by Xochitl Campos
Daily Lobo
Driving while you're tired can be just as dangerous as driving drunk, said Nancy Polnaszek, the director of the Sleep Disorder Center.
"Of all the (vehicle) accidents that occur in a year here in the United States, 50 percent of them occur with drivers that are 25 years of age or less," she said. "The impact of driving sleep-deprived is the same as driving with a DUI."
This week, the UNM Sleep Disorder Center and the National Sleep Foundation are sponsoring Drowsy Driving Prevention Week.
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Polnaszek said young adults are prone to sleep deprivation because their bodies do not get tired until late at night, and their schedules require them to wake up earlier.
"You're wide awake and up later, but you have to get up at 7:30 or 8 in the morning," she said.
Polnaszek said young adults need at least nine hours of sleep each night, otherwise they develop sleep debt.
"Sleep debt is like running your bank account in the negative," she said. "If you are supposed to get nine hours of sleep a night and you only have six, then within a three-day period, you have lost a full night's sleep."
College students need to know how important sleep is, said Lee Brown, the executive director of the Health Sciences Center.
"There are things that people do that do not promote getting a full night's sleep," he said. "There are a number of warning signs that have been published."
Yawning, tailgating and drifting between lanes are just a few of the symptoms drivers should be aware of, Brown said.
Student Breanna Griego said she doesn't get much sleep during the week, but she tries to make up for it on weekends.
"It's really hard to get on a sleep schedule," she said. "I always intend to."
Griego said sleepiness doesn't distract her while she's driving.
"It's less that I'm tired, more that I'm thinking about things I have to do when I get home or to school," she said.
Wandering thoughts is another symptom associated with sleep deprivation and driving, Brown said.
Student Neil Garber said he usually doesn't get enough sleep.
"It depends on the week," he said. "I have too much to study for."
He said it doesn't affect his driving, but it does affect his studies.
"I might be too tired to learn," he said.
Polnaszek said lack of sleep does affect students' ability to learn.
"If you're up all of the night or most of the night and you say, 'I'll just study half the night and then get up for my test,' you are wasting your time," she said. "You have to have the sleep for that to function because you are not going to retain it."
