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Studies: Long Seattle-area commutes harm overall
health

By Paris Jackson and KOMO
Staff Published: Jun 2, 2014 at
11:02 AM PDT Last Updated: Jun 2, 2014 at
11:05 AM PDT

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Studies have found that a lengthy
commute can increase stress and blood pressure while lowering quality of
life.

SEATTLE - Battling the morning or evening rush hour can be brutal in our
region. New findings reveal the long hours spent behind the wheel may also be
harming your overall physical health.

The average American's commute to
work is 25.5 minutes each way, according to a report in USA Today. That's about
51 minutes a day getting to and from work, or about 204 hours a year spent
commuting.

And for many people in Western Washington, the daily commute
is a lot longer than that. Depending upon the length of time you're isolated in
the car, the commute can have short and possibly long-term effects.

Many drivers are familiar with a concrete crawl, no matter where you
live in the Pacific Northwest.

"It just gets worse and worse," says
commuter Dean Keppler.

"Frustrated and miserable," agrees commuter David
Matthews.

That stress you feel is increased, along with your anxiety
levels, if you commute more than 30 minutes to work, according to a report by
the UK's Office of National Statistics.

The same report found that people
with commutes of any length experience lower life satisfaction than people with
no commutes at all.

And commuting during rush hour - especially when
you're concerned that you may be late to work or to an important meeting - can
result in temporary spikes in stress levels that jack up your blood pressure,
even if it's normally stable.

A Texas study also found that the farther
participants lived from where they worked, the higher their blood pressure was.
And high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and
stroke.

To avoid the grind, Nancy Robinson packed up her home years
ago.

"It stressed me out so much that I made my husband move to Bellevue,
so that I could be closer to work," Robinson said.

Dr. Keith Dipboye of
Virginia Mason Medical Center has seen a slight health decline in his patients
with longer commutes.

"In big studies the length of your commute
correlates with how fat you are (and) whether you're likely to have high blood
pressure, diabetes, problems like that," Dr. Dipboye said.

He says the
isolation and sitting alone are unequivocally bad - even for bus
riders.

"A person who works a 12-hour day but has a minimal commute
actually doesn't have the same health effects or stress effects as someone who
works a 10-hour day, but has a long commute," Dr. Dipboye said.

Try this
the next time you're caught in the congestion. Take long, slow, deep breaths or
roll your neck in circles while you wait, a little car yoga to help ease the
unavoidable gridlock.

36 comments

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Smartypants 5pts

"Try this the next time you're caught in the congestion. Take long,
slow, deep breaths or roll your neckÂ ..." Â Or try my
tactic: Â reach your 60s, retire & move away from this crazy
place!

Challenge_Accepted
5pts

When I lived in a small college town I rode my mountain bike to work every
day (unless it snowed or weather was really bad). Â And it only took about
10 minutes on bike. Â You know the type of town I'm talking about:
Â big tree lined streets, sidewalks everywhere, a main street, etc.
Â Man that was great.

I used to spend 1.5-2.0 hours a day commuting in the Puget Sound. Â I'm
out of that rat race after 20 years, thank god.

Jatok 5pts

Years ago they had a study group come up from California and advise them on
how to keep the traffic in this area from becoming like Los Angeles.Â  At
the time it was a very expensive study as I recall.Â  I guess no one took
their advice or it was just another very expensive waste of money.Â
Probably the latter as we can all see they turned this place into another Los
Angeles area in terms of commuting.

Rue 5pts

Come next April when phase one of $15 an hour increases begin there were be
fewer commuters on the roadÂ  (to Seattle) becuase many will be out of a
job.Â  Something to look forward to....

Redacted 5pts

The "most obvious conclusion of the day" award goes to...

yukiko 5pts

Long commutes are stressful. Too much stress has negative impacts on our
health. People who have long commutes are unhappier than those with little to no
commutes...

Why are studies done when anyone with an ounce of common sense could deduce
the same conclusion?

rockguy 5pts

No worry, Bertha will be back in action soon and fix every thing.

Want to buy some waterfront in Arizony.

aintno1special 5pts

My commute is approximately 8000 miles per week, granted most of it is in the
air...but I wonder if that still counts?

Sparky2112 5pts

I wish my commute was only 25 minutes. Â Use to be that I could leave
the house at a little after 5:00am and miss most of the morning traffic, not
anymore. Â What I love is hearing the traffic report for 167 or 405 (or
pick your route) and they will say something like "Just the usual slowdowns..."
and that has come to mean "Absolute gridlock - either 3 mph or completely
stopped". Â I'm not even sure why they do traffic reports, it's about as
valuable as a weather forecast from Oct - April around here...i.e."It'll
probably rain".

