Most people know that drinking several drinks and then driving is dangerous, but few realize that a lack of sleep, especially when combined with only one serving of alcohol, can make driving just as unsafe.
According to the National Institutes of Health and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, roughly 56,000 crashes occur each year due to driver fatigue, and 1,550 fatalities result from these accidents.
Sleeping less than approximately eight hours each night, combined with as little as one alcoholic beverage, has a compounding effect-meaning that the effects of the two separate conditions together can severely increase the risk of causing an accident.
In fact, driving while partially sleep deprived has the same effect as driving with a blood alcohol level of .05, said Dr. Bill Wohlgemuth of the Duke University Medical Center Sleep Disorders Clinic.
Charles Lee of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol said people who drive while sleep deprived can, in certain cases, be prosecuted under state law. "If you fall asleep while driving and you cause an accident or cross the center line then you can be charged with careless and reckless driving," he said.
Medical experts define sleep deprivation as simply not getting enough sleep. Although Wohlgemuth acknowledged that the biological need for sleep varies from person to person, he said the average person needs about eight hours of rest each day.
But advances in modern technology combined with the skewed schedule of college life often forces students, faculty and employees alike to skimp on sleep.
Since the turn of the 20th century, the amount of time that most people allocate to sleep has decreased one to two hours, partly because technological developments like artificial lighting and the Internet, which can keep people awake and in touch with the world 24 hours a day.
"I haven't gotten eight hours of sleep in at least a week, mostly because I procrastinate on my work for social reasons," said freshman Rashida Leggett.
On the other hand, some students refuse to sacrifice their sleep, cutting back time spent on other areas of college life. "I rarely deprive myself of sleep," said senior Sam Dwarakanath. "It's called sleeping through class. That's one thing I've learned in the last three years."
Research has shown that besides clinical problems, daily habits can interfere with normal sleeping patterns.
Eating directly before going to bed, like many college students do, may keep people awake or cause fragmented sleep because the body is working hard to digest the food.
Late-night exercise, another common college campus behavior, may also keep people awake because it raises their body temperatures. However, when people exercise earlier in the day, they find it easier to fall asleep because there will be a steeper decline of their body temperatures in the evening.
Many turn to drugs to help counter these popular habits' effects, but Wohlgemuth cautions against employing such methods.
"Some drugs, such as Ny-Quil, contain alcohol, which will help relieve anxiety and allow you to fall asleep, but once the alcohol leaves your system, your body will over-compensate and you'll fall into a lighter-than-normal sleep," he said.
Other drugs like Tylenol PM contain antihistamines, and cause drowsiness.
Wohlgemuth recommended that sleep-deprived drivers always assess the risk of driving in their condition and take the necessary precautions. "When a driver becomes tired at the wheel the best thing to do is pull off the road and sleep for 30 to 45 minutes," he explained. "Only sleep will solve the problem in the long term, but there are counter-measures that you can take for a short-term solution. Caffeine will make you more alert for about an hour, but after that you're back to where you were before you took it."
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