What is drowsiness?
Sleep is commonly made up of four phases: falling asleep, light sleep, deep sleep, and REM sleep. The falling asleep phase establishes the boundary between sleep and wakefulness. It is in this phase that man faces drowsiness.
Drowsiness is a physic state which is defined by différents characteristics.
- Reduced alertness accompanied by a decrease in muscle tone
- Heightening of the eyelids.
- Feeling like rubbing your eyes and changing position quite frequently.
In most cases, it causes to fall asleep within half an hour.
On the road, drowsiness is not seen as a danger for the drivers. Differents things like coffee, lounder music, open the windows of the car and many others are put in place to avoid the « break » for the driver. Unfortunately, some numbers prove that this drowsiness at wheel is dangerous especially on the highway or the monotony causes many risks. It’s a number which is not famous but according to the survey pushed in 2018 by Optic 2000, 1/3 highway accidents originated from drowsiness at wheel. That is dangerous for the driver and the other users are the micro-sleep which are possibly happening. Drowsiness can generate micro sleep between 1 and 4 seconds. At wheeling, these seconds can be fatal. 4 seconds at 130km/h is more than 140 meters traveled.
Drowsiness at wheel also results in a decreased visual field, slower reaction time for decision making and impaired memory. All of these factors can cause serious road damage. It is therefore essential to follow what our body tells us and avoid this fight with ourselves at all costs, so all you have to do is follow the rules of good driving 😉
The rules to follow.
To avoid moment of tiredness at wheel assure your security, we propose you to (re)discover 7 good tips to put in place before to take the road.
1: Eat light and avoid an excess of simple sugars (bread, rice, fruits) like the meal rich in fat
2: Sleep at minimum 7 hours per night
3: Avoid risks hours between 2 am and 5 am and between 1 pm and 3 pm.
4: Ban certain drugs that can affect your alertness (sleeping pills, anxiolytics, antitussives, antidepressants or antiepileptics), they are signaled by a triangle from pictograms of different levels from 1 to 3.
5: Drive with good temperature, 23°c maximum to keep good reflex! otherwise, adjust the climatization or ride with open windows.
6: Listen to rhythmic music or an interesting radio that keeps you alert and to avoid monotony.
7: Take some breaks during your trip!
Several innovations have also been introduced to warn the driver of his or her lack of alertness, such as driving assistance options such as Attention Assist: Pause! function, which is activated after two hours of driving without stopping, or the installation of sensors on the steering wheel or pedals or the installation of infrared cameras, We have also Audi’s Faurecia Active Wellness seat sensors capable of analyzing the driver’s heart rate and breathing.
These devices are not available to a large public due to an important cost. There are high range options which are not any longer available for all the peoples. This is for this reason that Ellcie healthy creates for 3 years connected glasses. Thanks to integrated captors in the front of the frame these glasses are capable of detecting the origin of the drowsiness at wheel.
Lightweight, comfortable our connected frames allow drivers to make their journey safer. Despite all these innovative connected items, the most effective remedy for drowsiness behind the wheel is rest, so don’t forget to take a break every two hours!
Sources :
https://sommeil.oorekfr/astuce/voir/531963/somnolence-post-prandiale
https://sante.lefigaro.fr/article/securite-routiere-la-somnolence-tueuse-silencieuse/
https://www.stage-recuperation-points.com/actualites/comment-eviter-somnolence-volant
https://sante.lefigaro.fr/mieux-etre/accident/fatigue-conduite/somnolence-quels-risques-volant