The act of driving is characterized by making us fall into an illusion: we believe we are much more powerful than we are, and we can even forget that at those speeds, we are very vulnerable.
Somehow, spending time watching the landscape pass quickly around us leads us to assume that this is normal, that we are made to move that way. But that is not entirely so.
In fact, in most cases where we drive a car, falling asleep for two seconds is enough to have a traffic accident. Furthermore, it is estimated that around 25% of traffic accidents in Spain are related to sleep or fatigue. It is the vehicle that is made to travel at those speeds; We must adjust to these mechanics as best we can, assuming much greater risks than those we usually face when walking.
Therefore, in this article we will review the most useful tricks to avoid falling asleep while driving so that the chances of suffering an accident decrease.
Tips and strategies to avoid falling asleep while driving
It should be noted that the fact of falling asleep at the wheel is in itself, without resulting in fatalities, considered serious imprudence from a legal point of view and it is the driver’s responsibility to be aware of their condition and not expose themselves and others to those kinds of dangers.
That is why here we are not talking about how to manage a risk that affects us individually, but rather one that can affect many other people inside and outside our vehicle, and that even has social implications.
Taking this into account, it doesn’t hurt to know some key ideas to avoid falling asleep at the wheel and avoid accidents; Below you can find several of the most effective ones.
1. Set a clear sleep schedule
This is by far the most effective trick to avoid falling asleep at the wheel: do what is necessary to sleep uninterrupted for the necessary hours, in a quiet, dark place. For it, It is crucial that you control your schedule well and that you establish protocols to avoid exposing yourself to the temptation of staying up late.
In this sense, something very simple and effective is to print your schedule, leave it in a place in the house that you usually see, and include a start and end time on the days of the week for the preparations before you leave. to bed: cleaning the dishes, brushing your teeth, turning off the lights, etc. This way, time will not fly by and you will realize that it is time to go to sleep that has already passed, leading you to ignore the schedule because it is ineffective.
2. Stay alert to sleep cues
It’s very important carry out “monitoring” about your state of consciousness to prevent accidents To do this, it is good to take into account criteria that are as objective as possible, so that you are very clear about whether the dream can play tricks on you.
The main symptoms of drowsiness are the following (although they do not have to be present all at the same time):
On the other hand, There are other warning signs that indicate an urgent problem and the need to stop as soon as possible:
Keep this in mind to know when to stop relying on the rest of the tricks and when it’s time to go to sleep as soon as possible, in an emergency stop.
3. Make strategic stops
These stops of about 10 or 20 minutes are only to rest your muscles and your mind. so that fatigue does not feed your drowsiness It is recommended to do them at least every two hours, even if you think you are not sleepy, and especially if you are traveling at night.
These stops must be differentiated from those you make to sleep in emergency cases or when your schedule includes this measure. In cases like this, you are interested in dedicating not just a few minutes to sleep, but the hours necessary to stop being sleepy.
If you only sleep for a quarter of an hour or a little more, you will most likely continue in that state of excessive sleepiness or even accentuate the problem, depending on the phase of sleep you were in when you woke up. In any case, It is much better to stop and sleep than not to do so in a state of sleep that makes driving difficult
4. Be aware of the most dangerous hours
Statistically, it is considered that The time slot in which there is a greater risk of falling asleep while driving is between 3 and 5 am and between 2 and 4 pm It is believed that this has to do, on the one hand, with the monotony and lack of stimuli associated with traveling at night, and in the case of the afternoon time slot, with the drowsiness favored by digestion.
Keeping this risk factor in mind is important to avoid falling asleep at the wheel, but this should not serve as an excuse to let your guard down during the rest of the day.
5. Make sure to maintain a correct temperature in the vehicle
Phenomena such as exposing ourselves to high temperatures can cause us to experience sleep: Our body asks us to rest to lower our body temperature. Therefore, try to make good use of the air conditioning or the car windows (although lowering them does not have to reduce the temperature inside the vehicle, it will allow you to better dissipate the heat from your body).
6. Sing
Singing is a way to get involved in a task that requires coordination but at the same time does not involve too much distraction, since this task makes use of parts of the brain linked to movements that you have already internalized. Of course, you better know the songs.
7. Have a conversation with the co-pilot
If you go with a co-pilot, take advantage of it so that through conversation it helps you focus on the here and now. In addition, it will help you know if there comes a time when the degree of drowsiness is so high that you have to go to plan B and make an emergency stop to sleep.