DarkJerms 5pts

Sounds like my 8 hr day where I go home during my lunch hour and my 5 minute
commute of barely a mile should be pretty healthy

mstipton 5pts

I've lived here off and on since the mid 70's.Â  (military)

Traffic was a big complaint back then and it still is.Â  Some things
never change.Â  All these proposed projects on the books with no money to
pay for them.Â  (cross base highway)

Alumni Catatonic
State 5pts

By the time I get to work its usually harmful to my fellow employee's.

Doug Duggins 5pts

I know this feeling, as I commute from Puyallup to Everett 5 days a weeks
since my work re-located. Â I calculated I spend 1 month (160 hours) in the
car each year. Â If the pay and benefits weren't so great I wouldn't do it.
Â Whoever built the convention center on top of I-5 should be shot.
Â With are great State Department of Transportation I do not see any change
anytime soon. Â Be nice if the Sounder ran all the was to Everett but I
will never see that in my life time....

Koval 5pts

To avoid the grind, Nancy Robinson packed up her home years ago.

"It
stressed me out so much that I made my husband move to Bellevue, so that I could
be closer to work," Robinson said.

Wow.Â  There's some strategic, team-oriented thinking for you.Â  No
point in accepting responsibility when you can just unload the burden on someone
else in exchange for, well, nothing.

Goodwin 5pts

Cars and single family homes must be banned.Â  Everyone must be forced
on to the bus and must live in tiny apartments in the city.

PilonidalCyst 5pts

In related news, breathing air is good for you.

tinybubbles 5pts

@Jatok Â "I guess no one took their
adviceÂ " Â  Â

Because it's so easy to get transportation packages, or anything else
for that matter, passed in this anti-everything state?

NorthEnd 5pts

@rockguy Or Wyoming.

Challenge_Accepted
5pts

@aintno1special Actually, I'd rather sit in my comfy
truck than a plane. Â Air travel sucks. Â It's like moving cattle.

tinybubbles 5pts

@aintno1special Â I don't think sitting in an
airline seat while a flight attendant serves you a cocktail is quite the same
thing as being stuck on I-5.

chevy2 5pts

@Sparky2112 And they
do not really mention Tiger mountain SR18 which is total gridlock going east,
now is getting to be the same going west.

LocalLady 5pts

@DarkJerms

My previous job, I actually worked from home - I got more done in an average
day than when I had to go into the office. Â I loved having my 5 second
commute, home when my son got home from school, not having to drive Shoreline to
Bellevue & back every day (over 23 hours a day, average).

There are SO many jobs that could easily be done from home, yet employers are
still very leery of allowing rmote jobs because they are not physically watching
ytour every move. Â Too bad employers can't trust their employees to do the
right thing.Â

rockguy 5pts

@DarkJermsÂ What
are the chances thatÂ you are also more productive than someone who sets in
traffic for 2 hours each way.

mstipton 5pts

@Doug
DugginsÂ Hmmm, pretty sure it does.

tinybubbles 5pts

@Koval What a weird
comment. It's so packed with your own imaginings it reveals a ton about you
while shedding zero light on the commenter's circumstances.

MajorSkeptic 5pts

@Koval She's trying
to kill him. Â I'd be calling 1-800-DIVORCE

I voted 5pts

@Goodwin Boy does
that sound like fun. Pretty soon if you want to work in Seattle you will have to
live there, so say the City council.

tinybubbles 5pts

@Goodwin
Â ??????? Â You couldn't afford to live in the city. Â  The
majority of new downtown condos are priced over $650,000.

NorthEnd 5pts

@GoodwinÂ  Hey, why not just set up giant dormitories/barracks in
warehouses?Â  Even easier.Â  A bunk bed and a footlocker and you're
good to go.Â

MajorSkeptic 5pts

@Goodwin ...and work
in on communal farms.

Opus8no5 5pts

@Goodwin

I suppose all those eyesore beehive apartment complexes sitting alongside I-5
south of Seattle is a good start.Â

rockguy 5pts

@Goodwin Why would
you wish that?

PilonidalCyst 5pts

@Goodwin Your wish
will come true.Â  "Growing Transit Communities" to the rescue!

I think the risk of getting hassled, annoyed or puked on is part of the charm
of mass transit in this fine region.Â  Makes one feel alive!

King Leer 5pts

@Goodwin Seattle will solve the commuting problems for hundreds, if not
thousands of workers by outlawing their jobs. Those that remain at the City
Mandated price of $15 per hour will drop out of the Seattle workforce as their
hours are cut to 29 or less.

kayaker 5pts

@PilonidalCystÂ

I'm not so sure about that any more.

LocalLady 5pts

@mstiptonÂ @Doug Duggins

But probably not on the schedule they need. Â The Sounder schedules are
Seattle-centric - everything is going INTO Seattle in the morning and then OUT
OF Seattle in the evening.

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