You finally fall asleep only to be woken again in a few hours. This goes on day after day until you are no more than a hollow shell operating on automatic. Aside from the bags under your eyes, and more importantly, you are not thinking straight, your reactions are sluggish, and you are prone to making bad decisions.
No, we are not talking about the parents of a teething baby; we are talking about truck drivers.
Truck drivers sleep only 4.8 hours per day, according to a national study. Many drivers have to cat-nap, catch 40 winks here and there, then get back on the road. Most truck drivers do not get enough sleep. Or the rest they do get is not of the quality needed for their bodies and minds to recover.
Adults need between seven and nine hours a day to function at their best. If you continually get less sleep than you need, day after day, it builds up, and you have a sleep debt.
Driving a large truck carries even more responsibility than attending to a teething baby. You can harm far more people. That is why truckers must sleep adequately. However, it can be hard for them due to the constant pressure to keep driving. The trucking companies work tight schedules, which the drivers must meet day after day to make a living.
Unfortunately, this makes trucks incredibly dangerous for other road users. 5000 people were killed in truck accidents during 2017. Many more were injured.
