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Enjoy your time on the road and read this to ensure you don’t become a statistic.
Staying alert and awake is critical for arriving safely at your destination. Here are some tips for catching sufficient shut-eye while on the road.
Starting your trip on a sleep deficit puts you at risk for drowsy driving. Each year, drowsy driving is responsible for an estimated 91,000 vehicle crashes, 50,000 related injuries and nearly 800 related fatalities, according to data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Before you hit the road, AAA recommends mapping out your directions and rest points along your route.
During a long car ride, you need breaks. Walking around and stretching your legs is particularly important. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention anyone traveling and sitting more than four hours straight is at risk of developing a dangerous blood clot.
Instead, the sleep experts at Sleep Number recommend taking a "napuccino"—a short 20-minute nap after drinking your coffee or other caffeinated beverage. The nap provides both rest and time for the caffeine to enter your system, but it should never be used as a substitute for sleep.
Take a cue from federal regulations on truck drivers: don't drive more than 10 hours in a 24-hour period. On long road trips, share the drive with someone else or stay in a hotel overnight. After dark remains the most dangerous time to drive, according to the National Safety Council. There are a variety of reasons for this, and sleepiness is among them.
Even if you’re wide awake, distractions like checking your cell phone can be as dangerous as driving drunk. In 24 states, it's illegal to use a hand-held cell phone while driving. In 48 states, texting while driving is banned. But hands-free devices aren't any better either. The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found our brain works just as hard to process information from hands-free devices as it does from handheld ones, making them as much of a distraction.
So, be mindful of this during your road trips to avoid the temptation of looking at your phone while driving.
Some medical conditions can predispose us to drowsy driving. If you are a heavy snorer and feel extremely tired during the day, you may have sleep apnea, a common condition where you have shallow breaths or pauses in breathing while you sleep. While 20 percent of adults have sleep apnea, up to 90 percent of cases go undiagnosed, according to the John Hopkins Medicine. A doctor may be able to diagnose medical conditions that could be making you fatigued—and that could help you sleep better, before and after a long trip.
Like diet and exercise, quality sleep is essential for optimal wellbeing and performance. Because everyone's sleep needs are different, Sleep Number® smart beds sense your movements and automatically adjust firmness, comfort and support to keep you both sleeping comfortably. Find your Sleep Number® setting for your best possible night's sleep, and if you own a Sleep Number® bed, log in to your Sleep Number® Rewards account to see your exclusive offers, refer friends and more.
