Fitness and Exercise
Starting an exercise program is not as challenging as maintaining
one for the rest of your life. You probably already know that regular
exercise will improve heart and lung functioning and reduce the risk
of heart disease. Just 30 minutes of activity three times per week
can help relieve mental and physical tension and aid in controlling
your weight.
Just Do It
Make a commitment to exercise whether you start a new routine or find
a more active way of doing the things you're doing now.
Build up slowly
If you're not used to exercising, make sure that it's medically safe
to begin. Then, be sure to warm up and cool down to avoid injury.
Make Exercise a Regular Habit
You'll only stay fit as long as you exercise, so find the time for
at least 30 minutes three times a week. Set realistic goals and include
activities that you enjoy like walking, swimming or cycling.
Health and Safety
As important as it is, there's more to health and safety than avoiding
drugs and alcohol. The leading causes of death and disability in North
America - heart disease, cancer, diabetes - are often the result of
poor lifestyle habits that can be modified in order to reduce your
risk.
A Healthy Diet
By now most people know there is a definite relationship between diet
and health. Still, a large number of people are overweight, have high
blood pressure or high cholesterol levels - all contributing factors
for diseases such as diabetes, stroke and cancer. For truckers, eating
on the road presents a tough challenge. Still, it can be done.
Mental Stress
Your life is extremely stressful. The long hours behind the wheel,
demanding deadlines, and sometimes difficult traffic and weather conditions,
which are beyond your control, are all contributing factors to your
stress.
Don't make excuses. Commit to a more healthful diet and regular
exercise and stick with it.
Remember, Sleep Is Not An Option!
Last, but by no means least, remember that sleep is not an option
or a luxury - it's a necessity! No matter how tight your deadline,
or how long your haul, make sure you make time for sleep. And not
just a ten-minute catnap by the side of the road, but a solid seven
or eight hours a night. Lack of sleep can impair your judgement, slow
your reflexes and damage your overall health by lowering your resistance
to disease.
Out on the highway it can be deadly!
There are no substitutes for sleep - not coffee, not stimulants.
So just plan ahead, and make sure your schedule allows for enough
sleep. If it doesn't change it so it does. Some things are negotiable,
but your life shouldn't be one of them.
Fighting Fatigue
"Fatigue" is a general term which refers to many ways of
feeling, including sleepiness, depression, tiredness, exhaustion following
heavy activity, and others. On-going fatigue can make you alarmingly
prone to mistakes and accidents. One of the most alarming consequences
of fatigue, especially for drivers, is falling asleep during daily
activities. Most people are familiar with the feeling of fighting
off sleep while driving or while sitting at the desk after an occassional
night of poor or too little sleep. These occassional sleep problems
could result in extremely high levels of fatigue, causing some people
to quickly give in to the urge of falling asleep.
Fatigue Affects Your Performance
Regardless of the cause of fatigue, mild levels of fatigue may not
result in any difficulty with daytime functioning when an individual
is mentally active or moving around. However, even mild fatigue can
lead to falling asleep under boring or monotonous conditions such
as long distance driving or reading the newspaper while comfortably
seated. In the proper setting, therefore, even mild fatigue can be
dangerous. Higher levels of fatigue can lead to falling asleep during
even more challenging activities; people who are severely fatigued
have been known to fall asleep while speaking, writing, and even eating.
Fatigue can cause other types of problems. Some people's minds become
"foggy" and they begin to find it difficult to concentrate
on what they are doing. Others may find it difficult to remember recent
events, such as what exit they drove by only ten minutes ago. They
may also find that they begin to operate as if on "autopilot,"
(i.e., continue to perform tasks while partially asleep). One example
of this phenomenon is the trucker who drives for a long distance and
suddenly becomes aware that he cannot recollect what happened during
the last half hour of his drive.
Fatigue can also lead to an increase in the time it takes to react to emergency situations, such as moving the foot from the gas pedal to the brake pedal in response to oncoming traffic or a child running in front of a truck.
Fatigue and Your Well-Being
Fatigue could cause you to experience any or all of the following
consequences:
Drinking alcohol can also aggravate the effects of fatigue. Therefore,
even mildly fatigued individuals can have difficulty staying awake
during the day after a small drink.
In an effort to stay awake, some people may turn to caffeine and
over-the-counter anti-sleep drugs. These crutches are not the answer,
either. Even though stimulants keep your body awake, your mind is
not as alert. Needless to say, professional drivers are particularly
at risk if they are fatigued. Their work schedules are ofetn more
irregular, and therefore more fatiguing, than the typical nine-to-five
office job.
Sleep Is NOT An Option!
Last, but by no means least, remember that sleep is not an option
or a luxury - it's a necessity!
You need to get enough proper sleep for your body's needs so you are
driving fatigue-free in all circumstances. If you aren't getting good
quality sleep you will definitely feel tired. Even with your hectic
schedule, you can develop a sleep routine that provides you with the
energy and mental alertness that will get you through your days and
nights safely.
