Construction workers often deal with work-related stress, which could affect their heart health if not effectively managed. In addition to the tight deadlines and high-pressure environments, these workers regularly engage in strenuous tasks. Fortunately, construction professionals have many opportunities to improve their overall health and reduce cardiovascular risks by adopting new habits.
BREATHE BETTER
Breath control is one of the most accessible ways to curb stress. When humans get stressed, their breaths often become fast and shallow. Once they concentrate on slowing and lengthening their breathing, those changes help reduce the body’s stress response.
Most breathing exercises involve inhaling and exhaling for a specific number of seconds. Additionally, people often hold their breath or keep their lungs empty for brief periods during the cycle.
Construction crews can try various breathing patterns to help them feel calmer in as quickly as a minute or two. It is usually only necessary to practice these focused breathing techniques for short periods before returning to normal breaths.
Construction workers should find a few options that are easy to start and stay consistent with—ideally for a minimum of four weeks. Then, whenever they start feeling stressed, they have a useful technique at the ready.
STRESS RELIEF DURING BREAKS
Although people should treat breaks as genuine downtime, many find it hard to do that. Instead, their minds often wander to upcoming things during their workdays, home-related concerns or other pressures that can interfere with relaxation.
One of the best ways to stop this cycle is for staff to find activities they enjoy and spend part of their breaks doing those things. That might mean listening to favorite songs, calling friends or taking brief walks. Similarly, they must understand what they unconsciously do that makes them more stressed.
For example, many individuals reach for their phones, hoping those devices will relax them. However, according to a 2024 study, regularly using smartphones can increase cardiovascular disease risks. The link was especially strong in smokers and individuals with diabetes. Most people cannot avoid using their phones regularly, but it is important to ask themselves whether there are healthier ways to spend their brief break times. It might be easier to consider what healthy habit can workers add to break times, rather than focusing on what to restrict.
ESTABLISH A WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Maintaining a clear separation between work and personal obligations can be difficult for construction employees. Many take overtime opportunities to keep projects on schedule, and some agree to odd hours to meet the project’s needs. Those elements can make maintaining a good work-life balance increasingly difficult, especially due to the construction sector’s persistent labor shortage.
Unfortunately, individuals without healthy work-life balance may raise their risk of heart problems because it is harder for them to get enough sleep, stick to healthy diets and exercise regimens, or start new habits. One initially challenging yet practical tip for establishing a healthier work-life balance is to set boundaries regarding downtime. For example, construction employees should consider telling others they will not answer phone calls or emails about work when they are off and ensure to set their out-of-office alerts on all accounts and devices to reinforce this boundary.
Additionally, they need to stay as present as possible when away from work. It is easy to stay wrapped up in job-related stresses or become preoccupied with what needs to be taken care of when arriving for their next shifts. This constant background noise or subconscious stress makes the chances of achieving optimal out-of-work relaxation less likely.
Construction workers should also be aware of how seasonal changes could make it more challenging to stick to routines that enable a good work-life balance. Statistics show Americans are 5.7% times more likely to get injured at work due to daylight savings time because they sleep for 40 fewer minutes. When establishing work-life balance boundaries, construction workers should be mindful to start with realistic, achievable goals, and to adjust those goals per season, per project or per new work and/or life event.
BE OPEN TO TECH
Many construction companies are still hesitant to adopt technology that, even if they promise to pose benefits in the short and/or long term, will disrupt the comfort and ease of established workflow. Although doing things differently can be stressful at first, the eventual improvements often help people feel less frustrated and more relaxed.
Construction crews should keep an open mind and hopeful attitude if—really when—their workplaces deploy new technology. It is also valuable for workers to give feedback on the integration process of the technology as well as the technology itself—those insights will show supervisors what is working well and where a process or the company overall still needs to improve.
Some technologies help workers eliminate unnecessary steps or practices in their individual workflows, lowering their stress by freeing up more time. For example, some augmented reality products allow users to view sites with centimeter-level accuracy, study 3D models before making crucial project decisions and collaborate regardless of physical location. Other robotic technologies alleviate a lot of physical labor demands on workers.
Decision makers may also encourage the workforce to use wearables that indicate if people are too fatigued or need to slow down to prevent overexertion. Many products have stress management features as well, reminding users to go through breathing exercises or move enough throughout the day.
ADOPT HEALTHY LEISURE ACTIVITIES
Working toward better heart health and increasing stress resilience must be a full-time commitment, which means construction workers should evaluate what they do for pleasure. It can become incredibly tempting to spend most of the weekend planted on the couch, watching television with an array of snacks within reach.
There is nothing wrong with short periods of binge-watching, comfort-snacking relaxation, but for construction workers—really for any worker—there are usually healthier alternatives to be incorporated. Getting into the habit of going for a short walk after dinner instead of immediately settling in to watch a show or play a video game could be a better and simple way to practice heart health.
Construction workers—field laborers and office workers alike—should also be aware of unhealthy coping mechanisms when stressed. For example, having that extra drink or spooning your ice cream dessert straight from the container may provide enough distraction and relaxation in the moment, but the negative effects of these initially satiating habits compound in the long-term.
It is often easier to stick to positive routines when friends or family members participate, too. In addition to encouraging accountability for physical health practices, non-solitary activities are great for mental health because they help people socialize.
KEEP HEALTHY FOODS ACCESSIBLE
When construction staff have their lunch breaks during busy days on the jobsite, many may opt for the quickest, easiest and most enjoyable option—if they don’t opt out of lunch completely. That typically means choosing ultra-processed items or picking something off a nearby fast-food restaurant’s menu.
However, a study found a link between a person’s food environment and heart failure risk. People living 0.62 miles from at least 11 outlets serving ready-to-eat food were 16% more likely to develop heart failure than those with no such establishments near their residences. Convenience makes it much easier to maintain healthy—or poor—diets.
Construction employees can learn to make a few healthy but easy-to-prepare foods to enjoy on their breaks in the field or the office. They can also invest in insulated or electric, travel-friendly food containers that will keep consumables at a safe temperature until mealtime.
Though it might feel overwhelming, it can be simple to start making one heart-healthy decision at a time by altering a few habits and perspectives—while at work and at home.
However, if you or someone you know continually endures overly stressful situations, this is a sign to reach out—to a supervisor or the HR department.
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