First, if you feel even the slightest bit sleepy, stop driving as soon as you can, no matter how inconvenient it is. Pull over and let someone else take the wheel. If that isn't possible, park your car in a safe location. Drink 1-2 cups of coffee (or any caffeinated beverage) before taking a 20- to 30-minute nap.
Choose a safe position
A good position for sleeping in a moving car is to tilt the seat back slightly and sit upright. Lean to one side and use a neck pillow or item of clothing to support your head. If you are able to move your seat back so that you can stretch out your legs, this helps too.
Sleeping in a car does not require cracking windows open. Air can flow through a car even when the doors and windows are closed. Cracking a window allows fresh oxygen to enter the car, which can help you sleep better. Never open the window more than a crack to avoid letting in heat or cold air.
We might be susceptible to sleep while in a car, bus, train, plane, or boat because of multiple factors, including the vibrations and the white noise, the sensations representative of being in the womb, the boredom, or simply the fact that we're tired.
There are essentially two ways your car can tell if you're getting tired. The most common one employs existing lane departure sensors and monitors steering inputs to detect erratic driving, like when you're drifting out of your lane often in a short period of time.
The primary cause of death while sleeping in a car is carbon monoxide. This gas is a colourless, odourless gas released when burning fuels, such as coal, wood, charcoal, natural gas, and fuel oil. It usually dissipates quickly in the open air but is harmful to human health when it accumulates in enclosed areas.
It is generally safe to sleep in your car overnight, providing the engine is turned off and you're parked in a secure location. Cars are not airtight, meaning oxygen can enter the vehicle during the night to allow comfortable breathing, even when the windows and doors are closed.
“When your baby is seated, their heavy head can fall forward causing difficulty breathing…and even suffocation,” explains Dr. Harvey Karp. “That's why car seats—outside of moving cars—are not safe for naps or overnight sleep for the first year of life.”
It is dangerous to sit inside a locked car. It is even more dangerous when the air-conditioning is on. Car exhaust emits carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide gases (in case the AC is on) that might kill an adult instantly. “If you sit inside a locked car for 30 minutes, you would feel suffocated.
ADHD can cause drowsiness and an inability to stay awake or alert in the classroom or even while driving.
Who is at Risk for Positional Asphyxia and Why? Newborns and young infants are at high risk because they cannot move themselves in order to breathe when their airway is blocked. Within this group, premature and low birthweight infants appear to be at the greatest risk for many reasons.
This is known as positional asphyxia. With all the child's weight thrown forward, the rib cage cannot expand to take in air, the diaphragm cannot work, and if it also throws the head forward, the windpipe will close, resulting in suffocation in a matter of minutes.
Your baby should not be in a car seat for longer than two hours at a time. Research has shown a link between travelling in car seats for long periods and breathing difficulties in young babies. If you are driving for a long period of time, it is important that you take regular breaks (at least every two hours).
Put A Giant Fan Near The Window
A fan near a window that is slightly open will pull in cool air from the outside and circulate it through the vehicle. If you have windows cracked open on both sides this can allow hot air to escape and cooler air to enter. This heavy-duty car air fan is a good choice to keep your cool.
Depending on how long it is I would cut your wake window in half and offer another nap then. If it's over 45 minutes keep the entire wake window and offer a nap again after the length of the awake time unless it's too close to bedtime, in which case just move bedtime up as early as 6 pm.
Sitting in an idling car means you are breathing in more of the dirty exhaust that leaks into the car cabin. Any warmth you may get from a car heater is not worth the damage to your health. If parked and waiting, it is healthier to get out of your car and go inside a store or building.
CO Poisoning
CO from these fumes can build up in places that don't have a good flow of fresh air, such as cars with rolled up windows. When a person breathes it in, CO prevents blood cells from carrying enough oxygen throughout the body.
Our minds and bodies are not doing anything except getting ready for sleep, so they become quiet and calm. So in a moving car, your mind and body can go into the same kind of quiet “daze” as they do at bed time. This is sometimes called highway hypnosis and can happen to drivers too.
Drowsiness alert systems display a coffee cup and message on your dashboard to take a driving break if it suspects that you're drowsy. Some systems with audio alerts may verbally tell you that you may be drowsy and should take a break as soon as it's safe to do so.
In Western, South Australia, and Tasmania, sleeping in your car is not technically illegal. However, there are strict limitations on parking at beaches and in parks or reserves. It's important to read up on the local laws that apply to the area you're intending to park you car in.