{"id":91,"date":"2020-01-18T19:52:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-18T19:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/?p=91"},"modified":"2020-02-13T19:54:28","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T19:54:28","slug":"safety-first-why-commercial-drivers-should-be-sleep-tested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/2020\/01\/safety-first-why-commercial-drivers-should-be-sleep-tested\/","title":{"rendered":"Safety First: Why Commercial Drivers Should Be Sleep Tested"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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If you drive a bus,\na truck, or any other kind of large commercial vehicle, you probably already\nknow that getting plenty of sleep every night is an important part of the job. The\nlast thing you want is to doze off at the wrong moment and cause a dangerous\naccident. But even if you\u2019re giving yourself plenty of time to rest, you could\nstill be suffering from a disorder that\u2019s preventing you from getting the\nquality sleep you need even if you don\u2019t realize it! To learn more about the\ndangers of being a commercial driver with sleep apnea in The Woodlands and the\nimportance of having a sleep test done, keep reading. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What is Sleep Apnea?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The term \u201csleep apnea\u201d refers to a disorder where you repeatedly\nstop breathing during the night, forcing your body to wake up to get oxygen. Most\nof the time, the condition is caused by an obstruction of the airway that\noccurs when your throat muscles and the palate of your mouth collapse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Is Sleep Apnea Dangerous for Commercial Drivers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The repeated awakenings associated with sleep apnea will stop\nyou from reaching the deeper stages of sleep meant to refresh your mind and\nbody. This leads to drowsiness, memory problems, and a lack of focus \u2013 all issues\nthat you want to avoid when you spend several hours on the road every day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One study in the American Academy of Sleep Medicine<\/em>\nfound that people with sleep apnea were two-and-a-half times more likely to be\nthe driver at fault in a traffic accident. Furthermore, the incidence of\naccidents among sleep apnea patients was found to be much lower after they had\nreceived treatment. In other words, a sleep disorder can significantly increase\nyour risk of collisions and crashes on the road \u2013 but having it treated can go\na long way towards helping you stay safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Should Commercial Drivers Be Tested for Sleep Apnea?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As many as 22 million people could have sleep apnea right\nnow, but frighteningly enough, most of them might not even realize it. The most\nobvious symptoms \u2013 loud snoring and gasping for air in your sleep \u2013 normally need\nto be noticed by another person, and other warning signs such as general\nsleepiness could have multiple causes. You\u2019ll need to have your condition\ndiagnosed correctly before it can be addressed effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where sleep\napnea testing<\/a> in The Woodlands comes in. This process (which can be done in\na lab or at home) monitors your vital signs, brain activity, and other markers\nthat could point to a sleep disorder. If the diagnosis is confirmed, you can\ntalk to a sleep expert about possible solutions such as an oral appliance or\nCPAP therapy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You should ask a sleep dentist about sleep testing as soon\nas you have any reason to think you might have sleep apnea. Don\u2019t take any\nchances with the quality of your rest \u2013 especially when your job depends on\nyour ability to drive safely!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About the Author<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Robert G. Dernick became interested in dentistry at a\nvery early age. Thanks to his constant efforts to improve himself, he eventually\nbegan studying the field of sleep dentistry. As a result, he\u2019s now able to\nprovide safe and reliable sleep apnea therapy for many different kinds of\npatients. If you\u2019re worried about the quality of your rest and want to arrange\nfor a sleep test, you can schedule an appointment with Dr. Dernick by visiting\nhis website<\/a>\nor calling (281) 363-2770. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you drive a bus, a truck, or any other kind of large commercial vehicle, you probably already know that getting plenty of sleep every night is an important part of the job. The last thing you want is to doze off at the wrong moment and cause a dangerous accident. But even if you\u2019re […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91\/revisions\/93"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thewoodlandssleepdentist.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}