You’ve just left a long day of work, you hop on the highway, ready to be home, and it’s bumper to bumper the whole way. This is a situation many of us are too familiar with.
It’s not very surprising that long commutes are actually incredibly detrimental to our health, both mental and physical; especially when the average commute is between 45-60 minutes. The British Medical Journal published a study stating that breathing in the fumes of heavy traffic can increase your risk of heart attack for the next six hours.
An additional study by Dr. David Lewis, funded by Hewlett Packard, showed that long commutes can raise your stress levels even higher than police officers and fighter pilots; stating that police officers or fighter pilots have more things they can do to combat the trigger, many commuters, especially those on train, cannot do much about it at all.
While you may not be able to change when you commute or the traffic you run into, there are some things you can do to lessen your stress levels and have an overall better experience on the trudge home.
First we turn to our best friend, technology. There are actually apps you can download that tell you about congestion, speed traps, as well as lead you to the next coffee shop or parking garage. One of the highest-rated, and priciest, is Garmin StreetPilot, which you can purchase on iOS or Windows. Another fantastic, and free, option is Waze, which is user based and tells you traffic information from people ahead or around you. For more great suggestions check out this article.
Much of the stress we experience during our commute is lack of control and feeling of time being wasted. You can combat this feeling by trying to make the time productive: listen to an audiobook or podcast, or even learn a language! Duolingo is great, free language app perfect for any length of commute.
Take the time to unplug and unwind. While it doesn’t seem like a traffic jam would be the place for some intense meditation, you might be surprised. Find a mantra, practice some hand yoga, and put on some classical music or meditation sounds and just let stress go.
A Populus survey of 2,000 drivers found that those who listened to classical and pop music as opposed to rock and metal were significantly less prone to road rage and anxiety. So while it might be fun to jam out to your favorite rock songs, heavy traffic might not be the place for that. Turn on some classical tunes and you might even benefit from a little “Mozart Effect”.
No matter what method you chose to improve your commute, the most important thing is to be mindful and calm. With the amount of time we spend in our cars and stuck in traffic, you don’t want to let it ruin your day or your health. Safe driving!
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