Your car stops at a red light, and your previous late night makes itself known as you yawn sleepily. You try to keep yourself awake by rubbing your bleary eyes and blasting the air conditioning. Five minutes later, though, you can't help but admit you're on the brink of falling asleep while driving.
From a young age, we've been forewarned against the 4 Ds of driving: drunk, drugged, distracted, and drowsy. While there are tons of governmental campaigns against the first three, not much attention has been given to drowsy driving (until recently). The problem is, only a tiny bit of sleep deprivation is enough to incite sluggish steering or falling asleep while driving. The late Dr. William Dement (one of the pioneers of sleep medicine) aptly put it, "Drowsiness is red alert." With the ever-increasing trend of short sleeping in the United States, it's obvious how prevalent — and insidious — fatigue-related driving is.
Thankfully, work is starting to be done on tackling the issue of drowsy driving. Sleep and fatigue expert Mark Rosekind (incidentally a sleep science advisor at Rise Science and a former student of Dr. Dement’s) led the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) under the Obama administration to carve a new direction for lowering the incident rate of drowsy driving crashes. By late 2016, the NHTSA had developed and carried out multiple initiatives under the Drowsy Driving Research and Program Plan. With Dr. Rosekind's robust background in fatigue countermeasures, this has translated to increased awareness of sleep deprivation and driving.
Aside from governmental initiatives, there are things you can do to thwart drowsy driving. Below, you'll learn how a low sleep debt and working with your circadian rhythm are the primary safeguards in deflecting sleepiness at the wheel.
According to the NHTSA, drowsy driving is “a profound impairment that mimics alcohol-impaired driving,” and can lead to falling asleep behind the wheel. In layman’s terms, you are operating a vehicle while feeling sleepy.
Driving when you're burdened with sleep loss can have catastrophic consequences. Sleepiness dulls your reflexes and impairs cognitive functions (mental processing, judgment, and decision-making) needed to keep your car in the right lane. When your reaction time slows down and your attention lapses, you're less likely to brake in time. This means you don't have to actually fall asleep while driving to do sufficient damage to yourself and others.
Even more alarming is the occurrence of microsleeps — being tired enough to unknowingly doze off for a few seconds. You may think this short period doesn't mean anything. But, when you're cruising at 65 miles per hour on a highway, those seconds can literally mean life or death. Losing consciousness for merely five seconds is enough for your car to travel more than 150 yards, plenty of distance for a fatal crash upon impact. Understandably, sleep-related vehicle accidents account for an excessive amount of rear-end and head-on collisions.
It’s also interesting to note that Matthew Walker, the author of Why We Sleep, defines drowsy driving fatalities as "road crashes" rather than "road accidents." As Walker states, "Drowsy driving deaths are neither chance nor without cause. They are predictable and the direct result of not obtaining sufficient sleep. As such, they are unnecessary and preventable."
The Jaw-Dropping Prevalence of Drowsy DrivingWhile Americans generally frown upon drowsy driving — more than 97% of drivers show social disapproval of the behavior and roughly 96% of drivers agree that drowsy driving is perilous — about 24% of drivers admit to driving while tired at least once in the past 30 days.
The reality is, drowsy driving is more common than you might think. Some states in the U.S. do not include sleepiness or fatigue as a crash cause on their traffic crash report forms. This makes it difficult to track how many motor vehicle crashes are attributed to sluggish driving. To complicate matters, there is currently no technique that measures how sleepy a driver is, unlike the breathalyzer test for drunk driving. That being said, new research hints at a biomarker test for detecting drowsy driving in the future.
Current estimates of drowsiness-induced traffic deaths range from 2-20%, with 697 drowsy driving fatalities in 2019. That number has slightly diminished since 2017, when "91,000 police-reported crashes involved drowsy drivers," leading to nearly 800 deaths. In countries like Australia and England (which have more consistent crash reporting procedures than America), drowsy driving accounts for about 10-30% of all crashes.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) share more worrying statistics on fatigue-related road accidents:
Driving when sleepy causes the individual, the economy, and society to pay through the nose. NHTSA points out at least 100,000 sleep-related crashes occur each year, costing roughly $12.5 billion in monetary terms. In another report, the estimated societal harm due to fatigue-related crashes amounts to $109 billion each year (excluding property damage).
