from the Infrastructurist:
Does Driving to Work Make You Crazier Than Taking the Bus? A Clinical TrialAmericans — and commuters in general — are experiencing ever-greater hurdles during their trips to and from work. Human beings spend an unholy number of collective hours sitting in cars and other vehicles, and pay for it in the form of an even unholier amount of emissions, work hours wasted, and money spent on gas, parking, tolls, and car maintenance. Not to mention overall well-being: According to a Gallup-Healthways poll of over 170,000 employed adults in the U.S., the longer it takes you to get to work, the greater your worry, neck and back pain and cholesterol. Plus there’s the fact that longer commutes also translate to decreased life enjoyment and less sleep.
But is there quantifiable evidence that driving is actually worse for your mental health than taking public transit? A reporter for the BBC decided to get clinical in order to produce some. Specifically, he had heart and sweat monitors strapped to his body to perform a stress test during two alternative trips to work: A bus ride and a car journey. Before revealing the results, our commuter breaks the stresses of each ride down into the following:
BUS STRESSES1. Having to walk or otherwise get yourself to the bus or mass transit stop.
2. Not knowing when the bus will arrive
3. Not being assured a seat.
4. Having to do work during the commute (though couldn’t that arguably be a benefit? Plus wouldn’t you be equally stressed by thinking about your unfinished work in the car, b)
CAR STRESSES1. Traffic
2. Having to be alert at all times
3. Finding parking
As for the results of the stress test, they were as follows: While the initial stress of getting to the bus was, no surprise, higher than that of beginning the car trip, the reporter became more stressed as the car journey went on, and less stressed as the bus journey went on. The doctor in the clip notes that stress levels as high as those experienced during the car trip are linked to a rise in depression and other “stress related problems” like hypertension, high blood pressure, and more.
We know that the future of modern society is coming down to clearer and clearer definitions of where we live versus where we work. But just how long are we going to hold on to this car-obsession before we realize it’s lowering our quality of life?
http://www.infrastructurist.com/2010/09/20/does-driving-to-work-make-you-crazier-than-taking-the-bus-a-clinical-trial/