Nataru Holiday By Driving? This Is How To Avoid Microsleep That Can Be The Cause Of Accidents

Illustration of a person driving (Pexels/Jeshoots)

JAKARTA - Traveling for the Christmas and New Year holidays or Nataru can be done by various transportation, one of which is by car. If you travel by car and drive, you should avoid microsleep.

Microsleep is a short sleep phase that takes less than 30 seconds and is rarely realized. Launching from WebMD, Tuesday, December 17, 2024, during this phase a person will lose consciousness of what he is doing.

Microsleep is characterized by behavioral changes, such as closing your eyes briefly or losing focus. Of course, this is very dangerous if it happens while driving, because it can cause accidents that are dangerous for yourself and others.

The main cause of microsleep is lack of sleep. Sleep less than 4 hours, although in just one night it can result in an increase in microsleeping.

Apart from lack of sleep, other causes of microsleep can be physically and mentally related. Starting from sleep disorders, obesity, depression, anxiety, and others.

Those who experience microsleep experience various symptoms. Like waking up because the body is shaking or the head feels like falling forward, yawning or convicting excessively, not realizing something new is happening, making it difficult to process information.

Knowing the dangers of microsleep if it happens, especially when driving, prevention must be done. Some things that can be done to prevent this are the following.

If you're feeling sleepy for a moment to prevent a microsleep. Sleeping for 20 minutes or more will be very helpful and make your body feel fresh again.

Conversations wake cells in the brain. In addition, talking also speeds up breathing and pumps extra oxygen into the bloodstream, which can overcome feeling sleepy.

Consuming caffeine, such as coffee can help you cope with feeling sleepy. Let it take about 30 minutes for caffeine to work well to make the body feel fresh. However, try not to consume caffeine too close to bedtime.