The Warning Signs of Drowsy DrivingStatistics from drowsy driving accidents share three key findings:
So, how can you tell if you or your loved one is driving drowsily? Warning signs typically include:
Sluggish steering is also more likely to rear its head when you've driven for long hours or right after night shift work. It's also worthy to note that even though rumble strips help reduce lane-drift crashes by 50% or more, they may be inadequate against drowsy driving. In one study, shift workers who hit a rumble strip while driving home after their night shifts felt alert for roughly five minutes before becoming sleepy again.
Falling Asleep While Driving? Blame It on Sleep DebtThe RISE app shows your running sleep debt so you will always know if you should operate your vehicle or not.Did you know that the recycle rate of the human brain is roughly 16 hours? Prolonging wakefulness longer than that puts you at risk of sleep debt. Lack of sleep is the primary reason you're feeling drowsy at the wheel, much less falling asleep while driving.
Going without sleep for 24 hours is akin to having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.10%, higher than every state's legal limit. But, sleep deprivation doesn't solely take the form of all-nighters. Missing one to two hours of your sleep need also counts as sleep loss.
For instance, research shows that 18 hours without sleep (which, on an eight-hour sleep need, equates to staying awake just two hours later than usual) leads to cognitive impairment distinctive of 0.05% BAC. And if you’ve slept an hour less than the recommended eight hours for 10 nights consecutively, your brain becomes as impaired as if you've skipped sleep for 24 hours.
The more sleep debt you accumulate, the more likely you are to get into a road accident caused by drowsy driving. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that up to 20% of all fatal crashes involve a sleep-deprived driver. Drivers with less than seven hours of sleep dramatically increase their chances of a collision. Sleeping for 5-6 hours doubles your likelihood of crashing compared to those who slept for seven hours or more. Most worryingly, short sleep of four hours or less increases those odds by 11-fold.
The risks are even higher if you regularly operate your vehicle when feeling lethargic. Habitually sleepy drivers, who are on the verge of falling asleep at least once every three times they drive on a highway, are 10 times more likely to crash their vehicles than non-sleepy motorists.
Falling Asleep at the Wheel During Your Energy DipsUnbeknownst to many people, whether you have sleep debt or not, there are times during the day when you naturally feel drowsy. These energy dips are part and parcel of your circadian rhythm (your internal body clock). They signal to your body to rest and refuel instead of getting into the driver's seat. Take note that your circadian dips will happen regardless if you had enough sleep or not. With that said, sleep debt will make you feel drowsier than you otherwise would.
All of us have two daily energy dips to watch out for. There’s the infamous afternoon dip – the RISE app will show you the time of yours daily. And there’s the pre-dawn dip, which occurs about 2 hours before your habitual wake time, and is a time when the circadian system is providing maximal drive for sleep.
Additionally, there are two other lower-energy times of day we’d caution against driving:
So, how do your energy dips relate to your driving prowess? Statistics on fatigue-induced crashes show that drowsy driving usually occurs during these energy dips:
In essence, starting the ignition during your dips puts you at high risk of falling asleep while driving.
Health Issues, Medications, and Alcohol Play a Part, TooAside from sleep debt and your circadian dips, other factors also set drowsy driving in motion:
If your health condition or medication is creating sleep problems, consult your doctor for ways to eliminate the problems and forestall daytime drowsiness. Most importantly, abstain from drinking alcohol before driving. If you have to indulge yourself, remember to wait 1-2 hours for every drink you consume. The safest option, though, is to not get behind the wheel. Instead, call for an Uber or carpool with a designated driver.
The greatest takeaway from this article is that drowsy driving is entirely preventable. But what you think may help you avoid a crash may not actually save your life. For instance, many motorists on the verge of falling asleep while driving often resort to:
Unfortunately, these techniques do not assuage sleepiness on the road. Instead, here are the measures you should take.
Long-Term Safeguards Against Falling Asleep While DrivingKeeping your sleep debt low is the only way to foolproof your driving skills against drowsiness, and you can achieve it through an ongoing practice of good sleep hygiene. Our step-by-step Sleep Guide teaches you how to hone your sleep hygiene to perfection.
