Sleep Apnoea (apnea ? ) and the Commercial Truck Driver

A subject close to the Captain’s heart (and brain) this week.

Much has been made lately, particularly by our American friends, for the need for proper rest periods for interstate freight truck drivers. Many in Europe will look down their noses at this protestation as most trucking organisations seem determined to avoid the imposition of tachographs, the ‘spy in the cab’ found in all EU lorries and which were originally resisted by drivers there.

By using easily forged log books many in Europe believe their cousins out West are missing the point. A tachograph provides incontrovertible evidence of a drivers work pattern. No boss can insist a trucker exceeds working hours regulations, no gung ho, drive all night, lunatic can pop a Benzedrine and fill in a time sheet worthy of Hans Christian Andersen. But sleepy truck drivers cause horrific accidents – lots of them.

There is however one aspect of the drivers rest argument that the Yanks are starting to take seriously.

Sleep Apnoea, an extremely common disorder, particularly amongst those of us over endowed in the waistline department.

A condition particularly prevalent amongst men and even more common when the man is a fat b------d who sits at the wheel of a lorry all day munching anything that isn’t green (with the possible exception of old pizza slices found in the footwell which he convinces himself ‘must be Jalapeno’s’).

Your author and editor was diagnosed with this condition after going a few rounds with a bloke in a long black cloak and an agricultural bent several years ago.

Sleep disorders of this type are now rampant and perhaps now is the time to explain a few facts to those who perhaps feel they are just a minor irritation (formerly guilty m’lud).

The term Apnoea comes from the Greek for breathe therefore it doesn’t need a lot of explaining that literally we are talking here of ‘sleep breath’, or rather we’re not; perhaps it should be called ‘sleep lack of apnoea’. Any road up what happens is you stop breathing; completely. There you are, having a nice kip, and you simply cease respiring.

Now after a while, sometimes quite a while, the brain realises it is about to die and decides to wake you up. Of course the biggest problem with this scenario is that unless you have sensible Mrs Captain lying next to you all night and giving you a sensitive, caring jab to the ribs every time you decide inhalation has gone out of fashion, you may well not know you even have a problem.

So here are some clues.

If you wake up with a headache like you drank a quart of tequila, dark rum and creosote the night before but in fact you went to bed with a cup of Horlicks, then it’s time to go see the man.

There is usually a questionnaire to complete (at least in the UK) which asks you to rate from 1 -10 how likely you are to fall asleep in certain situations, sitting quietly at home or in a traffic queue, that sort of thing.

If you are a candidate they kit you out with a mini recorder and some Velcro belts and sticky pads and you wear this lot when you get your next nights kip. After the subsequent computer read out you’ll be told if you have apnoea.

Now let’s get this straight, this is not just about you dozing off in the pm with a book.

It isn’t even about the numerous accidents, many fatal, that occur worldwide every month when truck drivers fall asleep at the wheel, although you might want to think about that.

No, this is just to let you know that what you have is a damn sight more dangerous than you probably know. When your brain jerks you awake or kicks off that big deep breath in the night when it thinks it’s dying – THAT’S BECAUSE IT IS.

The human body has very little storage capacity for oxygen. Unlike our marine cousins the whales and dolphins after three minutes without oxygen permanent brain damage will occur. A couple more minutes and it’s goodnight Vienna.

But damage starts to occur even earlier and as your sats (Oxygen saturation levels, not the school test dummy) drop, so brain cells start to shuffle of this mortal coil (they snuff it).

CO2 levels build up and that’s why you end up with a head like one of Keith Moon’s drum kits (God bless him).

Now the good news is that there is no need for anyone living in a civilised country to suffer; even better, there’s no surgery involved and the cure can stop your premature death (and that is what is occurring) in its tracks.

As I say, that’s the good news, obviously different strokes for different folks but generally you’ll end up with a treatment similar to that which your Captain (and the skipper’s wife) have enjoyed (note from Captainess ‘tolerated) for seven years or so.

Usually in cases of apnoea the cure consists of using a breathing aid, a Bi-pap or C-pap machine, which recognises when you stop and simply pumps the requisite amount of air into your lungs before damage occurs.  

This means wearing a mask all night and breathing via the machine.

You will look like the ghost of Hans or Lotte Hass or a late entry in the gimp convention (weekend wear section) and you will sound to your partner like Tiger Woods following twelve naked lovelies round the golf course, but you should get a good night’s sleep.

But much, much more importantly, if you’re out driving regularly there is far less chance that you’ll doze off and murder someone.

So, even if our friends in the USA finally decide that 21st century rig technology is for them, if you are a driver of car, van whatever, take a while to check it out if you have any symptoms, you might make a lot of people very happy, without them even knowing.

Pictures (from the top):

They Even Fell Asleep Early last Century,

The Who (just as I remember 'em),

Hans Hass (sans Lotte)

and

Some bloke (not yours truly, that would be too horrible) wearing a C-Pap mask and looking like he's undergoing simultaneous proctology.

Comments

[freight friend]

'after three minutes without oxygen permanent brain damage will occur'... you had this condition for several years you say...

[sleep apnea test]

Many people have found CPAP systems unbearably claustrophobic; they may cause nasal irritation and drying, mask leaks, sore eyes, and headaches. And they are not exactly conducive to spontaneous romance in the middle of the night.

[ClubPenguinCheats]

There is however one aspect of the drivers rest argument that the Yanks are starting to take seriously.

[Captain P]

You're supposed to take them off before you get romantic!

They do cause some irritation but from personal experience they AVOID headaches, in this type of condition the headaches come from low SAT's and high CO2 readings. Yes, masks can leak and fart but that's a minor irritation, as for sore eyes? where are you wearing this thing? It's supposed to cover your nose! Claustrophobia is putting it a bit strong but then we've all got our hangups - after wearing one 5 hours a night for eight years I may not be the most attractive thing when I wake up - but I'm still waking up!

[Craftmatic]

Sleep is very important for a human body. Without proper sleep symptoms such as blurred vision, poor balance and decreased concentration is most likely that a person will experience. Worse is there are thousands of accidents occur each year from lack of sleep.