One minute I’m driving along the freeway minding my own business, the next I’m veering out of my lane on a direct collision course with an expensive looking BMW SUV. 

Crap!

I swerve back into my lane, hands gripping the wheel tight, heart pounding, adrenaline pumping.

I try to remember driving the last few miles but all I get is a big blank. Scary!

It’s Thanksgiving Day 2016, and I’m driving home after a big lunch party with friends. I’m a little short on sleep from the night before, and that combined with good food, a glass of wine, and too many helpings of Pecan Pie doesn’t make for the most alert driving.

I must have been zoning out for a few minutes, and then experienced what is known as a Microsleep. A temporary lapse of consciousness followed by regained awareness. The scary thing about microsleep is that often you don’t even realize it happened. You think you just lost focus for a few seconds, unless, you know, you just side-swiped a $70K car. Or worse, ran yourself or someone else off the road.

Turns out, driving while sleepy is surprisingly dangerous. It’s estimated that drowsy driving was responsible for a whopping 6,000 fatal crashes and 328,000 total crashes in the US in 2014 (AAA, CDC), and these numbers are probably under-reported. This is almost twice as bad as texting or distracted driving (3179 fatalities in 2014), and only 40% less than drunk driving (9967 fatalities in 2014).

That burst of adrenaline is starting to wear off and I can feel the drowsiness coming back over me like a wave. I’m driving Highway 17, a notoriously windy mountain highway in Northern California with few opportunities to pull over.

Double Crap!

OK, I know, I’ll call my girlfriend.

“Hey babe, can you talk for a bit? I’m literally falling asleep at the wheel!”

We chat for a bit and then she says “Why don’t you sing? That’s what I do, ever since that Yoga of the Voice workshop with Silvia Nakkach.”

OK, OK, so my girlfriend and her instructor should really get the credit for saving my life. But right after she mentioned singing, I got this sudden visual of Mike Myers belting out Bohemian Rhapsody, with the help of his buddies in the movie Wayne’s World.

Excellent!

I started off chanting vowel sounds like some kind of over-fed Tibetan monk. Deep breath in, then a long drawn out “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh” on the out breath.

After a while I got bored of that, and started singing actual songs. I already had a bunch popping into my head – Lucky Man, Born to be Wild, Brown Eyed Girl, Wish you were here, Otherside…

I can’t pretend that I knew all the lyrics, but when I didn’t I’d hum or do mouth guitar to fill those bits.

And guess what?

It worked. Like. A. Charm!

And not only that, I had a blast doing it. Before I knew it I was home, safe and sound with not even a hint of drowsiness.

This experience was notably different from just cranking up the volume of my music. I was actively singing and creating sounds.

In the past I would have struggled on with less effective methods like chewing mint gum, opening the windows, or blasting loud music. I probably wouldn’t have pulled over to nap, unless I was on a much longer drive.

Irresponsible?

Yes. Very.

It would have been another 30 minutes of seriously risky driving.

Now, I was intensely curious to find out why singing kept me awake so effectively. There’s plenty of research about the health benefits of singing, but I couldn’t find anything about increased alertness or postponement of drowsiness. I can only guess that it was some combination of increased oxygen intake, endorphins, oxytocin, improved immune function, or perhaps some interaction with the Vagus nerve. But, whatever it was, the singing kept me alert and non-drowsy for the remaining 30 minutes of my drive home.

The nights are still drawing in, Holiday Season is getting into full swing and I really don’t want a repeat of my sleepy Thanksgiving misadventure. To be better prepared I now have a “Sing-a-long” playlist on my phone (iTunes and Spotify).

So if you just happen to be driving in the SF Bay Area, and you just happen to spot an engineer-looking version of Wayne belting out classic rock, well, don’t be a stranger – give me a wave!

Got any stories about how singing has unexpectedly helped you? Have any other tried and true techniques to stay awake? Know of any research linking singing with alertness? Shoot me a comment, I’d love to hear about it!

TIPS

1. Can’t Sing: If you think your voice sounds like crap, or you can’t sing – well, yeah, that’s what I used to think. Don’t worry, you don’t need to sound good, and there’s no-one else around to listen. Pick songs that you know get your feet tapping, then just try to hum along. Or for you yoga types, you can do some long drawn out “Oms” or other mantras.
2. Sing not Listen: Just listening to music won’t cut it. You have to be actively singing. Sing along to the radio or your playlist, sure, but keep singing or making sound even during instrumental sections for the full effect. You can do mouth guitar or beat boxing, anything to stay vocal and hence keep awake.
3. Effective but limited: I believe active singing will keep you driving safely those last 30-45 minutes home or to a place where you can pull over and rest. But this is not meant to keep you going during super long distance drives or while significantly sleep deprived. If you’re still struggling to stay awake, don’t fight it. Pull over and take a break.

RESOURCES

1. Definition of Microsleep on Wikipedia
2. Prevalence of Motor Vehicle Crashes involving Drowsy Driving study by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
3. Drowsy Driving: Asleep at the wheel article by the CDC
4. Distracted Driving: Facts and Statistics page at distraction.gov
5. Impaired Driving: Get the facts article by the CDC
6. Yoga of the Voice by Silvia Nakkach
7. Bohemian Rhapsody Car Scene from the Wayne’s World movie
8. The benefits of singing in a choir article from Gresham College, London
9. Performance of music elevates pain threshold and positive affect: implications for the evolutionary function of music study by University of Oxford
10. Does singing promote well-being?: An empirical study of professional and amateur singers during a singing lesson by the National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health, Stockholm
11. Effects of choir singing or listening on secretory immunoglobulin A, cortisol, and emotional state by the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt
12. Music structure determines heart rate variability of singers by University of Gothenburg, Sweden