How is your long
commute killing you slowly?
Knott and collaborators, from the University of Cambridge,
analyzed the “mental wellbeing” of 5.474 British commuters, aged 40-75, with a
follow-up of 4,65 years. They reported that depression-asymptomatic commuters
who transitioned from inactive to active commuting reported less severe
depression symptoms than those who remained inactive, and a similar
relationship was evident among commuters with pre-existing symptoms. Moreover,
longer commutes were associated with worse depressive symptoms. “Shifting from
exclusive car use towards more active commuting may help prevent and attenuate
depressive symptoms in working adults”. (1)
Another study done in the UK by Flint and collaborators showed
that individuals who transitioned from car commuting to active or public
transportation had a decrease in body mass index (BMI) of -0.30 kg/m2,
contrariwise, individuals who transitioned from active commuting to car had a
BMI increase of 0.32 kg/m2. The take-home message is that increased levels of
physical activity as part of the commute to work could reduce obesity among
middle-aged adults. (2) Already in 2013, Laverty and collaborators reported
that, in the UK, using public transport, walking, or cycling to work was
associated with a lower likelihood of being overweight. Walking or cycling was
associated with a lower likelihood of having diabetes, and walking was
associated with a lower likelihood of having hypertension than private
transport. (3)
In the USA, one out of every six commuters travels more than 45
min each way every weekday, and this long voyage makes people lonelier (4).
Back in 2009, as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index study, 173,581
employed adults were interviewed by the phone, and they reported that one in
three employees with a commute of more than 90 minutes have had a neck or back
condition that has caused recurrent pain; among those with commutes of 10
minutes or less, the figure drops to roughly one in four. Longer commuters are
more likely to say they have been diagnosed with high cholesterol and are more
likely to have a BMI that classifies them as obese. Their results point to a
connection between commuting and emotional well-being. Among employees who take
more than 90 minutes getting from home to work, 40% experienced worry for much
of the previous day, significantly higher than the 28% among those with
negligible commutes of 10 minutes or less. Conversely, workers with extremely
long commutes were less likely to have experienced enjoyment for much of the
previous day or that they felt well rested that day. (5) Behavioral economists
Kahneman and Krueger tracked the emotional states of women in Texas during
their daily activities and they found that respondents' ratio of positive to
negative emotions was particularly low during the time spent commuting.
In Sweden, using longitudinal individual data from 1985 to 2008,
Sandow and collaborators, modeled mortality through propensity score matching
and Kaplan–Meyer estimates of survival among long-distance commuters, more than
50 km (31 miles) one way. The results indicate that women who have experienced
long-distance commuting face a significantly higher mortality risk compared
with women with short commutes to work. This seems to be driven by variations
in income and education: for women with long-distance commuting experience,
substantially lower survival rates are found among those with low education and
low income. Surprisingly, for men mortality risks do not seem to be associated
with long-distance commuting. Sandow findings suggest that men and women are
subject to different mechanisms regarding the nexus between commuting and
mortality. (6) In another study by Dr. Sandow in Sweden they stated the
alarming connection of commuting and divorce rates: if one spouse commutes
longer than 45 minutes that couple is 40% more likely to get divorced (7).
One solution is to work from home, as Tim Ferris, the author of
the four hours work week, showed working from home can improve your
productivity and increase efficiency by, for starters, not wasting time
traveling. I used to work at a company where we were allowed to 20% of remote
work time and this really improved the work life. More companies are adding
this successful work practice because it enhances the employees’ happiness. The
WHO set a minimum of 10.000 steps per day to keep your heart healthy, you can
reach this goal by walking to work some days. If you can’t change the type and
duration of your commute, you can always make it more productive, reading,
playing a game or listening to an audio book or music that will make it “me
time”.
References:
1- Knott CS, Panter J, Foley L, Ogilvie D. Changes in the mode
of travel to work and the severity of depressive symptoms: a longitudinal
analysis of UK Biobank. Prev Med. 2018 Mar 28;112:61-69. doi:
10.1016/j.ypmed.2018.03.018.
2- Flint E, Webb E, Cummins S. Change in commute mode and
body-mass index: prospective, longitudinal evidence from UK Biobank. Lancet
Public Health. 2016 Dec;1(2):e46-e55. doi: 10.1016/S2468-2667(16)30006-8.
3. Laverty AA, Mindell JS, Webb EA, Millett C. Active travel to
work and cardiovascular risk factors in the United Kingdom. Am J Prev Med.
2013;45:282–288.
4 -https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/04/16/
5-http://news.gallup.com/poll/142142/wellbeing-lower-among-workers-long-commutes.aspx
6- Sandow, Erika; Westerlund, Olle; Lindgren, Urban
Is
your commute killing you?: On the mortality risks of long-distance commuting
Environment and planning A, Pion 2014, Vol. 46, (6) : 1496-1516
7-Erika Sandow. Volume: 51 issue: 3, page(s): 526-543 2014
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