There’s nothing quite like a good night of sleep, when you wake up refreshed and ready to conquer the day.
But when you don’t sleep, it’s a different story altogether. After a long day on the road, the last thing you want is to have your sleep interrupted by bouts of loud snoring and gasps for air.
If that continues night after night, it’ll get increasingly difficult to keep your eyes open when you’re hauling your next load.
Sleep is essential for everyone, but for truck drivers like you, it’s a critical component of safety on the road. Yet, for many drivers, restful sleep is elusive due to a common but serious condition called sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is more than just a nighttime nuisance — it’s a condition that can significantly impact your health and ability to drive.
This sleep disorder can cause you to stop breathing multiple times during the night, leading to fragmented sleep and daytime fatigue. If left untreated, sleep apnea not only diminishes your quality of life but can also jeopardize your health and your ability to drive safely.
In this article, we’ll explore what sleep apnea is, its symptoms, and how it can be managed — ensuring you stay alert and safe behind the wheel.
- What is sleep apnea?
- How is sleep apnea diagnosed?
- How is sleep apnea treated?
- Can I drive with sleep apnea?
What is Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea occurs when you have periods throughout the night when you stop breathing. Your airways either narrow or close while you sleep, which obstructs the flow of air. When that happens, your blood oxygen level goes down and affects the oxygen that your brain is getting.
To protect you, your brain wakes you up. As a result, you don’t get restful sleep.
Some people have very brief spells of this just a few times a night, and that's normal. But when it becomes severe enough, it has a significant impact on the quality of your sleep and can affect your ability to function effectively during the day. In some people, it can happen hundreds of times per night.
There are several types of sleep apnea, including obstructive sleep apnea and central sleep apnea.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common form of the sleep disorder and it occurs when the muscles in the throat relax and obstruct airflow. Central sleep apnea (CSA) is a result of the brain not sending the proper signals to the muscles tasked with breathing.
Sleep Apnea Signs and Symptoms
There are some common signs of sleep apnea — many of which your partner would be able to observe in you during the night. A telltale sign is loud snoring, but a partner may observe you stopping breathing for a period or looking like you’re gasping for air and struggling to breathe.
There are some symptoms of sleep apnea that may clue you in as well. You may wake up with a dry mouth, headache, or nausea. This can be because you didn’t get good quality sleep.
Throughout the day, you may experience:
- Daytime sleepiness and grogginess
- Trouble focusing
- Inattentiveness
- Memory problems
- Irritability
- Moodiness
- Depression
- Morning headaches
Interestingly enough, some people with sleep apnea also experience insomnia.
Individuals experiencing these symptoms can have a lowered quality of life and it can make it difficult to perform daily tasks successfully — including driving.
Sleep apnea, if untreated, can increase your risk of developing other severe health conditions, like heart disease, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes and stroke.
As you’ve probably already guessed, it can also make it incredibly difficult to be a truck driver, which requires long periods of intense focus behind the wheel. Driver fatigue is a serious issue.
Sleep Apnea Risk Factors
There are several factors that increase your chance of developing sleep apnea. Even young children can have sleep apnea, though it’s more common in older adults and males.
Other risk factors include:
- Obesity
- High neck circumference
- Family history
- Smoking
- Excessive use of alcohol and/or sedative drugs
- Medical conditions like heart disease
- Small jaw or airway
In some cases, individuals can reverse their sleep apnea by losing excess weight.
How is Sleep Apnea Diagnosed?
Sleep apnea is diagnosed with a sleep study.
If you suspect you have sleep apnea, you should schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss your symptoms. If the doctor suspects you may be struggling with sleep apnea and it’s not something else, they’ll order a sleep study.
During a sleep study, you’ll go to a sleep center and they’ll put electrodes on your head, chest, and finger to monitor you while you sleep. Doctors will observe what stages of sleep you get into and if/when you stop breathing. If you do stop breathing, they’ll measure how long this period lasts and how often it happens in the night.
There are some at-home devices you can hook up to perform your own sleep study, but they’re not as effective as going to a sleep center. However, your doctor may deem this an option for you, so be sure to have the conversation.
Your doctor will analyze the results of your sleep study and either diagnose you with sleep apnea or determine if you have something else going on, such as a hormone imbalance, metabolic issues, thyroid problems, Type 2 diabetes, or something else entirely.
