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Teens Can't Cheat Sleep Before Driving

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By DONNA KOEHN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 11, 2008

Hillsborough County high schools start the day far too early, in my opinion. Studies have shown that teenagers are on a different sleep cycle from the rest of us. If left to their own devices, they'll be ready for sleep much later, and wake up later, too. (Like that's news to anybody with a teenager in the house.)

My daughter gets up at about 5:40 a.m. to get to school. Several times when I've gotten up with her, I've fallen asleep sitting up, only waking when the newspaper rustles as it slips from my hands. If I'm sleepy, I'm sure she is near-comatose. And so are lots of other high school students driving to school on the same roads.

We all worry about drunken driving, but drowsy driving by teens is also a problem. Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) teamed up on a survey that shows 36 percent of teens report being sleepy when they drive to school. My guess is it's a lot more.

Teens who get less than eight hours of sleep per night are twice as likely to say they've fallen asleep at the wheel (20 percent) than are teens who sleep more. And 82 percent of teen drivers report their main reason for driving is to get to school.

Add predawn darkness, sometimes fog or rain, and it's an unnerving scenario for our newest drivers.

Teens also rely on ineffective ways — some of them distracting or even dangerous — to help combat drowsiness, the survey says.

Those are:

• Playing loud music (49 percent)

• Talking with passengers (45 percent)

• Rolling down the window (27 percent)

• Talking on a cell phone (22 percent)

• Drinking energy drinks (19 percent)

• Drinking coffee (14 percent)

• Speeding (11 percent)

• Text messaging (11 percent)

Of these, the National Sleep Foundation considers only caffeine as a feasible way to avoid falling asleep at the wheel. However, although the equivalent of two cups of coffee can increase alertness for several hours, it should not be relied on to overcome teens' sleep deprivation.

The foundation says drowsy driving can be just as dangerous as driving while impaired. The combination of sleepiness, inexperience, and lifestyle choices — including a tendency to drive at night and in the early morning hours — puts young adults at increased risk.

"Unfortunately, 'early to bed, early to rise' doesn't sync well with suddenly nocturnal teens who are balancing late nights, early mornings and jam-packed schedules," said Stephen Wallace, SADD chairman and CEO. "They want to do it all, but our job is to help them regulate competing demands in a way that ensures they get the sleep they need to be safe behind the wheel."

My daughter, who doesn't like coffee, has found an instant cocoa with extra caffeine. It's not a great solution, but it's something to help keep her eyes open on the way to school.

Keyword: Motherload, to read our mommy (and daddy) blogs, join the discussion, upload your children's photos and check out resources to make your life easier.

NODDING OFF?

Here are a few sources for more information on teen driving and drowsy driving:

www.libertymutualteendriving.com

www.sadd.org

www.drowsydriving.org

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