Day 4: Don't Drive Sleepy

Everyone knows drinking and driving do not mix. But did you know that you can impair your driving without having a single drink?

The culprit? Fatigue.

In fact, research shows that if a driver has been awake 22 hours, he has the same driving behaviors as someone with a .08 blood-alcohol level. Furthermore, the situation doesn’t need to be this severe for sleepiness—and accidents—to occur. According to the National Highway Statistics, 56,000 sleep-related crashes occur each year, resulting in 40,000 injuries and more than 1,500 fatalities.

So what do you need to know?

For one, we all need to sleep. And it will eventually overpower the strongest intentions and efforts to stay awake.

Two, long journeys on monotonous roads will heighten this urge.

Three, those tactics you use to stay awake—like talking, listening to the radio, opening a window, or stopping and going for a walk—will only stave off sleepiness for about 10 minutes. Studies have shown that the only actions with a lasting impact are:

intake of at least 150mg of caffeine (about a 6-8 ounce coffee), and
a nap of around 15 minutes (Naps of shorter or longer duration are not as effective).

And finally, the only way to really stay awake at the wheel, is to get more sleep to begin with!