3/7/16

We do not diagnose disease or recommend a dietary supplement for the treatment of disease. You should share this information with your physician who can determine what nutrition, disease and injury treatment regimen is best for you.  You can search this site or the web for topics of interest that I may have written (use Dr Simone and topic).  

“We provide truthful information without emotion or influence from the medical establishment, pharmaceutical industry, national organizations, special interest groups or government agencies.”  Charles B Simone, M.MS., M.D.

IS YOUR COMMUTE KILLING YOU?

Lawrenceville, NJ (Dr Simone) – Commuting can negatively impact your mental and physical health.

  
1. Increases Cortisol levels (the primary stress hormone) with long train commutes.  Cortisol levels also rise when your personal space is invaded, not by the number of people, but by those who bump into you, or crowd your space. 
    Cortisol increases: Blood sugar, Fear, Anxiety, Depression    
    Cortisol decreases: Immunity, Gastrointestinal and Reproductive systems, Motivation, Mental Focus

2. Increases Stress due to Waiting and Transfers to another train, bus, subway.

3. Decreases Sleep and Exercise  –  a 2 hour commute = loss of 30 min of sleep per day and more than 2.5 hours per week.  Difficulty falling or staying asleep as well.

4. Increases Cholesterol, Blood Pressure, and Body Mass Index – 90 minutes – because the time we spend on the subway or the road is time we aren’t using to exercise or prepare food at home.   You are more likely to buy food at restaurants, not grocery stores, and engage in less strenuous exercise. 

5. Increases Loneliness, Unhappiness.

6. Increases Divorce Rate for those commuting >45 minutes/day

7. Decreases Lifespan:  more than 60 miles per day leads to an earlier death for women with low incomes or limited education. Maybe because women have more household obligations with less time to do them leading to more stress.  

(c) 2017 Charles B. Simone, M.MS., M.D.