Travel time – Is it worth it?
We wake up, we work, we eat, we sleep. We wake up, we work, we eat, we sleep. We wake up, we work, we eat, we sleep.
Sounds familiar? Or did I forget something? Oh yeah, the travel time we all spent sitting in traffic cursing the poor old lady who just cut us off.
In recent years, commute times to and from work have gotten longer, which, in turn, causes us to spend more time sitting in a car and less time being physically active (especially when many jobs are fairly sedentary to begin with).
Here are some interesting statistics related to commute times, and specifically how they have changed over the past decade:
Travel time statistics
- Average commute: 14% more than commute time in 1990
- Lone drivers: 3.4% more than the 1990 averages
- Early risers: 11% more than in 1990, when this percentage was lower for workers who woke up before 5 a.m.
- First Commuters: 25% more than in 1990, when this percentage was lower for employees leaving for work between 5 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- Walkers: 34% less than in 1990, when this percentage was more than that of employees who walked to work instead of driving or using public transportation.
All of these percentages eventually add up to an increased risk of heart disease, as well as various other physical and mental problems.
When we’re in a hurry, we usually don’t look for the healthiest food options. When we’re in a hurry, we rarely find time to exercise. When we’re in a rush, our stress levels skyrocket, raising cortisol levels and making it harder to burn fat.
We are a nation of overworkers, which may very well be why we are also a nation of overeaters.
My suggestion is to re-examine your own morning travel time to work and ask yourself, in all honesty, if you are affecting your health as a result of your decision to restart the cycle: wake up, work, eat, sleep. Oh yeah, and change.
