I hope we all had a good Thanksgiving. But we often feel drowsy after the Thanksgiving meal. The feeling of sleepiness may be due to overeating high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods and to alcohol. Turkey's effect on melatonin (the sleep-regulating hormone) is debatable.
I wondered if there are more auto accidents due to drowsiness on Thanksgiving. The only source I could find says Thanksgiving itself is usually safer than a normal weekday because many people are off the road visiting family. The same source says the "crash rate" (accident frequency?) is higher the Sunday after Thanksgiving compared with the previous Sunday.
The AAA quotes a study that suggests about 9.5% of all car crashes involve a drowsy driver. Many drivers may under-estimate thier own degree of fatigue.
My 2023 Hyundai gives me a monthly numerical grade on my driving (yes, really!), including on my lane changes. While my car probably knows too much about me ("I know you were eating that muffin while you were driving ... "), I don't think my car comes with a drowsiness alert system that other cars do have.
Not exactly related to drowsiness, but I've also been thinking about the need to concentrate for long periods of time. For me, as the years go on, I find this more difficult to do. I try to commit to continuing education in my various professional organizations, but it does seem harder to concentrate. I continue to take some online courses, but I would be hard pressed to have to memorize a large quantity of material for a traditional exam.
But like a lot of things, maybe times have changed. I came across a website discussing dietary supplements and preparing for math exams.
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