September 9, 2025
With long hours on the road, it can be difficult to lead a healthy lifestyle from the driver’s seat. Fortunately, it’s now easier than ever to stay in shape while on the go. Follow these seven truck driver health tips to aid in your personal health when you’re behind the wheel.
How to Stay Healthy as a Truck Driver
Just like a driver plans out the day’s route, observing healthy essentials is easy with a bit of foresight. The cab is your office, so take advantage of the area and make the space work for you. Below, you’ll find a collection of truck driver health tips to get started.
Drink Water
We know truck drivers can’t be stopping constantly for bathroom breaks but you need to find a happy medium and stay hydrated. Health authorities recommend eight, 8-ounce glasses of water per day, about half a gallon of water. Water also keeps you full and regulates your body temperature. Drinking the recommended amount helps keep you healthy and hydrated. What’s more, proper hydration leads to more restful nights. Humans are already 60% water so don’t neglect your H2O!
Avoid Unnecessary Stimulants
It’s easy to stop by a gas station for some coffee or a caffeinated beverage to stay energized, just don’t count on those drinks throughout the day to keep you moving. Although they do offer a boost of energy, in the long run they can damage your health. Beverages like energy drinks can even lead to gastrointestinal as well as hearth issues.
Include more fruits and vegetables into your diet, which provide your body with much needed nutrients and give you the natural energy you need for long drives. By observing other health tips listed here, you can practice preventive health and reduce the need to ever use stimulants.
Protect Yourself From the Sun
Be aware of how much sun you are being exposed to on the road at all times. Too much exposure from the sun can lead to sunburns and skin cancer. Wear sunglasses, apply sunscreen and avoid too much direct sunlight exposure. Even applying sunscreen to just your left arm and left side of the face can go a long way toward reducing skin damage. Learn what kind of tinting protections are available for truck windows and consider wearing a brimmed hat whenever stepping outside your cab for more than 10 minutes.
Get Your Rest: Observe the 60/70 Rule in Trucking
Getting sleep from the road takes planning but it’s most likely mandated by your employer. Commonly known as the “60/70 hour rule,” this industry legislation limits drivers to working up to 60 hours over a seven-day stretch and up to 70 hours for an eight-day period. After this working time has elapsed, drivers are required to observe a minimum 34-hour break period.
Although it is more difficult to sleep on the road, it is essential to get at least six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep in order to function and arrive to your destinations safely. Sleep isn’t just downtime, it’s a biological process critical to recovery and performance. Structured into 90-minute cycles, sleep follows our circadian rhythm, the internal clock that regulates rest.
Avoid Meat & Fatty Foods
Meat and food rich in fat content are hard to pass up when you are looking for something to eat quickly. Too much meat and fatty foods on the go, though, are unhealthy. Implement plant-based foods such as avocados, potatoes, spinach, legumes, nuts and seeds into your diet. These foods will help with digestion and keep you fuller for longer periods of time. Having too much candy, meat and chips can clog your arteries, leading to heart complications behind the wheel.
Manage Your Stress
One of the least talked about truck driver health tips, managing truck driver stress while on the road is essential to your health. Plan to allow yourself enough time to get to your destinations to avoid the pressure of rushing, which can also lead to accidents. Listening to your favorite music or audiobooks to keep you centered will also do wonders for your health.
The average life expectancy for a truck driver is 61 years in the U.S., over a decade below the general population. To mitigate stress-related issues affecting your life expectancy, it’s just as important to manage anxiety on the road as it is while you’re not working. Doing so can positively impact both your overall health and career as a truck driver.
Take Advantage of Exercise Opportunities
Follow the rules of the road to fitness. It is important during long drives to stop when time allows for stretching and exercise to move those muscles and reduce tension. When you pull into a truck stop or other destination where you can safely exit the cab, walk around a bit to increase blood flow and get some fresh air. This helps offset some of the issues associated with sitting down for long periods of time. Also consider implementing a push-up and sit-up regime when you pull over and try yoga stretching exercises to keep you limber.
Adding these truck driver health tips into your everyday life will help you stay healthy and fit on long drives where you have to sit for long periods of time.
Drive with ABCO
ABCO Transportation specializes in temperature-sensitive freight. We embrace diversity and provide competitive wages and excellent benefits to employees. If you’re ready to get behind the driver’s seat while staying healthy with a company that cares about its drivers, contact us today. We offer fantastic driver benefits and would love to speak to you about our truck driving opportunities.