enough to cover the bills.

This is why the folks at the Center for Disease Control are also concerned because this epidemic of sleeplessness is posing a public health problem.

"All of these statistics add up to a tired society," Shaw notes, "and lots of drowsy drivers" He conceded that people have to work longer hours and sleep less to get more work done. The impact is dramatic. "Drowsy driving contributes to more than 100,000 crashes and $12.5 billion in losses each year," he emphasized.

Driving-while-drowsy is an issue for police, too. Many times, he noted, officers often confuse sleep-deprived drivers for drunk drivers. "In fact, studies show that drowsiness impairs drivers to a degree equal to having a blood-alcohol content of 0.10 percent, a level higher than the legal limit for driving while intoxicated in every state," he says.

Equally, if not more important, driving-while-sleepy accidents tend to be "particularly severe, since sleeping or unaware drivers can rush headlong at full speed into opposing traffic or obstacles like trees, walls and even buildings. These incidents lead to more than 1,500 fatalities each year," Shaw emphasized.

Shaw noted that fortunately, there are strategies you can use to help sleep-deprived drivers. For example, he included the following strategies:

• Sleep more - "most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep at night to be fully rested."

• Pull over and nap if you feel drowsy. Shaw pointed out that when you do pull over make sure the spot is safe and then nap for 20 minutes or so. "A 20-minute nap can refresh a driver enough to continue safely for a short distance."

• Keep away from things that will make you drowsy such as alcohol and medications
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• Caffeine and stimulants may not provide you the boost you need. "They may give you a brief jolt, but your energy level may also drop fast," he emphasized.

• Ask passengers to watch for signs of drowsiness

"People face a lot of competing priorities today, and sleep often loses out to other activities. But your safety and the safety of your passengers and other road users should never take a back seat to anything," Shaw concluded emphatically.