About 20% of Americans report feeling severe fatigue at least a few times a week. This fatigue, according to respondents polled, is serious enough to affect everyday performance. According to Jane E. Brody at the New York Times, lack of sleep can be one of the most dangerous conditions, leading to:
1) Slower metabolism. According to Brody’s research, lack of adequate sleep can result in an additional ten pounds of weight gain per year. Weight gain can lead to a number of serious ailments, including high blood pressure, cardiac disease, sleep apnea and other illnesses which can create symptoms which can cause car or truck accidents in Fort Lauderdale and other communities. Safety experts agree that safe driving requires a healthy driver, and good health is simply not possible without proper sleep.
2) A lower life expectancy. People who have poor sleep patterns and habits are more likely to suffer from serious disease and more likely to be in a serious accident, according to many research studies. Getting enough shuteye can help you leader a healthier – and longer – life.
3) Slower learning. Adequate sleep is needed for memory pathways to work correctly and for new learning to become encoded in the brain. Young drivers who do not get adequate rest may be at an additional risk, as they are still learning to drive and inadequate sleep may prevent them from learning correctly.
4) Poorer decision making. Research by Dr. Timothy Roehrs has found that sleep-deprived test subjects make more poor decisions when compared with well-rested subjects. On the road, poor decisions can easily lead to a truck or car accident in Fort Lauderdale or your community, which is yet another reason to get plenty of sleep.
5) Slower response times. Many safety experts agree that fatigued driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving in Fort Lauderdale and other communities. Drunk drivers are at risk of falling asleep behind the wheel or causing a car accident due to slow response times and poor decision-making. The same is true for fatigued drivers. Cold air and caffeine do not help – only rest can help prevent the risks of fatigued driving.
Getting enough sleep is not always easy. Hectic schedules, stress, noisy city streets, and illness can all conspire to affect quality of sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, there are several things you can do:
•Visit a doctor to see whether there is a medical reason or a possible solution for your sleep problems
•Create a peaceful bedroom and use earplugs or a sleep mask to block out lights and noise
•Arrange your schedule and delegate tasks so that you have enough time for sleep
