Commuting to work: How could it be affecting your health and well-being?

In the last year, several companies have been asking their employees to return to the office, either full or part time, after a long period of remote work due to the pandemic.

While this is positive in terms of social interaction with peers, this transition can have negative health impacts, especially taking into account the duration of the period. commute to the workplace.

By the end of 2022, researchers from the Science Alert completed a research project that investigated the effects of a long commute to work on different aspects of health. Time spent commuting has been found to be associated with less physical activity, weight gain and sleep problems.

As an added bonus, depending on where your office is located, you may be more likely to consume alcohol in excess.

As a study object, the researchers analyzed data from the Swedish Longitudinal Health Survey, which covered a six-year period from 2012 to 2018. Follow the search thread!

Research claims commuting to work can be harmful

The study examined the responses provided by nearly 13,000 individuals, aged between 16 and 64, addressing a variety of issues that involved their way of life.

Some examples evaluated were: frequency of physical exercises, consumption of alcohol or tobacco and index of body mass, professional occupation, levels of stress at work and possible health conditions pre-existing.

The analysis included the distance between the participants' homes and their workplaces, as well as the status socioeconomic status of the areas where they resided, in order to understand how these factors impacted their habits everyday.

Using a multiple-time data collection approach, it was possible to compare the responses provided by each study participant at different times.

Traveling more than 3 km has been found to increase the likelihood of having a physically inactive lifestyle, being overweight and having sleep problems.

Analyzes also revealed that participants were more likely to adopt unhealthy drinking habits, such as feeling the need to cut back or consuming alcohol in the morning to relieve stress or deal with hangovers, when your workplace was located in high status areas socioeconomic.

Individuals who worked more than 40 hours a week and commuted for more than five hours a week were more likely to being physically inactive and having sleep-related difficulties compared to those who commuted only one to five hours a day week.

This can be attributed to the little time available for physical exercise or the stress that impacts sleep quality.

Although the research results point north on the significant influence on several aspects of health, it was not possible to determine an optimal travel distance or office location based on the findings obtained.

The researchers suggest that the ideal is closer to a distance of up to 3 km, in which the majority had a higher degree of physical activity.

This can be attributed to the fact that this distance allowed the use of alternative means of transport, such as bicycles or walking, to commute to work.

Additionally, a shorter commute allowed participants time before and after work to exercise.

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