Brutal commute? Don’t let it wreck your health

Sep. 26--Each day as Iliana Torres-Sanchez sat in stop-and-go traffic on the 836 Expressway, she felt her stress level rising. After 1 1/2 hours from Kendall to Miami Beach, she would arrive at work exhausted and with pain in both knees.

"I knew the commute was taking a toll on my health," she said.

South Florida has been recognized as one of the worst areas in the nation for traffic and commuting -- with hundreds of thousands of drivers on the highways each day and many crossing county lines. On average, drivers spend as much as 36.4 minutes on the road to and from their workplaces, according to a newly released study by insurance comparison shopping website Insurify. That number surpasses the national average of 26.9 minutes by almost 10 minutes.

Not only does South Florida have congestion on streets like University Drive and highways like Interstate 95, but the area also has construction, angry drivers, lost tourists, and people who don't follow the rules of the road. The back-to-school traffic, followed by the start of fall and shorter days, only adds to the headaches of driving on local streets and highways.

Headaches are only one effect on the body. The health consequences of a commute can range from back pain, to high levels of anxiety and mood disorders, to high blood pressure, digestive problems and fatigue.

A commute of 10 miles or longer was associated with an increase in high blood pressure, and a drive to work of more than 15 miles was associated with a greater susceptibility to obesity, according to research published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Another study of more than 34,000 workers for a partnership of the University of Cambridge, RAND Europe and Mercer, found that people with long commutes are 33 percent more likely to suffer from depression, 12 percent more likely to report work-related stress, and 21 percent more likely to be obese.

Anyone who has resisted the urge to commit road rage knows brutal commutes can wreak havoc on psychological health. Torres-Sanches, 25, said spending 1 1/2 hours each way driving created such stress that she began losing hair. She also noticed it took time away from other stress-relieving activities, like eating meals with family, exercising, and even sleeping.

"Commuting to work is a form of chronic stress and it can affect your mental health," said Dr. Daniel Bober, a Hollywood psychiatrist. "You need to distract yourself from the stress of getting to where you need to go."

The drive to work for the average commuter has been steadily rising since the 1980s, with more than 14 million people now spending an hour or more traveling to work, according to U.S. Census Bureau's 2017 American Community Survey. The result is today's commuters regularly navigate the unpredictability of the roads and experience a sense of loss of control as they spend more time in their cars.

Bober recommends rather than letting stress take over, use commute time for an educational activity -- to build your brain power rather than tax it.

"Try listening to a meditation app or a book on tape, or studying something new," he said. "The point is to use the time productively."

Marc Agronin is well aware of the health toll as he makes a commute from Broward to Miami-Dade to his workplace each day. Agronin, vice president of behavioral health and clinical research at Miami Jewish Health, calculated that his 20 years of making the commute add up to driving to the moon and circling it eight times.

"On days when there is heavy traffic, I arrive to work very stressed," Agronin said.

Recognizing the toll on his body and brain, Agronin said he tries to plan his drive time to shorten his commute as much as possible, coming in early or leaving late. He also has developed brain games to play in the car. He will choose a decade of music and guess the name of the song, or choose a different composer each week and listen to their works.

Along with the toll on his mental health, Agronin shows concern for his physical health.

"I worry about sitting too much," he said. "Sitting is the new smoking. It's bad for your health."

Research has linked sitting for long periods of time with a number of health concerns, including obesity. But it is not just sitting that is creating problems. Tensing muscles during traffic jams can lead to lower back pain, as can sitting in a car for hours a day with bad posture.

"It's a cumulative effect," said Ron Yacoub, a South Florida physical therapist with Pinecrest Physical Therapy, who finds commuters make up an increasing percentage of his patients with lower back pain.

Yacoub advises stretching in your car.

"When you are in traffic at a stoplight and not going anywhere, bring your knee to your chest, make sure you are clear of the steering wheel and hold the stretch for five seconds," he said. "Also, make sure you are using good posture when you drive with your shoulders back, not rounded, and your spine arched a the bottom."

For longer distances, use your heated seats or a heating pad, he said. "It will help keep your muscles loose for the whole ride."

Eli Friedman, medical director of sports cardiology at Memorial Health System said a commute can affect cardiovascular health in several ways.

"Stress can lead to inflammation, and we know inflammation plays a huge role in cardiovascular health," Friedman said.

Spending two hours sitting in the car in addition to an eight-hour day at a desk often is accompanied by lack of exercise and poor eating habits, Freidman said, adding: "Across the board it is not good for your health."

To combat the health toll, Friedman suggests anyone who spends long periods of time driving make an extra effort to exercise before or after drive time.

"Also, find ways to incorporate activity into your day to combat the negative effects of what takes place during your commute," Friedman said.

Torres-Sanchez found another solution to her commuting stress and its toll on her health. She changed jobs for one much closer to home.

"I have a lot more time to take care of myself," she said. "I feel like a different person."

Cindy Krischer Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com, 954-356-4661, Twitter and Instagram @cindykgoodman

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