Stress Management
There are a number of effective ways to deal with the physical consequences
of stress. What's harder to deal with, and even more important, is
your state of mind. Learning to control expressions of hostility,
anger and resentment is the key to getting a handle on stress.
Stress can so overwhelm you and fill you with anger, that after a
while all you tend to see are the negative things in your life. Minor
problems seem larger than life, and your reactions can become overblown
and out of proportion. Quite literally, your thought process can become
distorted, causing you to make negative assumptions and expect the
worst when there's no real cause to be thinking that way.
You may think that the tight delivery deadline, the traffic jam or
the inconsiderate customer is the source of your stress. But, in actuality,
it's how you react to these conditions which may cause undue
tension and frustration.
The difference in attitude and resulting degree of built up stress
is simply a function of how the individual driver reacts within
himself/herself to the situation. It's a matter of convincing
yourself to "stay cool" and not let the circumstances get
the best of you.
Exercise
One of the best ways to release the tension caused by stress is to
work it off with exercise. Twenty to thirty minutes of vigorous exercise
three times a week will help you cope, reduce your risk of heart disease
and control your weight.
Aerobic exercise is best - it conditions your heart and lungs by
increasing your heart rate. While you're on the road, you can walk
and run. In your off hours, bicycling or swimming are great ways to
relieve tension. Physical activities like softball, bowling or football
won't condition your heart and lungs like aerobic exercise, but they
can be enjoyable and relax you.
Be sure to check with your doctor before starting to exercise to determine a safe and effective program for you.
A Healthy Diet
You can't turn on the TV or pick up the newspaper anymore without
hearing about the importance of a healthy diet in reducing your
risk of heart attack, cancer and other diseases. What's not often
discussed, though, is the relationship between diet and stress.
What you eat can affect your emotional well-being, as well as your
physical fitness.
For instance, too much caffeine can make you feel jittery and keep
you from getting enough sleep. This can create a vicious cycle in
which you're tired all of the time, so you drink more coffee, which
makes you feel more on edge, and so on.
Another problem is how much you eat when you're under stress. Many
people respond to stress by overeating. Cut down on foods high in
fat like eggs, butter, red meat and cheeses. They slow you down. Try
to build your meals around complex carbohydrates like bread, rice,
potatoes, pasta, fruit and vegetables. They give you long lasting
energy. Cut back on foods high in sugar and salt like candy and potato
chips. Sugar gives short-lived energy and salt is bad for your blood
pressure.
Music: A Pleasant Diversion
Music has a powerful effect on the mind and body. When you're on the
road, play music and don't be afraid to sing or whistle along. You'll
be amazed at how effective music can be in helping you relax.
Get Enough Sleep
Lack of sleep can interfere with your ability to concentrate and respond
quickly to emergency situations. It can also make you irritable and
start your day off on a down note.
TWO RULES TO REMEMBER
As you move through each day encountering various sources of stress,
there are two "rules" to remember:
- Don't Sweat the Small Stuff, and
- Most of It's Small Stuff
Healthful Eating
By now most people know there is a definite relationship between diet
and health. Still, a large number of people are overweight, have high
blood pressure or high cholesterol levels - all contributing factors
for diseases such as diabetes, stroke and cancer.
A Healthy Diet
For truckers, eating on the road presents a tough challenge. Still,
it can be done.
Carbohydrates, Fuel for the Furnace: Carbohydrates are the
food source that gives you the energy to do your job, participate
in sports, wash the car, etc. When you think of carbohydrates, you
might think of bread and potatoes, which is correct. But pasta, rice
and cereal, fruit, vegetables, pretzels, peas and corn are also considered
"complex carbohydrates." So your best bet is to look for
the complex carbohydrates mentioned above for a higher, longer lasting
energy level and an overall feeling of well-being.
Protein, The Body's Building Blocks: Another important group
of nutrients are proteins. These substances are the building blocks
for all of the cells in your body, and are absolutely essential to
life. However, most of us get much more protein in our diets than
we really need. Also, protein that comes from animal sources often
carries with it the high fat content of those foods.
So choose low fat sources of protein like chicken without the skin,
fish (not shellfish), and legumes (beans). And try to eat less of
these in general. Instead concentrate more on the carbohydrates.
Fat, Something Else to Steer Clear Of: You have probably heard
more than you wanted to about the danger of fatty foods. While some
fat is necessary in our diets, most people eat foods that are much
too high in fats. The result is a high rate of heart disease, diabetes
and certain types of cancer.
A high fat diet can also leave you feeling sluggish. Fats take a long time to digest, and they can make you very uncomfortable as they just sit there in your stomach.
Healthful Eating Hits The Road
Many professional drivers we talked to said that the chief obstacle
to healthful eating was the fact that they eat out often, especially
at fast food restaurants and truck stops.
It isn't easy to make healthy choices under these circumstances.
But it is possible. In fact, it's getting easier all the time to find
healthful meals on the road. Here are some things to remember when
you're eating on the road:
Eat Smarter
Eat for nourishment, not out of nervousness, boredom or as a release
for anger. Get regular exercise and adjust the amount you eat based
on the amount of exercise you do. You'll feel better, look better
and increase your energy level.
