Health and dis-ease

In these modern times, most of us work for pay, benefits, and Social Security credits.  Usually our paid work is performed outside the home.  This, obviously, means we must travel to the job.  Once the trip gets beyond fifteen minutes one way, I call that a commute. (I know the New York City workers among us are guffawing.) There are positive and negative possibilities in commuting to work.

To me, the positive benefits for one’s mental or physical health are more easily gained if public transportation (or car pool) is the travel mode.  If you aren’t the driver, you can sleep.  This would be very helpful to most of us sleep-deficit Americans.  Reading is also a bonus for the non-driving commuter.  Even if one is the driver, a work commute can be the time for mental restful activities: listening to books on CD, prayer, or winding down.  Furthermore, if you are one of the lucky few whose commute is made by biking or walking, you receive cardio-vascular benefits of exercise.

The negative aspects of a commute to work may be more obvious.  One has the stress of driving and the extra stress when normal routes are unavailable due to accidents, road work, snow, ice, or flooding.  Alternately, there can be stress in making mass transit connections.  This is exacerbated when a train or bus breaks down or the entire line is off-service.  The worst part, however, is the amount of time lost – the lost opportunity for you to do healthful or restorative activities.

So, you have pluses and minuses if part of your life is spent traveling to your job.  See if you can increase the positives. 

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