No ‘sleeping beauties’ allowed

People will frown at you; they will mock you and will often tell you go to bed earlier and not sleep on the job. Then there are those who make fun of your snoring.

It’s easy for them to say these things because they don’t really know what you are going through. The problem is you also don’t know the “why.” Yes, ignorant people can be so judgmental and as a result, people die directly or indirectly.

Take, for instance, that road crash on the SCTEX last May 1, 2025, that left 10 dead and 37 injured, according to news reports. The initial assumption was over speeding, but things got weirder when authorities concluded that the bus driver fell asleep at the wheel.

Once the scene of the accident was cleared, the driver arrested and lost his license and the bus company sued for P50 million, everybody moved on to the next story. But last week, my friend Dr. Mike Sarte called me and offered an interesting angle to it all.

For context, Dr. Michael Sarte heads the Sleep Lab at the Rizal Medical Center and is one of the pioneers in the Philippines when it comes to sleep-affected ailments such as sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition and Dr. Sarte raised the possibility that a number of long-haul bus drivers could be suffering from sleep apnea or some other condition without even realizing it.

Google defines sleep apnea as “a sleep-related breathing disorder in which repetitive pauses in breathing, periods of shallow breathing or collapse of the upper airway during sleep results in poor ventilation and sleep disruption.”

In severe cases, patients literally stop breathing due to the obstruction and end up waking in shock, gasping for air. No, they were not having a nightmare as others think, they were literally out of breath or choking.

Most people talk about the snoring but pay no attention to the fatigue, stress to the heart and brain fog that can all lead to death or shorter life span. Which brings us to the possible connection of sleep apnea or sleep disorders and vehicular accidents.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic in the US estimates that drowsy driving may cause 328,000 motor vehicle accidents and 64,000 fatal crashes on US roads each year. Another article suggests that drivers suffering from sleep apnea have 2.5 times more chances of getting into a motor vehicle accident.

With this in mind, Dr. Sarte reached out to the chairman of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, Asec. Teofilo Guadiz III, to share the information and suggested a form of cooperation between the LTFRB and RMC in order to screen potential risks for those suffering from sleep apnea.

To his credit, chairman Guadiz welcomed the suggestion but expressed concern that the bus operators may not be willing to take on the added cost for sleep lab studies of drivers.

While I understand the chairman’s concern and experience with bus operators, requiring more than an EENT check-up and drug tests should be the standard for drivers of large commercial vehicles, especially commuter and tourist buses.

But what’s good about the suggestion of Dr. Sarte is that the Rizal Medical Center has a complete sleep lab that I myself have gone through. As for costs, it turns out that PhilHealth provides coverage for the sleep lab study.

If that is the case, bus drivers suspected of having sleep apnea could be tested under “No Balance Billing.” By requiring the sleep lab study, bus operators will effectively eliminate or lower the percentage of motor vehicle accidents as well as civil and criminal cases that cost millions.

As far as I know, the LTFRB will soon be meeting on the matter with RMC director Dr. Rica Lumague and Dr. Mike Sarte.

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Speaking from experience, there is another medical condition that made me sleep “uncontrollably” and I found out that there were more people suffering from it than I imagined.

Imagine yourself having a good night’s sleep, attending meetings or being at work and inexplicably dozing off. People I worked with looked at me with disdain, told me to go to bed and not stay up late. The problem was I was doing all that.

The curious part was when I took hot showers, I would end up getting itchy all over. After consulting with several physicians (30 years ago) they determined that I was suffering from polycythemia vera, where my bone marrow over produced red blood cells to dangerous levels.

The disease is actually seen among senior citizens or elderly folks, but I got it in my late 30s which was unusual. At the time, the only remedy was to remove a bag of blood every two weeks or as may be necessary in order to prevent a stroke, heart attack and stop the “sleep attack” and itchy back.

I was told that it could be a lifelong process or until my RBC normalized. By sheer coincidence or divine intervention, I went on a 40-day fast, which was actually abstinence from all types of meat. I did it in relation to Lent and nothing more.

But by God’s grace, the 40-day fast resulted in my red blood cell levels normalizing and my polycythemia vera condition disappearing. I was no longer “Sleeping Ugly” at work, I was healed!

If you have reason to believe you have sleep apnea or polycythemia vera or some sleep disorder, please don’t ignore it. Go see your doctor ASAP!

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