Image via Seinfeld/NBC.
The average Aussie spends 29 minutes getting to work. That’s almost a full hour a day round trip.
Given that the average Australian works 48 weeks a year, that means that we’re currently spending almost 240 hours on public transport a year. TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY HOURS. That is ten full days a year.
I digress. I have never really liked catching public transport to work, and I prefer to ride my bike. Now I have further evidence as to why public transport is actually the peril of our existence bad for our health.
RELATED: The pros and cons of public transport makeupping.
And if you catch public transport regularly – brace yourself.
1. Sleep
The longer you commute, the more likely you are to have poor sleep. A group of Swedish researchers analyzed data from roughly 21,000 people who worked more than 30 hours a week.
Their findings, published in the journal BMC Public Health, showed that a longer commute (either by train, bus or car) corresponds with poor sleep quality and exhaustion. (Post continues after gallery.)
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One explanation for their findings could be that longer transportation rides can involve transfers. And the unpredictability of transfers can correlate with heightened stress levels. Fantastic…
2. Happiness
A report from the UK’s Office of National Statistics found that commutes of any length experience lower life satisfaction and happiness than people with no commutes at all.
RELATED:10 simple tips for creating better mental health this week.
Riding a bus for 30 minutes or longer was associated with the lowest levels of life satisfaction and happiness. The longer you commute, the more likely you are to be unhappy.
3. Relationships
Swedish researchers surveyed over two million people, and found that when one person in a relationship commutes for 45 minutes or longer a day, the couple are 40 per cent more likely to divorce.
"To be able to commute to work can be a positive thing because it means you don't have to uproot your family with every career move, but it can also be a strain on your relationship," Erika Sandow, social geographer at Umea University and lead author of the study, told Swedish publication, The Local.
4. Stress levels
Workers who commute by train, bus or cars to work are more likely to have increased stress levels. One study, from Lund University in Sweden, found that people who travelled to work by car or public transport reported higher levels of stress and tiredness compared to active commuters who travelled by foot or bicycle.
According to another recent study, cycling to work, rather than driving or commuting via public transport, will make you 40 per cent less stressed by the time you reach your destination.
The research, from Stanford Calming Technology Lab, analysed data produced by 1,000 commuters over 20,000 commutes. Using a monitor, they tracked the participants’ heart rates and the depth of their breaths throughout the working day.
