“I have a good driving record, so I don’t need to worry about having an automobile accident.” “Accidents happen only to young and reckless drivers.” Many think that an automobile accident will never happen to them. Is that the way you feel? When it comes to automobile accidents, are you invulnerable?

The Drowsy Driver

Some experts say that a drowsy driver may be as dangerous as a drunk driver. Reports indicate that drowsiness causes an increasing number of accidents. Fleet Maintenance & Safety Report recently stated that during a single year, 1 out of every 12 motorists in Norway reported falling asleep while driving. According to The Star of Johannesburg, South Africa, driver fatigue causes up to one third of all vehicular collisions in that country. Reports from other lands reveal that fatigue is affecting drivers everywhere. Why are there so many sleepy drivers?

Today’s hectic life-style contributes to the problem. Newsweek magazine reported recently that Americans may be “sleeping as much as an hour and a half less per night than [they] did at the turn of the century—and the problem is likely to get worse.” Why? The magazine quoted sleep expert Terry Young as saying: “People have regarded sleep as a commodity that they could shortchange. It’s been considered a mark of very hard work and upward mobility to get very little sleep.”

It is said that the average person needs between six and a half and nine hours of sleep per night. When deprived, people develop a “sleep debt.” A report distributed by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety states: “Even sleeping 30 or 40 minutes less than needed each night during a normal work week can result in a 3- to 4-hour sleep debt by the weekend, enough to significantly increase levels of daytime sleepiness.”

At times, you may miss out on a good night’s rest. Insomnia, caring for a sick child, or other factors beyond your control can rob you of sleep. The next day you may well find yourself becoming sleepy behind the wheel. What should you do if this happens?

Popular remedies such as drinking caffeine, opening the window, chewing gum, or eating something spicy may not keep you awake. None of these so-called remedies address the real problem. What you need is sleep. So why not try taking a brief nap? The New York Times suggested: “The reviving workday nap should not be longer than 30 minutes; any more and the body lapses into a deep sleep, from which it is difficult to awake.” Taking a nap might delay your arrival at your destination, but it can extend your life.

Your pattern of life can make you more susceptible to becoming a drowsy driver. Do you spend long hours on the Internet, or do you stay up late at night watching television? Do you go to social gatherings that last into the early hours of the morning? Don’t allow such practices to rob you of your sleep.

Each year, at least, 1500 people die in crashes related to sleepy, fatigued or drowsy drivers in the United States of America. This is according to statistics gathered by the federal government. This number is most likely an underestimate. Unless someone witnesses or survives the crash and can testify to the driver’s condition, it is difficult to determine if the driver fell asleep. 

Each year, at least, 40,000 people are injured in drowsy driver crashes. For the same reasons as above, this is also probably an underestimate.

At least 100,000 crashes are caused by drowsy drives, each year.

62% of surveyed American adults (72% of men and 54% of women) reported driving while feeling drowsy.

37% of surveyed American adults (49% of men and 26% of women) said they have dozed off while driving at least once.

27% of surveyed American adults (36% of men and 20% of women) said they have dozed off while driving in the past year.

20% of surveyed Canadian adults said they have dozed off while driving in the past year.

40% of surveyed Irish adults said they have experienced driver fatigue in the past year.

12% of surveyed people say sleeplessness affected their driving.

According to the THINK! Road Safety website by the United Kingdom Department for Transportation (7/2004): “Research commissioned by the Government found a fifth of motorway collisions are caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel and one in ten crashes on all of Britain’s roads - around 23,300 a year are also linked to fatigue. Sleep-related vehicle accidents (SRVAs) are more likely to result in serious injury than the ‘average’ road accident.”

Nighttime Drama

Tossing and turning for hours, with your eyes wide open, while everyone else is sleeping peacefully is a most undesirable experience. Still, sporadic insomnia lasting a few days is not uncommon, and it is generally related to stress and the ups and downs of life. When insomnia becomes chronic, however, emotional or clinical disorders may be involved, and it is important to seek medical help.

Recognizing the need for help is half the battle of curing a sleep disorder. According to Brazilian neurologist Geraldo Rizzo, 90 percent of insomnia sufferers can be treated successfully.

