3 Strategies to Improving Truck Driver Health

With small, simple changes, a driver can begin to change lanes and turn their life around one step at a time.

1. Find five minutes each day to move on purpose: That may not seem like much, but we often bite off more than we can chew, and the overachiever, all or nothing approach to health will leave you giving up before you even try. So start small. Start with five minutes of continuous movement, walk laps around your truck, step up and down off your truck steps, do arm circles, clean your windshield; I know you can find something.

2. Go to bed five minutes early: Sleep is a constant effect on the truck driver health, and often the environment they are parked in for the night, but it can often be a lack of preparation for a good night's sleep. Going from over stimulation activities like scrolling Facebook, activities with overhead lights on, or listening to overstimulating music or T.V. show and then expect their brain to shut off the moment their head hits the pillow. Start small. Set a timer for five minutes, use that time to breathe deep, listen to relaxing music, or use aromatherapy to calm and relax your nervous system.

truck driver health

3. Drink one more bottle of water each day: Most drivers live on the verge of dehydration, and dehydration can be a front line cause of a slew of health complications from constipation, dizziness, muscle cramps, stomach pains, foggy vision, fatigue, and body aches and pains. Don’t like plain water, consider adding lemon to your water. No lemon insight? Stock up on the lemon packets from the truck stop to drop into your water. Drink up, start small, and focus on drinking one more bottle of water than you usually do. If you never drink water, well, now you are drinking one. If you drink four, now drink five. And be wise, at Mother Trucker Yoga, we teach our drivers when to drink water to maximize bathroom stops, not to let hydration impact their route.

Truck driver health doesn't have to be complicated and isn't just about exercising; with small, simple changes, you can begin to see the health and wellness benefits you have been dreaming about but can't seem to get to stick. Here's to the little things.
Location: Hartford, WI, USA

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