We wake up, work, eat, sleep. We wake up, work, eat, sleep. We wake up, work, eat, sleep.
Sounds familiar? Or did I forget something? Oh yeah, the commute time we all spend sitting in traffic, cursing at the poor old lady who just cut us off.
In recent years, commuting time to and from work has become longer, which, in turn, means we spend more time sitting in a car and less time being physically active (especially when many jobs are quite sedentary).
Here are some interesting statistics related to commute times and specifically how they have changed over the past decade:
Travel time statistics
- Average trip: 14% more than the travel time in 1990
- Lone drivers: 3.4% higher than 1990 averages
- Early risers: 11% more than in 1990, when this percentage was less of workers waking up before 5 a.m.
- Early commuters: 25% more than in 1990, when this percentage was lower of employees leaving for work between 5 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- Walkers: 34% less than in 1990, when this percentage was higher than that of employees who walked to work instead of driving or using public transportation.
All of these percentages eventually add up to an increased risk of heart disease, as well as various other physical and mental problems.
When we’re in a rush, we often don’t reach for the healthiest food options. When we’re in a rush, we rarely find time to exercise. When we’re in a rush, our stress levels skyrocket, which raises cortisol levels and makes it harder to burn fat.
We are a nation of overworkers, which may very well be why we are also a nation of overeaters.
My suggestion is to re-examine your own tomorrow travel time to work and ask yourself, in all honesty, if you are affecting your health as a result of your decision to restart the cycle: wake up, work, eat, sleep. Oh yes, and change.