When truck drivers are healthy, everyone involved in the industry wins. Drivers feel better and experience less downtime due to injury or illness. Also, companies have employees that are more productive and are less likely to face costly worker’s compensation claims.  However, for professional truck drivers, living a healthy lifestyle while on the road is no easy task. Many barriers such as long work hours, poor nutritional habits and lack of sleep prevent drivers from maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Many truck drivers would like to change their lifestyles but do not know where to begin. As a result, I have designed an online health and wellness course specifically for professional truck drivers in partnership with CarriersEdge and based on the columns I’ve been writing for Truck News over the past several years. The goal of this course is to provide truck drivers with the knowledge and tools to begin living a healthy lifestyle while on and off the road.

The advantage of an online course is that drivers will be able to complete the course at their own pace at any location where an Internet connection is available. This interactive course has been designed to be interesting, informative and interactive. Upon completion of the course, drivers will receive a certificate of completion.

There are three cornerstones to promoting good health: diet, exercise and the proper amount of sleep. This course will discuss the importance of each component, how they fit together and how drivers can change their habits to increase their wellbeing.

At the end of this course, participants will be able to: explain how fatigue affects driving ability and how to detect when they might be fatigued on the road; describe how circadian rhythms affect your body and your sleep; explain the obstacles to getting good sleep on the road and list methods of overcoming sleep obstacles; list the health hazards of not maintaining a healthy weight as a driver; describe the four food groups and how to read a nutrition label; and list examples of activities you can do to begin an exercise routine.

Drivers will also learn about: the importance of hand washing to avoid spreading germs or catching a virus; sneezing properly; properly lifting a heavy object; and the importance of core muscles to a driver and how to strengthen these muscles. The course takes about two hours to complete. For more information, don’t hesitate to call me at 519-421-2024 or e-mail me at chris_singh@sympatico.ca.