Staying healthy and fit on the road is not easy by any means but is critical if you are committed to creating a sustainable career. Not only do you need your health to be in top condition to live a happy life, you also need your fitness on the road for health and safety.
By not making your health a priority you could end up suffering from illness and sickness more often, struggle with backpain, or struggle to manage your fatigue from long hours on the road. All of these ailments lead to nothing more than danger on the road.
So we have put together a list of critical health management points. All pointers are taken from our years of experience in the trucking industry, and have not been medically endorsed so use this as a guide only.
- Get enough sleep. This is the most important point of all, which is exactly why we put this at the top of the list. Driving long distances is not easy; skipping sleep can even have detrimental effects on your memory and learning ability. Sleeping in the truck or strange hotel / motel rooms night after night and at odd hours is obviously challenge so we recommend that you buy a white noise machine and definitely invest in the right pillow.
- Avoid Drugs. This includes the seemingly harmless drugs like sleeping tablets, excessive alcohol and recreational drugs. Now we’re not here to lecture you, and it is just a recommendation. But taking drugs of any kind is a dangerous cycle of reliance that’s almost impossible to break.
- Eating Well. We know this is one of the hardest but valuable ways of improving your overall health but it’s worth aiming to include fruit and vegetables at every meal (and no, the peas in your Yatala pie don’t really count). By eating healthy you will improve your overall health; you may end up losing weight, boosting your immune system, and sleeping better.
- Quit Smoking. Cigarette smoking is the number one cause of preventative disease and death, so by quitting you decrease your risk of heart disease, cancer and other smoking related diseases. There are many tips on how to break this smoking habit but one of the most successful ways of doing this is by breaking the habit. So the times and places where you usually smoke should be avoided.
Stop Smoking & Start Repairing - Manage your diabetes risk. This is critical – a 2009 study found that Truck Drivers are at high risk of developing diabetes due to the nature of their jobs, so following the above health tips is even more important to avoid this job related predisposition.
- Drink enough Water. Water is one of the most undervalued elixirs of health! It can help you regulate your body temperature in hot conditions, aid all bodily movements and help you lose weight.
- Use Thongs at a Truck Driver Shower stop. Avoid fungal infections that are usually spread in shared showering locations by using thongs and wearing shoes everywhere you go.
- Exercise more. This is hard if you are on the road and trying to hit tight deadlines but we recommend that you exercise at least 150 minutes a week and do strength training for overall strength and avoidance of illnesses such as arthritis.
- Limit stress levels. Stress can have an extremely negative affect on your life and lead to negative physical and mental health.
- Spend time with loved ones. Avoid getting lonely by making sure you keep in touch with loved ones on the road.
We hope these tips have helped – we wish you all the best in staying fit and healthy on the road!
Best wishes,
The Drivers Team
