March 15 is World Sleep Day, which would be reason enough in itself to call in sick at your job and just, you know, spend the whole day in bed catching up on your Z’s and sawing logs. By which we mean sleeping, not literally chasing down giant letter Z’s or sawing logs. Why you gotta take everything so literally?
Ford, in observation of World Sleep Day, is pulling attention toward its new “Sleep Suit,” which joined the arsenal of tools offered as part of its Ford Driving Skills for Life program last year. The suit simulates the feeling of driving drowsy, showing that the effects of driving when fatigued can be quite comparable to driving impaired or driving while distracted. The suit was developed for Ford DSFL by the Meyer‑Hentschel Institute.
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“We added special goggles to replicate microsleeps; an uncontrollable response to tiredness that can mean driving blind for 10 seconds or more, even while your eyes are still open,” said Meyer‑Hentschel Institute CEO Dr. Gundolf Meyer‑Hentschel. “I wouldn’t want to drive or get in a car with someone at this level of sleep deprivation, and the hope is those who experience it will go away with a greater respect for the importance of sleep.”
The goggles work in conjunction with a smartphone app to simulate what happens when the brain shuts down for short snatches of time. This pairs with the suit, which consists of a weighted vest, wrist and ankle bands, and cap that provide the sense of heaviness that comes over someone when drifting off.
Gundolf recommends that any driver feeling the effects of fatigue should pull safely and take a 20-minute nap or have a caffeinated beverage. If this doesn’t do away with the feelings of fatigue, find another way home.
Happy World Sleep Day!
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