Consistently meeting your sleep need (the genetically determined amount of sleep your body needs) night after night minimizes your sleep debt and how profoundly you feel your energy dips. Use the RISE app to keep a close eye on your running sleep debt to ensure it doesn't go above five hours. In that sense, RISE functions as a "breathalyzer" for drowsy driving. Knowing how much sleep debt you carry makes it easy to decide if you should get into the driver's seat or not.
Another long-term safeguard is to steer clear of driving during your energy dips as much as you can. RISE tells you exactly when your dips take place on your Energy Schedule so that you can plan ahead for alternative transportation during these periods. If you want or need to drive during your energy dips, make sure your sleep debt is less than five hours. By shunning the one-two punch of sleep deprivation and suboptimal energy levels, you'll be less likely to get into a car accident from sleepiness.
Last but not least, take note of any health issues or medications that make you sleepy all the time. Consult a qualified healthcare professional on treatment options to manage daytime sleepiness.
Short-Term Safeguards Against Falling Asleep While DrivingBesides prioritizing sufficient healthy sleep and eschewing driving during your dips, there are a few short-term measures you can use to ward off drowsy driving.
First, if you feel even the slightest bit sleepy, stop driving as soon as you can, no matter how inconvenient it is. Pull over and let someone else take the wheel. If that isn't possible, park your car in a safe location. Drink 1-2 cups of coffee (or any caffeinated beverage) before taking a 20- to 30-minute nap.
Research shows that 200 milligrams of caffeine combined with a short nap of fewer than 15 minutes eliminated mid-afternoon sleepiness for one hour. This potent duo also significantly downplayed driving incidents to 9% of the placebo group. The same study noted that caffeine alone did not completely eradicate sleepiness. Plus, the stimulant only reduced the incident rate to 34% of the placebo group.
Before taking a siesta, keep in mind that naps longer than 20 minutes are likely to trigger sleep inertia. Remember to give yourself some buffer time between waking up and driving again to ensure nap-induced grogginess doesn't affect your driving skills (even if you’ve only napped for less than 20 minutes — it’s better to be safe than sorry).
Caffeine consumption also has its caveat: Caffeine can stay in your system for up to 10 hours. Avoid drinking it too late in the day or else you risk delaying your target bedtime. This could aggravate your sleep debt and increase the likelihood of drowsy driving, the very thing you're trying to prevent in the first place.
If you intend to drive long distance, plan your itinerary for a stop every 100 miles or two hours. Keep caffeinated drinks in your vehicle in case you need an alertness boost. Also, stay away from alcohol or medications that induce drowsiness.
Drowsy driving can happen to anyone, including you. To avoid being one of the statistics listed above, practice the short- and long-term safeguards we've mentioned. Instead of looking at these lifestyle tweaks as inconveniences, think of them as your talismans against compromised road safety. With foresight and planning, you can keep drowsiness at bay when operating your vehicle.
Of course, the best way to not be inconvenienced — and avert a life-or-death situation — is to keep your sleep debt low and work with your circadian rhythm. The RISE app acts as a "breathalyzer" for how much sleep debt you're carrying to help you stay safe on the road. More than that, it shows your energy dips throughout the day so you know when you should slide into the driver's seat — and when you should not. After all, it always pays to be safe rather than sorry.
Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph. D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI — By Tim Jewell on November 15, 2019
Drowsy driving may seem like a natural part of life for many of us who commute to work or drive for a living. A little drowsiness can be addressed with some driving strategies.
However, it’s important to know that driving while sleepy can be just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
Keep reading to learn what you can do to fight off sleepiness and stay alert while driving, the signs for when you need to pull over immediately, and other transportation options to consider if you frequently find yourself too tired to drive.
Sometimes, you just need a quick power nap to be able to keep going.
Try driving with a buddy, especially if you have a long commute or are going on a road trip, so that you can switch off driving responsibilities when one of you gets drowsy.
This is a common strategy used by long-haul drivers, especially people who drive tractor trailers across the country for as much as 12 to 15 hours in a single day.
