Have you heard of sleep apnea? It’s when a person’s breathing repeatedly stops and starts while sleeping. For those who have sleep apnea, they can feel tired and irritable during the day since they did not get the kind of restful sleep they truly needed.
Good sleep is important, especially if your job is to drive a huge truck on a busy highway, right? Most people need to sleep about eight hours a night in order to be healthy. That’s the ideal but you or someone you know probably has sleeping issues, and aren’t getting that kind of good sleep.
Truck Drivers Need Quality Sleep
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration wants truckers to know about sleep apnea and get treated if they have it. A study found that about 17.6 percent of CDL holders had mild sleep apnea, followed by 5.8 percent with moderate sleep apnea and 4.7 percent with severe sleep apnea.
You might have sleep apnea if you’re overweight, have a large neck size, are over 40, have a small upper airway, have a recessed chin, small jaw or large overbite, and/or you smoke and drink… If you live with other people and they can hear you loudly snoring at night, that’s a sign you might have sleep apnea.
Those with untreated sleep apnea might experience sleepiness while they’re supposed to be wide awake and driving their truck. If they do nod off for just a second, they could experience a tragic crash.
Are you concerned about this? You can do a sleep test, which is where you’re monitored while you sleep to see if you have sleep apnea, and how bad it might be… and if you do have sleep apnea, you can get a CPAP machine that you use at night to help combat the problem so you should sleep better and be well-rested to do your job during the day.
If you’re a truck driver looking for a job, learn how Platinum Drivers can help.