Question: A few years ago, whilst driving, I was suddenly jolted back to reality – I had apparently fallen asleep at the wheel and thankfully awoken just in time to grab the wheel and regain control of the car. The first thing I did was contact my doctor, who arranged for a sleep study.(I was advised not to drive for the time being)
After talking to co-workers, they did mention that I did occasionally “zone out” but thought that I was just overtired, and therefore said nothing. Over the next few weeks the episodes became more frequent. I am a social worker and fell asleep running a group therapy session, I then fell asleep on the treadmill which was apparently quite a comical sight! I ended up a bit bruised but that was the worst of it. Since then I have fallen asleep with full cups of coffee in my hand, mid-sentence as I type on the laptop, and in the middle of exams.A sleep study concluded that I was hitting REM between 6 seconds and 4 minutes – I now take Modafinil and life has less bumps! Days I forget to take the pills can be quite hard going!