However, for appropriate treatment to be given, it is important to know exactly what is causing the insomnia. A medical examination called a polysomnogram has contributed to the diagnosis and treatment of many sleep disorders.

One of the most common causes of chronic insomnia among adults is related to snoring. If you have ever slept near someone who snores, you know that this can be extremely uncomfortable. Snoring can be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), in which the closure of the throat temporarily prevents a sleeper from sucking air into his lungs. Initial steps in treating OSAS include weight loss, avoidance of alcoholic beverages, and avoidance of muscle-relaxant drugs. Specialists may also prescribe specific medication or the use of dental appliances or a continuous positive airway pressure machine.

In more severe cases, surgical correction of the throat, jaw, tongue, or nose may be necessary in order to make it easier for air to enter and leave during the breathing process.

Children can also suffer from insomnia. The signs of sleep deprivation may appear at school—poor scholastic achievement, irritation, lack of concentration—perhaps leading to a wrong diagnosis of hyperactivity.

Some children fight sleep, preferring to sing, talk, or listen to someone telling stories—anything instead of going to bed. This may just be a ruse to get parental attention. In some cases, however, a child may be afraid to sleep because of frequent nightmares related to horror movies, violent news programs, or quarreling in the home. By promoting a peaceful and loving atmosphere at home, parents can help to avoid these problems. Obviously, medical advice should be sought if symptoms persist. Without a doubt, a good night’s sleep is as important for children as it is for adults.

Diagnosing Sleep Disorders

A polysomnogram is a group of tests performed to map sleep while the patient is sleeping under the most normal conditions possible. The following are the basic elements necessary for an evaluation.

• Electroencephalogram—The tracing of electrical activity in the brain, used to classify and quantify the various stages of sleep.
• Electrooculogram—Records eye movements observed during REM sleep.
• Electromyogram—Used to monitor the tonus of chin and leg muscles during REM sleep.
• Electrocardiogram—Used to monitor heartbeat throughout the night.
• Respiratory airflow and movements—Measured by recording the flux of air through the nose and the mouth as well as the movement of the abdomen and the thorax.
• Oxyhemoglobin saturation—Measurement of the level of oxygen in the blood vessels determined by means of a device called an oximeter, attached to the patient’s finger.

TO SOME PEOPLE, sleep is a waste of time. Preferring a very busy daily schedule of business and social engagements, they only surrender to sleep when extremely tired. In contrast, others, enduring night after night of tossing and turning until the early hours of the morning, would give anything for a good night’s sleep.

Why do some find it so hard to sleep, while others are desperate to stay awake? Should we view sleep as a luxury or a necessity? To answer these questions, we need to understand what is going on while we are asleep.

The Mysteries of Falling Asleep

Exactly what makes a person lose consciousness and fall asleep remains a mystery. Researchers, however, have established that sleep is a complex process regulated by the brain and that it obeys a 24-hour biological clock.

As we get older, our sleeping habits change. A newborn sleeps for frequent short periods that total about 18 hours a day. According to sleep specialists, although some adults appear to need only three hours of sleep a day, others need up to ten hours.

Recent research has shown that variations in our biological clock also explain why some teenagers struggle to get out of bed in the morning. The biological clock seems to shift forward during puberty, making youngsters want to go to sleep later and wake up later. This sleep delay is common and tends to disappear in the mid-to-late teens.

Our biological clock is regulated by chemical substances, many of which have already been identified. One of them is melatonin, a hormone thought to trigger sleepiness. Melatonin is produced in the brain, and some scientists believe that it is responsible for the slowdown of the body’s metabolism that occurs prior to falling asleep. As melatonin is released, body temperature and blood flow to the brain are reduced, and our muscles gradually lose their tone and become flaccid. What happens next as the person descends into the mysterious world of sleep?

‘Nature’s Chief Nourisher’

Approximately two hours after we fall asleep, our eyes begin to quiver quickly back and forth. The observation of this phenomenon led scientists to divide sleep into two basic phases: REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep. Non-REM sleep can be subdivided into four stages of progressively deeper sleep. During a healthy night’s sleep, REM sleep occurs several times, alternating with non-REM sleep.