Your doctor may diagnose you with either a mild or severe case of sleep apnea.
How is Sleep Apnea Treated?
Sleep apnea is most often treated with a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. The machine keeps your airways open and delivers a continuous flow of air into your mouth and nose while you sleep.
The CPAP machine consists of a machine, tube, and mask. The mask fits either over your mouth and nose or just your nose. A tube connects the mask to the machine with a motor that blows filtered air into the tube. The continuous flow of air prevents your tongue, uvula, and soft palate from shifting and blocking your airway.
As a result, your airway stabilizes and your quality of sleep improves. However, you must use your CPAP machine every time you sleep (naps included). There’s often an adjustment period of about three months with the CPAP machine, but it’s very important to use it every time you sleep. You should also clean the mask and tube daily.
There are different types of CPAP machines used to treat sleep apnea, including a bi-level PAP that uses different pressures when inhaling versus exhaling. This is often used in people with chronic lung disease.
For minor sleep apnea cases, a sleep doctor may recommend something else, such as a mouth appliance to hold your jaw forward a bit while you sleep.
If you have sleep apnea, you’re going to want to treat it — not only to prevent diseases from occurring down the road, but to improve your quality of life. After a few months of use, most people report that they feel like a new person and have far more energy.
Can I Be a Truck Driver if I Have Sleep Apnea?
Being diagnosed with sleep apnea won’t prevent you from getting a medical card and becoming a truck driver, but failing to treat it could.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires drivers to be medically qualified. So, as a truck driver, you have to get and maintain a Department of Transportation (DOT) medical card to operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV). To earn that medical card, you have to undergo a physical.
At the very least, you have to be examined by a qualified medical examiner every two years. You can receive a medical card that’s good for up to two years, but if you have certain health conditions, your doctor may only give you a med card for a year or less. This is so they can examine you more frequently and ensure you’re managing your medical condition(s).
During the physical, medical examiners will go over your health history and current physical state before deeming you fit to operate a CMV safely. Certain medical conditions put drivers at risk and impair their ability to drive, so it’s very important to obtain and maintain your medical card.
There are certain risk factors, like being overweight and having a thicker neck, that may make you more likely to develop sleep apnea. If this is true for you and you have other risk factors, such as experiencing daytime fatigue and grogginess, your medical examiner may require a sleep study before they’ll give you a med card. However, being overweight or having a thicker neck alone isn’t sufficient evidence for a medical examiner to require a sleep study.
If you’re newly diagnosed with sleep apnea, you may be given a three-month medical card. This gives you time to get your treatment going. As long as the doctor can see it’s effective, they’ll likely give you a longer med card next time.
If you’re renewing your medical card and were previously diagnosed with sleep apnea, you’ll need to prove CPAP compliance. The CPAP machine measures and records important data each time it’s used.
It not only measures how often you turn it on and wear the mask, but it also reports on how well it’s treating your sleep apnea. It measures both the amount of pressure needed to keep your airway open and the number of respiratory events that occur each night. It can also determine if there’s a leak.
This data is important in proving CPAP compliance, and therefore receiving your med card. The FMCSA requires all drivers being treated with a CPAP machine to use it for at least four hours each night for 70 percent of the time. For example, you’d need to use the machine at least 256 days per year (or about five nights per week) for at least four hours.
Reminder: It’s highly recommended that you wear your mask and turn on your CPAP machine every time you go to sleep.
Drivers who can’t provide compliance data will be denied a medical card.
Address Driver Fatigue
Not getting good sleep can make it difficult to concentrate, impair your judgment, and increase the risk of accidents.
In fact, sleep deprivation can cause cognitive impairments that are comparable to being under the influence of alcohol. So if drivers are not treating sleep apnea, that can be a major hazard on the road. You want to be at your best when operating a CMV.
Not only that, but sleep apnea can negatively affect everything in your life, from your mood and your partner’s sleep to your immune system, libido, and risk of developing serious medical conditions.
Recognizing the signs, getting the right diagnosis, and following through with treatment can make all the difference — not just in how you feel each day, but in ensuring you’re safe on the road.
Don’t let sleep apnea put the brakes on your life!
It can be hard to get good sleep on the road. Make sure you follow these driver tips to get good sleep every night.