Is Your Commute Making You Sick?

A recent study has found that how you commute translates into a major factor in terms of your overall health and your happiness.

So, let’s begin with some data.

The numbers show that the average commute time in the United States is 25.4 minutes. Many of us would say it feels a lot longer than that. So, for 90 percent of the American workforce, the real issue is not “do I commute?” but rather “how commute.”

Studies show that passively sitting in a car is probably the least healthy way to commute. Trumping that is walking or cycling. But get this, even public transit, it turns out, is a healthier alternative to driving.

Researchers say there are two factors to consider.

1. One is that the more time you spend getting to and from work, the less likely you are to be satisfied and happy. A shorter commute make a happier commuter and ultimately a more satisified person.
2. The other point is that for some people, commuting is really a time to relax, catch up with the news, friends or just a good book. In fact, a longer commute might be better if it lets you unwind.

“The longer amount of time you spend in a car getting to and from work, the more time pressure you feel and the lower your overall satisfaction with your life,” noted Margo Hilbrecht, Ph.D., an associate director of research for the Canadian Index of Wellbeing. “It is not just the amount of time you spend commuting, it is the quality of the commute and the time you do or don’t have for physical activity,” Hilbrecht recently explained in Healthline magazine.

“More physical activity is associated with a higher level of satisfaction in life. If you put in a full day at work and then have an extended commute, you don’t have a lot of time left to unwind.”

But there’s more.

A 2014 study in the British Medical Journal concludes that people who drive to work are fatter and less healthy than people who take public transit or other methods. Let’s look at the numbers. Women who commute by a method other than a private vehicle actually had a body mass index (BMI) 0.7 points lower and weighed at least five pounds less than women who drove to work.

Ouch.

The difference was even greater for men. Men who did not drive to work had a BMI 1 point lower and weighed nearly seven pounds less there counterparts who drove to work.

Source: Healthline.com

 

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Category: Consumer, Mass Transit