When I lived in Houston I always lived very close to all the jobs I had. When I moved to Clear Lake I had what was supposed to be a 30 minute commute in the carpool lane which often turned into an hour because of the endless construction on I-45 South. And I hated every minute of it.
After a year of it I finally found a job that was 15 minutes away in Friendswood and I was much happier.
It turns out that commuting is not good for your health. A study came out recently which was done because of all the people who are working from home due to the pandemic. The research showed that long commutes can have significant effects on people’s health.
A person’s likelihood of becoming obese increases by six percent for every hour spent commuting, as well as an increased risk of high blood pressure.
Long commute times are also linked to factors like insufficient physical activity and poor sleep habits. As the post-pandemic world has seen a remarkable shift in employees moving to a work from home situation it appears that millions of workers across the country are reaping the mental and physical health benefits of no longer having to commute.
In another study, 1AND1 Life, a mental health and wellness performance company, conducted an analysis of official data from County Health Rankings, and calculated how many workers in each state have reduced their risk of developing mental and physical problems, such as obesity, high blood pressure, stress and fatigue, by choosing to work from home instead.
The study revealed that a whopping 3.4 million Texans who previously commuted over an hour per day before the pandemic, are now working from home and are living healthier lives.
When broken down by state, almost five million Californians have reaped the mental and physical benefits of working from home since the pandemic started. Even in Wyoming, which is the least populated in America, over 73,000 employees who previously spent a minimum of 20 hours behind the wheel each week are now working from home.
A survey of 1,000 employees by 1AND1 Life revealed that more than half (58%) said the biggest benefit of not having to commute to the workplace is being able to spend more time with family (like having breakfast together), while 20% said they’re getting in more hours of sleep each night. This makes sense considering the chain of negative events that can occur at work if you’ve had a poor night’s sleep previously.
Another 14% said they now have more time to get household chores done before the day starts when there’s no work commute involved. And nearly one in 10 love the added benefit of being able to have a proper workout in the morning.
It seems we are a nation of big sleepers as 46% of respondents say they use this extra time of not having to travel to sleep in a bit longer, while 20% spend it making a healthy breakfast before work. Seventeen percent do housework during this time and another 17% get in their daily workout.
Surprisingly, however, nearly 1 in 5 (18%) respondents said they actually miss commuting long distances to and from work. And almost half (45%) of those who still have long commutes said weight gain concerns them given that studies show a direct link between these two lifestyle factors.
“Of course, there’s no denying that the pandemic has had devastating effects on the lives on many Americans,” said Thomas Drew, Co-Founder & President of 1AND1 Life Inc. “On a more positive note, however, there have been unexpected health benefits as a result of the change in peoples’ work habits, contributing to an overall happier, healthier lifestyle.”
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