On the roads, you can often encounter drivers whose driving style seems unpredictable and puts other road users at risk. As it turns out, for rapid acceleration or braking or unexpected turns, it may be responsible not only for the temperament, or the so-called A lazy fantasy, but a serious sleep disorder that the suffering driver may not even be aware of.
- Sleep apnea translates not only into lack of sleep and adequate regeneration, but also into risky driving behavior
- Scientists after analyzing over 100 thousand. car trips by mature respondents found that the risk of sudden braking or acceleration increases by up to 27%. among people who suffer from sleep apnea
- The research also looked at the behavior behind the wheel of people whose brains showed Alzheimer’s onset. It has not been found that the disease in the early stages of development affects the undertaking of risky behaviors
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Dangerous sleep apnea
A problem that affects many drivers and affects their behavior on the road is sleep apnea. Due to pauses in breathing, which can occur hundreds of times each night, people with this condition are unable to properly rest. People with sleep apnea often wake up tired even if they sleep a long time, because even if they do not wake up at night to fully breathe, they cannot fall into a deep sleep, which ensures relaxation and regeneration.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis decided to check how chronic fatigue and lack of sleep affect driving ability. Their findings can be worrying — as it turns out, for every eight episodes of sleep apnea within an hour, the chance of performing a dangerous maneuver behind the wheel increases by 27%.
Research on sleep apnea can help make roads safer
The researchers say the group of people who should be screened for sleep apnea is primarily the elderly, who are most at risk of developing sleep apnea. Thanks to this type of prevention, it would be possible not only to improve their quality of life and health, but also to significantly improve road safety.
«The percentage of older people with mild sleep apnea is 30%. up to 50%, but if they do not experience daytime sleepiness or other signs of apnea, they may not see a doctor » — explained physician Brendan Lucey, associate professor of neuroscience and director of the Washington University Sleep Medicine Center, which is one of the people responsible for the research.
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It is worth noting that the researchers also found that people over 65 are the most responsible drivers who adjust their driving style, among others road conditions, regulations or weather, however, they can often suffer from sleep apnea and other age-related ailments (e.g. deterioration of eyesight, reduced reflexes), which ultimately affects their behavior behind the wheel and may contribute to accidents.
People participating in the work of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of Washington took part in the study. Researchers looked at bedtime and driving habits in 96 subjects who were of advanced age. In their work, they used home sleep apnea tests and a specially developed chip that was placed in the cars of the examined people.
Thanks to analysis from home tests, scientists were able to isolate people with sleep apnea and measure the severity of their tormenting ailments (five to 15 breathing pauses per hour were considered mild sleep apnea, 15 to 30 moderate, and severe – 30 and up). All people who took part in the experiment were monitored for one year. Researchers collected data from over 100 When traveling and analyzing the data, they especially looked for signs of hard braking or acceleration.
- Read also: The worst habits before falling asleep
Interestingly, participants in the experiment were also tested for the early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive impairment. Although as many as a third of the respondents had signs of dementia, these results did not translate directly into risky behavior behind the wheel. These were often taken by people with sleep apnea, regardless of whether or not they had started to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Sudden acceleration or braking could be the result of distraction and chronic fatigue from sleep apneaHowever, this is a suggestion of scientists, because they did not install cameras in the cars of the people taking part in the study, so it cannot be clearly determined whether their actions were the most appropriate to the situation on the road.
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