Truck Drivers and Sleep Apnea

Sleep apnea is a disease that I had never heard of until I entered the trucking industry. As time passes, it seems that sleep apnea is becoming the buzzword of the trucking industry. Being curious, I wanted to find out the definition of sleep apnea, what are the symptoms, what causes it and is it preventable or treatable? And my most perplexing question was how does this relate to truck drivers?

A quick internet search provided several sources of information. According to the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, the word "apnea" simply means "without breathe." I know truck drivers breathe so I continued my search.

I ran across sleepapnea.org that helped enlighten me. According to this website there are three distinctive types of sleep apnea. The first, obstructive apnea is where there is literally an obstruction in a person's airway. This could be soft tissues in a person's throat that collapse and fall during sleep. The second, central apnea, is caused because the brain does not send the message to the lungs to breathe. The third type, mixed apnea, is a combination of the first two types. In all these types of sleep apnea, the brain will engage and arouse the person to the point of taking a breath. This action of breathing and not breathing ultimately causes a person with sleep apnea to sleep very short, uninterrupted amounts of time.

Sleep apnea is very common with an estimated 12 million people being affected by this disease. As I continued researching, I began to see a pattern that fit many truck drivers. The high risk group is male, overweight, and over 40 years old. That described the majority of truck drivers I meet and see everyday. The answers to my questions were becoming blatantly clear.

The lifestyle associated with truck driving is full of irregular schedules, high fat foods, and very limited exercise, which puts most drivers in the high-risk category. I found a large amount of information regarding the causes, but what are the symptoms?

I turned to personal accounts of sleep apnea and sleeping habits. I read over several trucker blogs and personal sleep apnea blogs. My unscientific research started showing a pattern of symptoms. The most significant pattern, as referenced by the sleep partner, is the breathing pattern that consist of a breath followed by a long pause and an extended exhale that is accompanied by a high pitched tone. At other times the person sleeping will exhale and seem to forget to inhale. This causes a jerk in body motion when the brain sends the message to the lung muscles to inhale!

If you think you are a victim or candidate for sleep apnea, the evaluation process is very simple. The AASM (American Sleep Apnea Association) website provides a complete list of the most up-to-date accredited member sleep centers and it explains the evaluation process. It is also recommended that you check with your insurance carrier to see if this is a covered treatment.

After reading all this information, it is clear to me why companies, such as JB Hunt, have taken a proactive approach to combating sleep apnea. JB Hunt has partnered with Sleep Safe Drivers to evaluate, diagnose, and treat their drivers who are suffering with sleep apnea. Of course this is an attempt to ensure their drivers safety as well as the public. Hopefully this proactiveness will coerce other large fleets to follow suit.

Sleep apnea can affect anyone of any age and it's not a truck driver only disease. The truck driving lifestyle contributes to this disease; it is not the cause of the disease. If you have symptons of sleep apnea you should do your research and contact a sleep center for assistance. Sleep apnea can also contribute to cardiovascular disease, headaches, weight gain, and high blood pressure.

In the trucking industry or any other motor carrier position sleep apnea can contribute to a major accident if left untreated. Solid rest is a luxury if you are a truck driver, don't spoil the relaxation by suffering from this treatable disease.

Sources:
sleapapnea.org
sleepsafedrivers.com
sleapapneaed.blogspot.com
well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/the-vioces-of-sleep-apnea/