The importance of sleep for your mental health
With it being Mental Health Awareness Week we thought we’d put together some information on areas that are really important for people in the transport and logistic industry.
One of the first things that comes to mind when you think about HGV drivers is the fact that they are driving for long periods of time - day and night. The toll that this takes on your physical and mental health can be appreciated by anybody that has driven long distances.
So why is sleep so important for HGV drivers?
KEEPING HEALTHY
Firstly, not getting enough sleep can seriously affect your health. Consistently lacking sleep over a prolonged period of time can cause cardiovascular problems, reduce your immune system functionality and lead to obesity and/or diabetes.
On the other hand, getting plenty of high quality sleep is very healthy. Doing this will help your body to heal damaged cells, lower your blood pressure and improve your immune system. If you’re feeling unwell, sleep is the chance your body needs to repair and get you back to full health.
The majority of the physical benefits of your sleep occur during non rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, which makes up around 75% of your total sleep.
IMPROVING YOUR MOOD
Sleep is also directly linked to your mood, which again is linked to your mental health. If you don’t get enough sleep for a few nights, you might start to notice yourself getting grumpy or irritable, whereas a lack of sleep over a prolonged period of time can be a factor in depression and anxiety.
The other 25% of your sleep is REM (rapid eye movement), which is normally when you're having dreams - even if you don’t remember them. This isn’t a bad thing, as dreams help you to process emotions, memories and reduce the stresses of the day.
It is important to get enough sleep so that you are getting enough time for both NREM and REM sleep. This will help your mind and body recover fully and mean you wake up the next day feeling fresh.
STAYING SAFE
Probably the most relevant point specifically for HGV drivers is that by not getting enough sleep you are seriously affecting your ability to do your job. For example, after a bad night's sleep you may notice you have difficulty concentrating or absorbing and processing information. Therefore, if you’re driving for a living it’s vital that you get a good night’s sleep.
This is backed up by a report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, who found that drivers who only got 5-6 hours of sleep were 1.9 times more likely to be involved in an accident compared to those that got 7 hours or more sleep. To add to this, those that got less than 4 hours sleep were 11.5 times more likely to be in an accident.
Thankfully there has now been legislation put in place that supports HGV drivers, outlining maximum driving times and minimum rest periods. The next step of this is to ensure that there are enough quality, secure parking areas for long stays in vehicle cabins or finding suitable hotels for drivers.
WHAT WE’RE DOING
We understand that there are various things that HGV drivers want to get off their chest. That’s why we’ve created our ‘Open Space’ sessions where we invite drivers to come together and discuss any issues that they are currently experiencing with similar, like minded people who will understand.
To find out more about our sessions or to join the next one just head over to our Facebook page or drop us an email here.
