Should I worry?

Discussion in 'Gen 5 Prius Main Forum' started by Paul Gregory, May 18, 2025 at 2:45 PM.

  1. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,711
    50,872
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i'm not sure how you can learn to cope. what if you turn off the driving assist features?
     
    Brian1954 likes this.
  2. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2022
    1,269
    331
    0
    Location:
    Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    I have always been able to keep myself awake when I drive, but I'm becoming aware that driving assist may make it easier to fall asleep, that's all.
     
    PriusCamper likes this.
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,711
    50,872
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i agree with that. i don't use the radar cruise or lane assist on long trips.

    on my bolt, i was using one pedal driving and no brake. but i realized on mrs b's hycam that my braking reaction time was slowing, because my brain would expect the car to slow more quickly when letting off the gas. so i stopped using that as well.
     
  4. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    11,889
    4,826
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I just read about a 5 year study with several hundred women in their eighties... The study correlated sleepiness during the day with future problems with dementia, but cautioned that it's normal to get tired at times and the main indicator that makes you need to see a doctor is when you're chronically sleepy every day and a brief harmless nap turns into much longer naps during the day, which disrupts sleep cycles at night.

    Main point they wanted to emphasize is that as we age our ability to get a long healthy nights sleep gets more challenging and if we want to prevent dementia in later life sleeping well is essential.
     
    Templeton likes this.
  5. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2022
    1,269
    331
    0
    Location:
    Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    I don't have dementia or anything close to it.
     
  6. RandyPete

    RandyPete Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2021
    373
    154
    0
    Location:
    Santa Margarita, CA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    But you may be suffering from sleep apnea. . You might want to check with a doctor and do a sleep study if prescribed. Sleep apnea robs you of a good long restful nights sleep and puts you more at risk of falling to sleep during the day, because of your lack of rest at night.
     
    #26 RandyPete, May 19, 2025 at 5:03 PM
    Last edited: May 19, 2025 at 5:35 PM
  7. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    11,889
    4,826
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I didn't say you did... I was just referencing something I read in order to emphasize the importance of a healthy sleep cycle at night, as well as the importance of being able to briefly induce sleep during the day if you're on a long drive and the car has the ability make it easier to sleep.
     
  8. PriusCamper

    PriusCamper Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2012
    11,889
    4,826
    0
    Location:
    Pacific Northwest, USA
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    I didn't say you did... I was just referencing something I read in order to emphasize the importance of a healthy sleep cycle at night, as well as the importance of being able to briefly induce sleep during the day if you're on a long drive and the car has the ability make it easier to sleep.
     
  9. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    26,061
    17,033
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    'apnea' is the word, I think.

    My most recent run-in with COVID kept me awake 72 hours straight. After the symptoms abated I thought "well, at least now I'll at last fall asleep and have a long long sleep!' but that wasn't at all what happened. In fact I remained unable for the better part of a month to fall asleep without pharmaceutical assistance—which I had never, ever used before. I had to drag my sleepless nice person into CVS and ask the pharmacist for ideas.

    I eventually did return to pretty much normal-for-me sleep patterns. But that month had me worried.
     
  10. RandyPete

    RandyPete Active Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2021
    373
    154
    0
    Location:
    Santa Margarita, CA, USA
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    Thankyou for the spelling correction !
     
  11. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

    Joined:
    May 11, 2005
    111,711
    50,872
    0
    Location:
    boston
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    i hope the self driving cars arrive soon, so i can have a nap
     
  12. Templeton

    Templeton Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2024
    204
    55
    1
    Location:
    usa
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    SE
    Fat chance.
     
    bisco likes this.
  13. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2022
    1,269
    331
    0
    Location:
    Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    Bad idea. I once woke up to find myself behind the wheel of a moving vehicle that was safely doing the speed limit and centered on the lane. It still shocked my out of my senses. You don't want to find yourself in that situation, take my word for it.
     
  14. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2022
    1,269
    331
    0
    Location:
    Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    You are correct. I did have sleep apnea, and I went through the whole process, eventually getting a CPAP machine. Drowsiness while driving happens much less often now, but it still happens once in awhile.
     
  15. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    26,061
    17,033
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    My last day of high school followed some sleepless nights working on the yearbook (we were behind schedule). A classmate announced a party after school at his place. I had never been to his place before. It was on roads I hadn't used before.

    Twice, on my way there, I woke up to find myself safely doing the speed limit and centered on the lane and on the correct road, having somehow made a correct turn at a correct, unfamiliar, intersection, with no memory of having been there or making it.

    That was way before self-driving of any kind, and it was scary.

    The second time I woke up I saw there was a car behind me but it was following me at a very great distance. I can only assume that my speed and/or lane position hadn't been as predictable as I normally like to be.
     
  16. Templeton

    Templeton Member

    Joined:
    Jun 26, 2024
    204
    55
    1
    Location:
    usa
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    SE
    You are lucky to be alive.
     
  17. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 30, 2008
    26,061
    17,033
    0
    Location:
    Indiana, USA
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    IV
    Well, then, I'm twice as lucky, so nyeah. :)

    I guess it was Maya Angelou who said "This is a wonderful day. I've never seen this one before."
     
  18. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2022
    1,269
    331
    0
    Location:
    Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    Not as bad as it sounds. I was driving across Wyoming with a college buddy, and I said I was getting drowsy. I had the cruise control on, and he offered to steer from the passenger seat while I napped.

    I don't know how long I napped, but when I woke up, it was a shocking situation to wake up to. In that split second or so, you don't know how you found yourself in that situation, and panic.
     
  19. BiomedO1

    BiomedO1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2021
    2,647
    1,416
    0
    Location:
    SacTown, Ca
    Vehicle:
    2021 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    I don't know what you guys were thinking and your lucky to survive your teen years. Those old cruise control just maintained speed and though Wyoming; I'd guess you were doing at least 75-80mph with someone steering from the passenger seat??????
     
    Templeton likes this.
  20. Paul Gregory

    Paul Gregory Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2022
    1,269
    331
    0
    Location:
    Alberta
    Vehicle:
    2024 Prius Prime
    Model:
    XSE
    Yes, it was dumb, and it was the one and only time I tried it.