You know what’s the worst part about being a kind of adult?
Besides making your doctor’s appointments?
COMMUTING.
Hey Guys Julia here for DNews
Over 85% of Americans commute to work by car according to a report from the American Association
of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
And this kind of commuting sucks.
Trust me on this.
Some people try to justify it by saying they like saving money to buy a bigger house or
that they love the alone time by listening to podcasts.
But the truth is, we’re all just lying to ourselves.
One of the reasons car commuting sucks is because it can make you sick.
A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that those who
drove themselves to work more were more likely to have heart problems, weight problems and
that those with a commute over 10 miles had higher blood pressure.
A survey from Gallup found that those who commuted for 90 minutes or more suffered from
neck and back problems.
Basically the more time you sit in a car, that’s less time to work out, so of course
you’re gonna be a little worse for wear.
Not only can commuting by car make you sick, it might make you more likely to get divorced.
One Swedish study found that those who take at least 45 minutes to get to work are 40
percent more likely to get divorced.
Basically the more you travel in the mornings you’re just more miserable.
A study published in World Leisure Journal found that travel time is linked to feelings
of time crunch, which can increase stress levels.
But why does it make you so miserable?
Well mostly it's just being alone.
Robert Putnam, a Harvard political scientist, told the New Yorker “There’s a simple
rule of thumb: Every ten minutes of commuting results in ten per cent fewer social connections.
Commuting is connected to social isolation, which causes unhappiness.”
But despair not!
There is hope.
A study published in the Journal of Economic Perspectives found that commuting becomes
a lot better if you’ve got a buddy in the passenger seat.
The researchers asked participants to rank how they spent their leisure time.
Not surprisingly sex got the top spot while commuting hit the bottom of the list.
But if they spent that time with somebody by carpooling, commuting got a bit of a boost
and ranked pretty similarly to other activities like napping or watching tv.
Plus, just saying you get to use that carpool lane, which cuts down on traffic and makes
the roads a little less stressful for everyone.
Not to mention by sharing a ride you can cut down on pollution.
For every car taken off the road by carpooling, it can save over 12,000 pounds of CO2 PER
DAY.
So if you want enjoy your commute a little more and make the world a better place, consider
carpooling.
Even if you don’t have a buddy next to you, some states, like California still let you
drive the carpool lane if you’ve got a fuel efficient vehicle, which helps everybody by
cutting down on traffic and emissions.
What’s your commute like?
Do you read?
Listen to podcasts?
Catch up on Game of Thrones?
Let us know in the comments below