Stay Alert, Relieve Stress and Feel Better….All While Driving Your Truck or Sitting At Your Desk

Driving drowsy; stressed out about traffic, work and personal issues; heartburn, indigestion and headaches. Does any of this sound familiar (and I don’t mean from a Pepto-Bismol commercial)? Well, if you’re in the transportation industry it probably does. Whether you are a carrier, a broker, a freight forwarder, a manufacturer or really play a role in the transportation industry at all, you know how stressful it can be. Tums is like candy!

But truthfully the entire country depends on this industry for just about all of its goods. So what’s a person to do in order to combat the onslaught of the unfortunate side affects surrounding the added stress, lack of sleep, etc.?
Well, GLA wants to make sure you are staying current with some of the most up to date tips and solutions in the industry. We have compiled a few exercises and meditation techniques that should help you feel better on and off the road.

This week we want address a few easy stretching exercises to help keep you fresh, alert and more relaxed whether you are in the office or out on the road.

First off, let’s address one of the most important topics both on a off the road today; being overly drowsy. Working and especially driving drowsy is very dangerous and is a major contributor to loss of productivity as well as auto accidents in the United States. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration drowsy driving kills more than 1,550 people a year in the United States and causes 71,000 injuries. They also estimate that there are 100,000 sleep-related crashes each year across the country. So what can you do to help keep yourself alert and attentive? Here are a few exercises you can do while you are driving or while you sit at your desk to help revitalize your body and help stretch your muscles:

Stretch Exercise #1 - Shrug Your Shoulders
One of the easiest exercises that you can perform while driving or sitting at a desk is to shrug your shoulders. This may be a very simple exercise but it offers almost immediate results and helps ease your muscle pain. All you need to do here is inhale deeply and then shrug your shoulders up, towards your ears. Then you want to hold this position and drop after a few seconds. Repeat this a few times.

Stretch Exercise #2 - Wrist Stretch
This is an all around great exercise to do on the road or at the office. To perform this stretch you want to extend your arm in front of you with your palm up and then grab the fingers on your other hand. Gently pull hand down to stretch the forearm, and then repeat this with the other side.

Stretch Exercise #3 - Air Circles
This is another exercise that you can do right at your desk or in your cab. You want to start by clenching both of your fists, stretching your hands out straight in front of you. Then you want to make circles in the air with your hands, first in one direction and then in the other. Repeat this a few times. This helps to relieve the pain of your shoulder and neck muscles.

Stretch Exercise #4 - Torso Twist
The torso twist can be performed by inhaling and then exhaling as you turn to the right and grab the back of your chair with your right hand. Grab the arm of the chair with your left hand and then with your eyes level, you want to use your grasp on the chair to help you twist your torso around as far to the back of the room as possible. Continue until you feel a light pulling in your side, and just make sure that you do not push too hard because you do not want to sprain a muscle. **(This exercise is not recommended while you are operating a moving vehicle.)**

Stretch Exercise #5 - Chair Squat
If you have a few minutes at work, you may want to try the chair squat. To do this exercise you want to lift your butt off the seat periodically, and hold once you have lifted it up. Just make sure before you try this exercise that the chair is stable and you can also perform chair dips by placing your hands next to your hips, bending at the elbows, and lowering your body until you are at a 90º angle. **(This exercise is not recommended while you are operating a moving vehicle.)**

Stretch Exercise #6 - Front Raise
Yet another exercise that you can perform at work is the front raise. To do this you want to start by sitting in your chair, with your abdominal muscles and spine straight. Hold a water bottle in your right hand and then raise your right arm up to shoulder level. You want to hold this for a couple of seconds and then repeat on the other side.


As always thanks for stopping by and keep 'em loaded!


Best,
GLA