12 Ways to Stay Comfortable When You Drive for a Living

Do you spend almost all day sitting behind the wheel of a car or truck to earn a living?

Maybe you're one of the 2 million ridesharing drivers operating throughout the U.S. Or maybe you're one of the roughly 3.5 million truck drivers driving all across the country on a regular basis.

Either way, you know the toll that driving can take on your body and mind. It might seem as though it would be easy to sit and drive for hours on end. But if you don't take the proper precautions, it can actually wreak havoc on you and cause things like back pain to set in.

If you drive for work day in and day out, it's important for you to take good care of yourself so that you're as comfortable as you can be at all times. Whether you're an Uber driver or Lyft driver, a truck driver, or someone else who drives a lot, there are steps you can take to stay comfy in your car or truck.

Here are 12 ways to stay comfortable when you drive for a living.

1. Prepare for a Day of Driving by Getting Plenty of Sleep at Night

Studies have shown that about one-third of people have a hard time falling asleep every single night. Additionally, almost 70% of people struggle to sleep at least once throughout the course of a normal week.

If you fall into either of these two categories, it's going to make life difficult for you when you drive for work. You're going to get almost every day off to a rough start if you're not well-rested before getting behind the wheel.

It's important for you to make it your mission to get the recommended amount of sleep each and every night if you're going to be driving around all day long. It'll ensure that both your body and your mind feel good and are ready for what awaits them once you begin your day.

2. Make Sure Your Vehicle Is Ready to Hit the Open Road

It's going to be awfully hard for you to get comfortable in your vehicle when you drive for work if you're constantly getting in and out of it to check on one aspect of it or another. If you're always jumping out of your car to pop the hood or kick the tires, it's going to result in your body breaking down on you.

It's also going to frustrate you beyond belief. Who wants to spend all day trying to get a vehicle to work the way it's supposed to?

It's why it's so important for you to do the proper maintenance on your vehicle and to inspect it before you begin driving in it for the day. It'll help you steer clear of having to pull over all the time to take care of problems that pop up.

3. Create a Comfortable Spot for You to Sit in Your Vehicle

If you drive for work, you're going to be spending a ton of time with your vehicle's driver's seat. You and that seat are going to become best friends before too long, which is why you should make sure that it's as comfortable as you can get it.

It's easy to do this when you have access to the right accessories. By sticking something like this Memory Foam Seat Cushion and Back Cushion on top of your driver's seat, you'll make it significantly more comfortable than it would be otherwise.

You'll find that these kinds of cushions will provide you with support in all the right places. They'll also help you manage any aches and pains that you might have in your back, your legs, your hips, and more.

They can even help you alleviate the chronic pain that so often accompanies arthritis, sciatica, stenosis, and herniated discs. You'll wonder why you ever considered driving without them once you see the huge difference they make.

4. Bring a Bunch of Other Travel Accessories Along With You in Your Vehicle

The cushions that you stick on top of your driver's seat shouldn't be the only travel accessories that you choose to bring with you when you drive for work. There are also a whole host of other travel accessories that would be ideal for anyone who spends long hours driving around.

This Gel Infused Memory Foam Travel Pillow, for example, is something that you'll want to have handy in your vehicle when you pull over to rest for a few minutes. It'll sure beat trying to get some shuteye with your head pressed up against your driver's side window.

5. Stretch Your Body Out Before Climbing Into Your Vehicle to Drive

Many people who drive for work make the mistake of waking up in the morning and jumping right into their vehicles to drive without doing any stretching. Then, they wonder why they feel so stiff a short time after they start driving.

Don't make this mistake! There are lots of different stretches that you can use to loosen your body up before you climb into your vehicle. Some of the best stretches for people who drive for work are:

• Lying lower back stretch
• Standing hamstring stretch
• Shoulder rolling
• Forward head stretch

There are also some stretches you can do while you're in your vehicle if you want. You might want to think about doing a few of them while you're idling in your vehicle and starting to feel your body tense up.

6. Practice Perfect Posture From the Moment You First Get Into Your Vehicle

Poor posture is one of the leading causes of back pain among both those who drive for work and those who work in an office all day. If you don't practice good posture when you're sitting down, it's going to come back to bite you eventually.

The good news is that, as long as you invest in the seat and back cushions that we mentioned earlier, you shouldn't have too much trouble practicing perfect posture. These cushions will encourage you to sit up straight with your back against the back of your seat so that poor posture doesn't have an impact on you.

