You’ve likely seen the articles warning you of the dangers of commuting, but despite all the negative effects, millions of people — including me — make the choice to commute every day. So I started to wonder: Just how bad is this for me? Is the media hyping it all up?
It’s not you. Commuting is bad for your health.
My side hustle is commuting.
Kimberly Mas is a senior producer at Vox video focused on science explainers.
Turns out long commutes really are bad for your health. Commuting has been linked to higher rates of obesity, stress, and depression. One Swedish study also found that it could shorten your life span.
But there are ways to mitigate the effects of a long commute. For example, most of these studies fail to acknowledge the technological advancements over the past 10 years. Now your commute can actually give you time to catch up on reading, listen to podcasts, or even get a head start on work. (I’ve even accidentally watched several episodes of Game of Thrones over a fellow commuter’s shoulder.) Depending on who you are and how you do it, your commute might just become a source of joy, or at least a productive way to use that time in your life.
Check out the video above to learn more about how commuting affects your life and how I choose to cope with it. You can find this video and all of Vox’s videos on YouTube. Subscribe for more.
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