Being a Safe Driver Means Getting Enough Sleep
A good night’s sleep is very important, especially the night before leaving on the road. A recent report suggests that if you sleep just one hour less than the minimum recommended seven hours, it could almost double your risk of having an accident the next day.
We’ve known for a long time that drowsy driving can be dangerous, but this new report, based on a national survey by the AAA Highway Safety Foundation , suggests that sleep deprivation may be more dangerous for drivers than we thought. Compared to drivers who typically sleep seven hours each night, drivers who only get five to six hours each night reported 1.9 times the number of accidents. Drivers who only had four to five hours had 4.3 times more accidents, and those who slept less than four or five hours each night reported 11.5 times more accidents.
Of course, there are some limitations in the report that are worth mentioning. Sleep data was self-reported, the dataset for drivers sleeping less than five hours was limited, and the study did not include drug or alcohol use. At the same time, the data also did not include registered car accidents that occurred from midnight to 6 am. So driving awake can be even more dangerous at night when visibility is limited and your internal clock is telling you to catch a few Zs. Do everyone a favor and get some rest. You can read the full report at the link below.
Acute Sleep Deprivation and the Risk of Participation in Road Traffic Accidents | AAA Foundation for Road Safety Through the Science of Us