All right, a live look now through our
C dot camera at I-25 near University.
We keep an eye on that
morning commute every day.
You know, the one a lot of
people may not look forward to,
especially on a Monday.
For the most part,
communing to and from work is thought of as
a necessary but undesirable part of work.
But the rise of working from home in the
pandemic led to an unforeseen realization.
For some, that commute can
have a positive impact.
On our mental health I love my commute.
A new study even confirmed it.
And this morning we have our Nie
News Wellness expert Heather Has
here to talk about the findings.
Thanks for coming in.
Thanks for having me.
So what did this study show?
So first
of all, there has already been research
done showing that commutes can p
people transition to work to ho.
But this one found that they wet
deeper into the brain research
and why that is what happens.
So when you commute it gives yoe
freedom to think in an unstructured way and.
Recover from the work day and
get ready for that That home
transition and all commutes hav.
I'm sorry, all to all transitios
have 3 components, physical,
psychological and time based an.
When people don't get enough of a transition,
there's a spillover that happens at home,
making them more exhausted,
bringing that into their home l.
And it's also been found to
lower people's job performance,
really. So how do these three, you know,
transition and relate to commut?
Sure. So they looked at three
different components of
transitions that all relate
and the first one is the the
work to home role transitions.
So you start by disengaging
with your work role.
Through kind of rituals like
turning off your computer,
saying goodbye to colleagues,
whatever you do.
And then you go into the movement phase,
which is either a passage of tir
you change location or you get a mental
break and commuting has all thr.
And then you transition into your home
role with things like checking your mail,
greeting your family,
changing your clothes.
And then the second aspect they
looked at is called liminal spa.
And that's the the time in our
brain where we left one role,
but we haven't started a new ro.
And so we're not really taking on any
major social role during that t.
And certain things do influence,
like length of time and physical factors.
So if there's a lot of construcn
or traffic or accidents,
that will reduce that liminal
space because you'll be more
focused on the task of commutin.
But then the third one is whereu
mentally disengage and you just relax.
And this is where you give the you know,
you decompress from your work
day and you get into, you know,
be prepared to transition to that home,
the home role,
and you could even learn to
enjoy the commute and driving.
Carpooling, walking,
cycling,
public transportation all count also.
Not just silence or listening
to music or podcast like you
were talking about praying.
I love.
We're talking about that in the
break that all works and helps.
I love my morning commute.
I have about 25 minutes and it truly is
the only moment in my day where I have
peace and quiet and I listen to podcasts.
I pray, I I just like the silene
because that never happened.
So I can totally see why this
is beneficial for mental health.
What is the length of time that
they say is kind of the best? Y,
good question. So.
They have found that 30 minutes
is kind of the sweet spot.
If it gets a lot longer or more stressful,
that can lead to lower health outcomes,
physical and mental.
But regardless, if you just
switch that time in your mind,
which I think you already have ,
rather than being like a stressful commute.
Or a waste of time and view it as dedicated,
personal time that can go a long
way towards helping people's mel
health. Yeah, it's it's you tim,
you know? Soak it in.
Enjoy the peace and quiet.
Thank you for coming in.
Nice was a good one.