Opinion: Adding 15 Years to the Driver’s Life

By Stuart Lowenthal

hief Operating Officer

ealthScreenings Inc.

American men live an average of 76 years. Male truck drivers in America live an average of 61 years, according to Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, a Toronto researcher. If you do the math, you find that truck drivers lose out on 15 years of life. So for males, if you are an over-the-road driver, statistically you will not live nearly as long as your counterparts in other industries.

Those numbers should shock, sadden and enrage every truck driver. Hopefully, they will also make drivers ready to take action. The good news is that there are changes — pretty simple ones — that can make a dramatic difference. I call it the “five-for-15 exchange” — five lifestyle changes for 15 years of life.

Frankly, we’ve all heard about these five steps. Health and wellness get a lot of lip service; but sometimes we need to keep hearing it until it sinks in. “Life is short” may be a cliché, but in trucking it is also a fact. With that in mind, here goes:

Exchange 1: Stop Smoking.

here is no other way to say this. Smoking is an addiction, which will eventually shorten your life. Unfortunately, 54% of truck drivers smoke, vs. less than 20% of the adult male population. If you smoke, statistics say that you will die in one of two ways: a cardiovascular problem (stroke or heart attack) or by contracting bronchitis or emphysema (a long, painful death). Neither option is appealing. You must handle smoking like any adiction: Get professional help.

If your health isn’t incentive enough, perhaps your wallet will be. The cost of cigarettes is now around $3 per pack. Smokers increase the cost of hospital insurance for everyone. They also have an increased number of illnesses compared with the rest of the population. And there are countless little added costs, such as the need to replace clothing more often, burns on furniture, etc. Enough said.

Exchange 2: Get in Gear.

stole this title from the Gettin’ in Gear program designed especially for the trucking industry. Simply put, it means putting good food — premium food — in your body. It’s not as hard as it sounds: Drink about two quarts of liquids daily — juice and water, not Cokes or coffee. Take a multivitamin every day. It is an additive, which your body needs and craves. Take one baby aspirin every day or one adult aspirin every other day. This will help reduce the risk of a heart attack. Ultimately, it’s our choice: Be healthy or unhealthy. It is also a daily battle we all have to fight.

Exchange 3: Avoid Stripping Your Gears.

n other words, reduce stress. Once again, there are simple things you can do. One is to listen to music. Research shows that listening to music one hour or so a day is relaxing and calming (rap music and heavy metal don’t count). You can also disarm your stress by realizing that you cannot control other people’s behavior. You can only control your reactions to their behavior.

Here are a couple more ideas: Take advantage of family support. Keep in touch. Call home often, send postcards and letters occasionally. Do whatever it takes to keep that support system strong. Finally, realize that reacting to anger or stress is a habit — a bad habit we place on ourselves. You have to work hard to break the habit. You may also need some professional help. If so, get it.

Exchange 4: Take a True Rest Stop: Sleep.

his is not really an option. Consider the results of a 1999 national study performed at the University of Pennsylvania. It clearly showed that lack of sleep profoundly reduces your performance. Getting only four to six hours of time in bed a night, vs. eight hours, markedly impairs safety within one week. There is no substitute for sleep.

But “I can’t get to sleep,” some of you are saying. Here are four pointers:

1. Try taking melatonin — a substance the brain generates for sleep.
2. Avoid alcohol — it doesn’t permit REM (deep) sleep
3. Avoid smoking — it constricts blood vessels.
4. Avoid chocolate and caffeine — they are stimulants which make it hard to fall asleep.

Exchange 5: Enter the Tone Zone.

have lots of gloomy statistics on the effects of not getting enough exercise, but they aren’t helpful. We all know that moderate exercise is just good common sense. Here’s how to get started:

1. Find a time you will exercise five times a week.
2. Start somewhere. Walking one to five minutes might be all you care to do. Do it! The idea is to make the period so short that you can’t rationalize not doing it. You can build from there. You’ll get rewards even from minimal efforts.

Are these efforts worth it? Consider what you would do with 15 extra years. Perhaps you would learn a new hobby, spend time with your spouse or watch your grandchildren grow. Perhaps you would simply kick back and enjoy life.

Whatever your choice, making this five-for-15 trade might just give you the opportunity to choose. Five lifestyle changes for 15 years of life. It’s a good deal!

Mr. Lowenthal has spent 30 years in health care and founded HealthScreenings Inc. in Louisville, Ky., in 1999, which works almost exclusively with trucking and offers an array of driver wellness programs.