And this is a good strategy to consider if you live near anyone you work with or have any friends or family members who are also driving where you need to go.
Nothing can substitute for a good rest — even if it’s just for a few hours (or a few minutes!).
First and foremost, try to get a healthy amount of sleep so that you’re well rested for your drive and throughout the whole day.
But if that’s not possible, take a nap for at least 15 to 30 minutes before you have to drive. According to a 2012 study, even a short nap can get you the slow-wave sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep you need to feel refreshed and alert.
The National Sleep Association suggests a pre-drive nap can do a lot of good for your mental state during a drive.
Some of your favorite music can help you focus and stay alert.
Play some songs you know the words to so you can sing along and stimulate your brain. Or put on something energetic to get you pumped and wake yourself up.
Whether it’s classical or country, funk or folk, mákina, or metal, music has been linked to mental alertness, which can help you stay focused on the road.
Caffeine is the world’s most popular (and legal) stimulant. It can get you through a lot of other parts of your day that make you drowsy, so why not try it while you drive?
A 2012 study found that even just one cup of coffee can help reduce the effects of sleep deprivation, which can make you drowsy when you drive.
A 2013 study found that caffeine can even lower your risk of crashing on long drives.
Drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as drunk driving.
A 2014 study found that drowsy driving caused similar impairments to driving under the influence of alcohol. It reduced several key bodily functions necessary for safe driving, including:
If you often find yourself drowsy while driving, you should consider talking with your doctor. It could be related to a medical condition, such as sleep apnea.
Sometimes, these strategies don’t work because your mind and body are simply too tired to operate a vehicle.
Here are some telltale signs that you should stop driving immediately:
If you notice one or more of these things while you’re on the road, here’s what you can do to protect yourself and others:
Was this helpful?
If you frequently find yourself getting drowsy behind the wheel, you may want to consider other ways to get where you need to go.
Here are some other transportation options worth considering:
Drowsy driving isn’t safe. It can be even more dangerous than drunk driving.
Try some of these strategies to keep yourself awake when you drive. Also, don’t hesitate to look into alternate transportation options if you frequently find yourself getting drowsy when you drive.
Last medically reviewed on November 15, 2019
Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.
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Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI — By Tim Jewell on November 15, 2019
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All this will come in handy if you decide to go on vacation by car. The road is long, there are many dangers on the way. The main thing is to correctly alternate driving (and this is work!) And rest.
How to sleep in the car and wake up: 3 rules
When setting out on a long journey with family or friends, there are a few important rules to keep in mind to make your trip enjoyable and safe. And, perhaps, the most important rule is to follow the regime.
It is considered that a professional driver after 4 hours of driving should make a stop of 45 minutes, and the total time should not exceed 10 hours. It has been established that a longer "aerobatics" leads to a loss of attentiveness and the occurrence of errors.
7 unexpected fines on the way to nature (or to the dacha) Drive alive: 12 life hacks from a trucker 10 procedures without which it is better not to drive
Therefore, for an experienced driver, just such a guide would be correct: in total 12 hours on the road , taking into account the time of stops. In terms of mileage, you get for about 800-900 km. And believe me, everyone knows that you can travel much more, no extra proof of your abilities is required at all.
The last 100-150 km is better not to try to drive through force, but to get up for the night. After all, it is these last and most difficult sections of the path that are most dangerous - they account for more than 80% of all accidents, writes AiF. Of course, it is best to plan an overnight stay in advance (if you have experience, try to immediately mentally “cut off” this last hundred) in a large settlement or at the entrance to it.
The old Sevastopol road is the best route to travel
Here's a short set of rules that will also come in handy on a long journey:
And if you are a passenger and you see that the driver is tired, you can engage him in conversation - but not more than an hour, this method does not work longer.
Photo: YouTube/Quartet I
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Driving in Zen
On a long journey there is not only romance, but also danger. The main one is fatigue. Our experience will make your journey safer. Spoiler: even experienced auto travelers will learn something new.
Both those who love long trips and those who are not happy with them strive to cover more distance in one day. The first - to prolong your pleasure, the second - so that everything ends as soon as possible. So the majority of motorists go "from dawn to the stop." Sooner or later everyone gets tired. But its arrival can be delayed - by preparing in advance.