But if you feel yourself slouching at any point in your driver's seat, you should snap yourself out of it as quickly as you can. Slouching in your seat is inevitably going to lead to back pain if you're not careful.

7. Make It a Point to Pull Over and Take a Break From Driving Every Few Hours

Once you start driving around for work and get yourself into a nice groove, you're going to be tempted to continue driving for as long as you can. You are, after all, going to be missing out on making money in most cases every time you take your vehicle off the road.

But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't still take breaks. In fact, you should make it a point to pull over at least every two to three hours to take a break for 15 or 20 minutes.

It'll give you time to get out and stretch your body, and it'll also allow your mind to take it easy for a few minutes. You'll usually find that you feel more comfortable and more focused when you take regular breaks from driving.

8. Try Your Best to Eat Healthy Meals While You're Out on the Road

It's not always easy to eat healthy when you spend your days out on the road. It's so easy to try and get away with eating fast food for almost every meal in an effort to spend more time driving and less time parked on the side of the road.

But if you fill your body with nothing but fast food almost every day, it's going to catch up to you eventually. You're going to begin to gain weight, which is going to make it harder and harder for you to get comfortable in your vehicle.

You're also going to deprive your body and mind of the nutrients that they need to perform basic functions. This is going to make driving for work harder than it has to be.

9. Get Into the Habit of Staying Hydrated While You Drive

According to a recent survey, about 80% of Americans admit to not drinking enough water. This has led to a large percentage of the population suffering from chronic dehydration.

Some of the symptoms of dehydration are:

• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Inability to focus
• Constipation
• Dry skin

All of these symptoms are going to affect your comfort level when you drive a vehicle all day for work. You should, therefore, make every effort to avoid them by drinking enough water to keep your hydration levels up.

You might have to pull over to use the restroom a little more often when you do this. But it'll be well worth it in the end.

It'll give your body the water that it needs to function, and it'll also force you to take more breaks from driving.

10. Find Ways to Keep Your Mind Busy When You're Behind the Wheel

When you spend all day driving around in a vehicle for work, it's only going to be a matter of time before boredom starts to set in. This boredom will often times have you noticing every single ache and pain that you feel.

To keep boredom at bay, you should find different ways to keep your mind busy. You can do this by:

• Listening to the radio
• Working your way through audiobooks
• Calling family members and friends to chat

There are still going to be times when boredom will get the best of you and cause discomfort. But those times will be few and far between when you set your sights on keeping your mind active.

11. Avoid Pushing Yourself Too Far and Driving While You're Tired

There is only so much driving that a person can do in a single day. After you hit a certain point, you're going to start to get so tired that simply thinking straight will be a chore.

You should try to get your vehicle off the road long before you come anywhere close to hitting that point. The last thing you want to do is get drowsy while you're driving and put yourself and/or others at risk.

One study after another has suggested that drowsy driving can be every bit as dangerous as drunk driving. It's why you shouldn't push yourself to your breaking point when you're behind the wheel of a vehicle for work.

12. Get as Much Exercise as You Can When You're Not Driving

We've talked a lot about the different things that people aren't doing enough these days. The list includes sleeping and drinking water.

But there's one other thing that a large number of people aren't doing enough right now: Exercising. Surveys have revealed that about 80% of people don't get the recommended amount of exercise every week.

Some of these people might be able to get away with not exercising enough. But if you're living a lifestyle that's seeing you spend 40-plus hours a week driving a vehicle, you cannot afford not to exercise.

Exercising will give you a chance to loosen up your muscles and make them stronger. It'll also get your blood flowing and your heart pumping, which are two things that you're not going to be able to do much when driving.

Bottom line: Exercising should be non-negotiable for anyone who drives for work. The more exercise that you get when you're not working, the more comfortable you're going to be when you're behind the wheel.

Use These Tips to Stay Comfortable While You Drive for Work

Getting comfortable and staying comfortable when you drive for work can be challenging for many people. They don't know how in the world they're going to keep themselves comfy while driving around all day.

The tips found here should provide you with a blueprint on how to do it. By using them to your advantage, you can keep yourself comfortable when you're putting in work out on the open road.

Would you like to get your hands on the accessories that you'll need to keep yourself comfortable when you're driving? Contact us today to find out more about the cushions and other products that we carry that are designed with your comfort in mind.