Trakya University Faculty of Medicine Physiology Department Head Prof. Dr. Levent Öztürk said that 1.3 million sleepy drivers on the world's roads cost 2.37 trillion dollars to society.
Trakya University Faculty of Medicine Physiology Department Head Prof. Dr. Levent Ozturk, Turkey's first and only traffic radio said on Radio Traffic; According to an economic analysis conducted in 2019, he said that 1.3 million sleepy drivers on the world's roads cost 2.37 trillion dollars to society every year.
ACCIDENT DATA RELATED TO SLEEPLESS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
Transferring information on motor vehicle accidents caused by insomnia and insomnia, Prof. Dr. Levent Öztürk gave examples from world countries on the subject. Stating that there are around 5 thousand deaths and 110 thousand injuries in traffic accidents in the USA every year, drowsy driving is blamed for 3% of these accidents. Dr. Öztürk stated that the cost of accidents caused by insomnia in Australia is 15 billion dollars.
Stating that according to an economic analysis conducted in 2019, 1.3 million sleepy drivers cost 2.37 trillion to society every year on all roads around the world. Dr. Levent Öztürk explained the study he carried out in Istanbul in 2002 in the light of these data.
17% OF ISTANBUL DRIVERS HAVE AN ACCIDENT DUE TO SLEEPLESS OR DONE
In a study conducted on drivers in Istanbul in 2002, 17% of the drivers said, "I had a sleep-related traffic accident behind the wheel, I survived the accident risk." Transferring what he said, Prof Dr. Öztürk; “Of course, those who could not get rid of those accidents are not included. Now, there are people who lost their lives in an accident because they slept behind the wheel. But what those who survived the accident somehow told us, based on their own reports, was 17% in this study. " found in the description.
Stating that they repeated the work in a wider area including Istanbul, Edirne and Hatay provinces in 2014, Prof Dr. Öztürk shared the following information about the study; “In 2014, when we repeat the work in a larger group that collected data from the provinces of Istanbul, Edirne and Hatay, 15% of the individuals whose profession is a driver, in other words, who earn their living from being a driver, said, 'I survived the danger of a sleep-related traffic accident or had an accident.' we see what he says. "
Stating that these accidents due to insomnia have a great cost to the country's economy, Prof. Öztürk said that this is preventable and added; "How? This is possible by informing and educating drivers about sleep health and increasing sleep awareness. This is not caused by falling asleep, sleeping sickness. Rather, it is an accident situation caused by sleep disorders in healthy individuals and not knowing when sleep will come. "
IDEAL SLEEP TIME
Transferring information about the ideal sleep time, Prof. Dr. Levent Öztürk gave the following information on the subject: “This is one of the most frequently asked questions to us: How much sleep should we sleep? Our recommendation is not to reduce the sleep less than 7 hours. However, taking into account that there are personal differences. Sometimes there are some individuals who can feel very well with 5 - 6 hours of sleep. These are short sleepers, and sleep duration is something genetically determined. Some people also have the inability to meet that need without sleeping for 9 to 10 hours. This is between 2% and 8% of the population. In this regard, sleep time is a special situation for the individual, but for example, according to the 2019 report of the International Olympic Committee, it says for athletes; The athlete who sleeps less than 7 hours is getting insufficient sleep. That report gives the message, especially to professional football players, do not go below 7 hours. We can think that this may also apply to the general public. "
WHY DO WE STAY SLEEP?
Collecting the reasons for sleep deprivation under 4 headings, Prof. Dr. Levent Öztürk listed them as follows: “The most important of these reasons is the conditions brought about by modern life. For example; There are services that need to be maintained 24 hours a day. Like security, like healthcare… In certain occupational groups, it is necessary to keep watch or work with prolonged working hours in order to maintain the service 24 hours a day. These are the elements that disrupt the sleep pattern in those groups. Working in shifts is one of the factors that disrupt the sleep pattern. In order to reduce the margin of error for people working in such work environments, their biological sleep characteristics should be taken into account. Are these people genetically short sleepers or long sleepers, or those who like to go to bed early or those who like to go to bed late, which we call chickens or owls? This is also determined genetically. Now, when shifts and working hours are arranged without considering these biological sleep characteristics of people in work environments, then the margin of error for accidents increases and the risk increases. The first is that services that must be maintained 24 hours a day. Second, the situations brought by social life. This is because people sometimes watch movies for entertainment and sometimes at home… With the discovery of electricity, the invention of this artificial lighting, our days were artificially prolonged. Before it was dark before the lighting, people were lying and sleeping, they were inactive, but with the lighting, we actually extended our days in an unnatural way in the world. There is a price for this. It is also reflected as insomnia. Social situations; Sometimes reasons such as growing a job or preparing for an exam lead to insomnia. Apart from that, we can put certain concerns in the third place. For example, after these 99 earthquakes, we mostly say, "What if I get an earthquake while I am asleep!" We also saw that people were forced to fall asleep with anxiety. Sometimes these worries can increase and trigger insomnia. It can happen even though there is no underlying sleeping sickness. And the fourth group; the person may indeed have a sleep disorder. It stops breathing while sleeping, it may be restless legs syndrome, there may be some parosomnia. These types of reasons can also lead to insomnia. "
SUGGESTION FOR THOSE WHO WILL GO ON THE WAY
Trakya University Faculty of Medicine Physiology Department Head Prof. Dr. Finally, Levent Öztürk made the following suggestions to those who will come to the traffic; "It is very important to sleep at the right time, to set off with our sleep, to take a nap and take a rest for half an hour before going to work, and to arrange our breaks well.
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