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The schedule of the trip must be made taking into account the characteristics of the body. There are "larks", there are "owls", and they are comfortable at different times of the day.
10 motorist mistakes - never do this!
Before a long journey the first piece of advice is to get a good night's sleep no matter what category you belong to. "Owls", which feel a surge of vigor closer to the night, can sleep until lunch and start at the height of the day: fatigue will cover only by the next dawn. The "lark" should shift the departure to the earliest possible hour, but also go to the lodging for the night earlier than the others.
Both are more comfortable to ride in summer. When daylight is long, we all feel more cheerful. But in winter it is worth guessing the maximum part of the route for daylight hours.
Extreme extremes - polar day and night. Here any organism will go crazy with unaccustomed.
All sorts of troubles and manifestations of discomfort distract, irritate, and ultimately deplete the body's resources prematurely. This is true both on the scale of a person's entire life, and within a single trip.
Don't sleep while driving! 9 Proven Ways to Beat Sleep
Is any of the important components in the car malfunctioning? You will constantly listen to it, stop more often to check the condition, worry about whether you will reach it. Air conditioner not working? In summer, you will get tired faster from the heat and wind noise through the open window. Tires worn out? At the slightest deterioration in the weather, you will begin to slow down and lose confidence in traction.
Check that all lights are working. This will not only save time by eliminating at least one reason to communicate with the traffic police, but also make driving safer at night.
A comfortable fit is essential - the first aid to staying alert. But here, alas! - It is unlikely that many motorists have a choice on what to go on the road. It is clear that in the VAZ "classic" you will get tired many times faster than sitting on a cool ventilated multi-contour chair with massage in a good foreign car.
Tip: If your car seat is “tired”, you can slightly improve it before a long journey with pillows, a lumbar roll, capes or covers.
Traveling at night: a few simple tips
There are a great many tips for dealing with sleep. And the best of them is to succumb to the body. To get a charge of vivacity for several hours, it is enough to take a nap for 15-30 minutes. You can right in a reclined chair on the side of the road (not forgetting, of course, about traffic rules and security measures).
During stops along the way to tone up, you can wash your face or do a short exercise.
Large gas tank and low fuel consumption are harmful . There are many hours between mandatory gas stops, and some drivers do not like to stop just like that on these hauls. In vain: you will lose a minuscule amount of time, but a little movement will refresh you.
Be careful with your food. A hearty breakfast will not hurt, but on the road a hearty lunch or dinner will quickly make you sleepy. It is better to exercise moderation or snack a little while driving. Although, of course, such advice cannot be called healthy. But if you decide to stay in catering, do not forget about the quality of the food.
Get there alive: 12 life hacks from a trucker
Georgy Kuchmenko, truck driver:
– Stories about where there are many truckers, you can eat there, are 80–90 percent true. It all depends on the route and geography. But we need to look at other criteria as well. I have always avoided eating in large roadside catering establishments, and if I had to, I tried to take the simplest first courses, such as chicken soup, and tea and pastries (if any) with it. Knowledge of the principle of the microwave oven led to the conclusion that where food is heated in the microwave, you can eat everything. Tasteless, but for the most part safe, because the food is neutral.
Useful things for road trips: found on Aliexpress
This complex concept includes everything that surrounds you in the car. The air conditioner or stove must maintain the temperature that is comfortable for the driver. If the passenger gets tired ahead of time and falls asleep - it's okay.
We refrain from advice on musical accompaniment. It generally annoys someone, and he rides in silence. Someone prefers light melodies, but from rock or "metal" he is covered with irritation and premature fatigue. And the other is the opposite.
The same with the rhythm of movement. One driver feels perfect at 80 km/h and does not overtake anyone. Driving at the speed of a truck is tiring for another, and the non-penalized +20 km/h is not enough for him.
Modern driver assistants take on a lot of work in the car. Adaptive cruise control maintains not only speed, but also a safe distance. Other systems will help you stay in your lane or change lanes when there is another vehicle in the dead zone. Up to a certain stage, they help a lot, and the driver saves energy with them.
How not to get tired while driving: 2 practical tips and 7 rules
However, there is a nuance.
