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Truck Drivers Can Expect More Sleep Apnea Rules
AARON CROWE
MAY 16, 2017
EDITOR'S PICKS,
REGULATION
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Truck drivers who might have sleep apnea can expect more screening for the medical condition from trucking companies.
What is sleep apnea?
Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is a disorder which a person’s breathing stops and starts repeatedly during sleep. There are different forms of sleep apnea, but OSA is the most frequent type.
Factors contributing to sleep apnea include obesity, lack of physical fitness, bad diet, smoking and poor sleep patterns. Complications from OSA include fatigue, cardiovascular problems, eye troubles and complications with medications and surgery.
The risk for truckers is they could become drowsy while driving and crash.
“To choose a lifestyle to give you sleep apnea, you choose to be a trucker,” said Anthony Warren, a sleep apnea expert in Warriors Mark, Penn., who owns an app called
BreatheSimple that teaches breath-holding techniques to promote better sleep quality.
Truck driving is a solitary job that can lead to being overweight and other health problems, Warren said.
Truck drivers with OSA who don’t get treatment have a rate of preventable crashes
five times higher than truckers without the ailment, according to a
study by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Researchers estimated that up to 20 percent of all large-truck crashes result from drowsy or fatigued driving.
My 2 cents worth----eating a big meal and then driving,,,will make you drowsy----whats a boy to do....
