Study Shows Driving on Just 5 Hours of Sleep Same As Being Drunk

About 1/3 of Americans get less than 7 hours of sleep a night....myself included.  So for those of us who get on average 5 hours of sleep or even less....officials are now saying that is the equivalent of driving drunk...yikes!

The study covered 4,571 crashes from July 2005 to December 2007 when emergency medical services were dispatched and at least one vehicle was towed from the scene. It used data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The risk of a crash for sleep-deprived drivers increased steadily as sleep time decreased:

• 1.3 times for six to seven hours of sleep.
• 1.9 times for five to six hours of sleep.
• 4.3 times for four to five hours of sleep.
• 11.5 times for less than four hours of sleep.

So don't drive drowsy...or drunk....or drink while drowsy that's probably worse.