Do you ever find yourself feeling drowsy or sleepy while driving? You probably already know how dangerous that can be, but for some reason, still let it happen. It’s okay to sleep. As a matter of fact, sleep is a human necessity. If you don’t get adequate sleep, it affects your body negatively. But on the steering wheel is the worst place to fall asleep. You can’t even begin to imagine the implications of that. First off, you put your life at risk. But it doesn’t end there; you also endanger the lives of other road users. If an accident occurs, several people will get injured. And in worst cases' scenarios, lose their lives.

How to get rid of drowsy driving? Follow these 5 tips

You MUST not fall asleep while driving. It’s not an option. But how can you keep sleep away? Naijacarnews will give you all the help you need.

5 ways to avoid falling asleep while driving

1. Get adequate sleep at night

The recommended sleeping hours are between 7 to 9. That’s way higher than the sleeping hours most Nigerian adults get. If you live in a city like Lagos where traffic is crazy, you have to leave your home as early as 5:00 am, and sometimes you get back home as late as 11:00 pm.  By the time you are done freshening up, you are left with just a few hours to sleep. With such a hectic routine, you are bound to feel drowsy during the day. Find a way around your schedule, and have more sleeping hours.

The very best tip is to get adequate sleep the night before

2. Don’t take medication that makes you sleepy

Some medications contain ingredients that make one fall asleep. If you aren’t feeling too well and are on medication, be sure that the medication won’t make you sleep if you take it before hitting the road. If it contains sleeping ingredients, don’t take chances. Get someone else to drive you. If there’s no one on ground, you might want to postpone the trip. Whatever you choose to do, don’t take tablets that’ll make you sleep before driving.

3. Don’t take alcohol

Drinking and driving are enemies. On no account should you try to join them together. If you do it, you’ll have to bear the consequences. You may choose to drink for personal reasons, but for your own good, do it when you have no intentions of driving. Here’s what’s going to happen if you take alcohol before hitting the road: you’ll get drowsy or tipsy. In fact, you’ll barely see the road in front of you. If you must drive, the alcohol can wait. You have to stay alive to drink it, don’t you?

Alcohol affects your performance and makes you feel sleepy

4. Stay away from driving between 00:00 – 02:00 am and 4:00 – 6:00 am

These hours are specifically meant for sleeping. At such times, all your body needs is sleep and more sleep. If for any reason you happen to be awake, your body will fail you. There really isn’t much you can do about this, so don’t even try to resist it. For your own safety, avoid driving between these hours. Besides, night traveling is very dangerous in Nigeria. Apart from the fact that you might fall asleep and get involved in an accident, armed robbers often attack road travelers at such hours.

5. Take some caffeine

If for any reason you must drive at night, don’t rely on your personal will to stay awake. It takes more than “will” to fight off sleep. Help yourself with some caffeine, green tea, black tea or non-alcoholic energy drink. Any of these drinks will help you “shine your eyes” like torchlight. But don’t take too much of it. Otherwise, you’ll end up feeling irritated by everything, and that’ll be a distraction on its own.

In contrast with alcohol, cafferine draws your sobberness back