Drowsy Driving Essay

Superior Essays
It has been said that most adults require 7-8.5 hours of sleep each day. (Aloha & Polo-Kantola, 2007) Aloha and Polo-Kantola also claim that in today’s society, “prolonged wakefulness is a widespread phenomenon.” There are enormous implications as to the impact that SD can have in today’s society. From military strategists, medical professionals, and the people who commute daily to and from work in their vehicles, all of whom can drastically and negatively affect the quality of their lives as well as the lives of others while suffering from the negative impacts of SD. In fact, in 2011, November 6-12 was named Drowsy Driving Prevention Week by the National Sleep Foundation. Cowher-Williams, J. (2011). Williams also stated that a high percentage …show more content…
One approach states that SD may have an effect on vigilance and attention span and the other, certain specific effects on brain function to include brain structure. In addition, specific areas of the brain which are said to be vulnerable to sleep loss have been monitored with the utilization of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). Keep in mind that these types of studies have mainly focused on working memory and functions which require a significant amount of attentional …show more content…
& Polo-Kantola, P. (2007). Sleep deprivation: Impact on cognitive performance. Journal of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 3(5): 553-567.
Cowher-Williams, J. (2011). National Sleep Foundation 's Drowsy Driving Prevention Week® Provides Tips to Prevent One in Six Traffic Fatalities. Retrieved September 11, 2016, from http://drowsydriving.org/2011/11/national-sleep-foundation’s-drowsy-driving-prevention-week®-provides-tips-to-prevent-one-in-six-traffic-fatalities/
Kravitz, L., Ph.D. (n.d.). Sleep Deprivation. Retrieved September 12, 2016, from https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article folder/SleepDeprivation.html
Sleep, Performance, and Public Safety. (2000). Retrieved September 12, 2016,fromhttp://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/consequences/sleep-performance-and-public-safety
Van Dongen HP, Vitellaro KM, Dinges DF. 2005. Individual differences in adult human sleep and wakefulness: Leitmotif for a research agenda. Sleep,

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