Closing your eyes, for a very brief moment. If it happens while we're sitting on the sofa watching TV, it's not a problem, but behind the wheel… With a car traveling at 100 km/h, in just 3/5 seconds, over 100 meters are covered, in a total absence of control. Falling asleep at the wheel is at the root of very dangerous situations: why does it happen? How can we avoid it?
The Italian Association of Sleep Medicine (AIMS) has compared drowsiness while driving to a state of intoxication. A scientific study has shown that after 18 hours without sleep, driving performance is comparable to that of someone driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.5 g/l, the legal limit established by current Italian legislation for driving a vehicle.
The main risk factors:
- driver fatigue
- long journeys, perhaps entirely straight
- very long driving shifts or at night
- heavy meals
- medications that cause drowsiness
The most common signs are well-known: heavy eyelids, burning eyes, irritability, feeling cold, difficulty focusing, slower reaction times. It is important not to underestimate any of these signs. Often we are not aware of our actual level of drowsiness and we must avoid the serious mistake of overestimating our ability to resist sleep.
If we recognize any of these signs, we must stop immediately to rest. No more than 20/30 minutes, recommends the AIMS "Drowsiness, safety, and transport" committee, to avoid reaching the deep sleep phase. Other methods (coffee, fresh air, music...) have very limited effects over time.
How to prevent falling asleep at the wheel? Some tips:
- avoid the most problematic time slots, those when we are biologically predisposed to rest: generally, between 2 and 5 in the morning and between 1 and 3 in the afternoon
- start rested, especially if a long journey awaits us
- avoid excessively heavy meals, excluding all alcoholic beverages
- use medications cautiously, checking that they do not affect concentration
