The National Sleep Foundation estimated that 145 million US adult drivers (61%) have driven while sleepy at least once, and nearly 35 million do so at least monthly.
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Approximately 40% of adult drivers do not recognize basic signs of sleep-related impairment, including excessive blinking, head-nodding, and lane drifting.
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The report cited AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety data indicating that drowsy driving contributes to approximately 1 in 5 fatal motor vehicle crashes.
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Although 58% of adults were familiar with driver-alertness monitoring technology, 31% had used it and 62% worried that collected information could be misused.
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The NSF recommends 7 to 9 hours of nightly sleep for most adults and advises sleepy drivers to stop safely, take a break, or arrange alternative transportation.
A 20-minute exercise bout and 90-minute nap produced similar episodic memory performance following 30 hours of wakefulness but engaged distinct neural mechanisms.