It commonplace to think of how to protect ourselves against terrorist, rapist, and any other vicious attack. But have you ever thought of heart attack? Is your answer “no”, or did you answer “yes”? Pause a while till you finish reading this…

Each year millions of men and women worldwide have heart attacks. Many survive with few aftereffects. Others do not survive. For still others the heart is so damaged that “a return to useful activities is questionable,” cardiologist Peter Cohn says, adding: “It is imperative, therefore, to nip heart attacks in the bud whenever possible.”

The heart is a muscle that pumps blood throughout the body. In a heart attack (myocardial infarction), part of the heart muscle dies when deprived of blood. To stay healthy, the heart needs oxygen and other nutrients that are carried by the blood. It gets these by way of the coronary arteries, which wrap around the outside of the heart.

Diseases can affect any part of the heart. However, the most common is the insidious disease of the coronary arteries called atherosclerosis. When this occurs, plaque, or fatty deposits, develops in the artery walls. Over a period of time, plaque can build up, harden and narrow the arteries, and restrict blood flow to the heart. It is this underlying coronary artery disease (CAD) that sets the stage for most heart attacks.

Clogging in one or more arteries precipitates an attack when the heart’s demand for oxygen exceeds the supply. Even in arteries less severely narrowed, a deposit of plaque can crack and lead to the formation of a blood clot (thrombus). Diseased arteries are also more susceptible to spasm. A blood clot can form at the site of a spasm, releasing a chemical that further constricts the artery wall, triggering an attack.

When heart muscle is deprived of oxygen long enough, nearby tissue may be damaged. Unlike some tissue, heart muscle does not regenerate. The longer the attack, the more damage to the heart and the greater the likelihood of death. If the heart’s electrical system is damaged, the heart’s normal rhythm can become chaotic and the heart can begin to quiver wildly (fibrillate). In such an arrhythmia, the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively to the brain fails. Within ten minutes the brain dies and death occurs.

Thus, early intervention by trained medical personnel is vital. It can rescue the heart from ongoing damage, prevent or treat the arrhythmia, and even save a person’s life.

So how can you protect, or salvage your heart from the attack? That will be considered in another post.

Job Security and Satisfaction
Under Siege

“THE right to work” is fundamental to all humans, according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, issued by the United Nations. That prerogative, however, is not always guaranteed. Job security is subject to many things—from the health of local economies to the state of the global market. Nevertheless, when employment is lost or threatened, demonstrations, riots, and strikes often follow. Few countries are immune. Even the word “work,” said one writer, “is, as it has always been, an emotionally charged word.”

Work is important to us for many reasons. Besides providing us with income, it contributes to our mental and emotional well-being. Work satisfies the human desire to be a productive member of society and to have a purpose in life. It also engenders within us a measure of self-respect. Hence, even some who have more than enough money to care for their needs or who are eligible for retirement prefer to continue working. Yes, work is so important that the lack of it usually invites serious social problems.

On the other hand, there are those who have a job but face so many pressures at work that they lose their job satisfaction. For instance, because of today’s highly competitive market, an increasing number of companies have trimmed their staff in order to cut expenses. This may place additional demands on the remaining employees, who may thus have to carry an extra load.

Modern technology, which is supposed to make life easier and work more efficient, may have added to the pressures in the workplace. For example, computers, fax machines, and the Internet allow people the option of taking their work home at day’s end, thus blurring the line between home and office. One worker felt that his company pager and cell phone were like an invisible leash, with his boss at the other end.

A growing fear that many older people have in our rapidly changing economic and work environment is that of being viewed as obsolete before their time. In this regard, former Human Rights Commissioner Chris Sidoti stated: “There seem to be stereotypes that unless you are under 40, you’re not going to cope with computers and new technology.” Hence, many good workers who would previously have been viewed as being in the prime of life are nowadays deemed too old to be useful. What a tragedy!

Understandably, the work ethic and loyalty to the company have taken a battering in recent years. “When corporations throw people overboard at the slightest blip of the stock market, corporate loyalty becomes a thing of the past,” says the French magazine Libération. “You have to work, of course, but for yourself, not for the company.”