Do long commutes have any health effects on humans? This is one of the most frequently asked questions by commuters across various social media platforms and forums. Well, according to experts, lots of negative health impacts are attached to long commutes.
Research has it that long commutes can cause several different physical and psychological health issues, such as psychosomatic disorders, backaches, headaches, high blood pressure, sleep disturbance, and many more.
In case you don’t know, the first thing to do to avoid any health problems associated with a long commute is to ask yourself this question – how long is too long for a commute? Finding an answer to this question and a few others will let you know whether or not you need to reduce the distance or find a new close job.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average one-way commute in the United States is 27.6 minutes – as of 2019. However, a 1.5-hour car drive to work may be considered doable, depending on a few factors. Some of them include the number of hours you spend at your workplace and how much time you get to spend with friends and family.
How long exactly is too long of a commute to work? What are the best possible ways of making a long driving commute better? Is a 1.5-hour car drive to work doable? In the rest of this post, you’ll find answers that matter to these three frequently asked questions and more.
Is a 1.5-Hour Car Drive to Work Doable?
When it comes to commuting, one of the most frequently asked questions is – is a 1.5-hour car drive to work doable?
To answer the question, I’ll say yes; a 1.5-hour car drive to work is pretty much achievable. That’s so because tons of people out there exceed an hour and a half hours daily to commute to work.
According to a report, about eight percent of workers had commutes of about 60 minutes or more to work as of 2010. Matter of fact, in the same year, about 3.3 million people were reported to have commutes longer than 90 minutes. Interestingly, the numbers have now increased by more than 23% in the past few years, with about 4.3 million people having commutes of 1.5-hour or more since 2018.
So, yes, a 1.5-hour car drive to work is doable, as many people have done it in the past and are even still doing it presently. While that is true, you need to understand that a 90 minute drive to work is considered an extremely long commuting, according to the US Census Bureau.
Well, there are tons of ways that you can employ to make a 90-minute car drive to work much better for you. You’ll find out more about that as you proceed to the next sections of this post.
How Long is Too Long of a Commute to Work?
As earlier mentioned, experts have revealed that several physical and psychological health problems are attached to a long commute to work. If that’s the case, here’s a burning question; how long exactly is too long of a commute to work?
To answer the question, one has to put a few factors into consideration. You need to start by asking yourself a couple of questions:
- Does driving by car to your place of work make you start and end your day with your stress level on the high?
- Is your commute to work affecting your relationship with friends and family?
- Are you happy with the job?
- Do you only work a couple of days in a week or the work requires you to work all through the week?
- Is your productivity dropping or increasing?
Providing answers to these questions and more will help you gain a better understanding of whether or not your commute to work is too long.
As earlier mentioned, the US Census Bureau reveals that the average one-way commute in the United States is 27.6 minutes. Based on time, the organization was also able to define, in one of its reports, that an extremely long commuting is one that involves workers spending about 90 minutes or more driving one way to work.
That’s not all; the US Census Bureau further categorizes long-distance commutes to work as any one-way travel distance that is 50 miles or more. Moreover, if you’re the type that both travels 90 minutes or more and 50 miles or more to work, one-way, the organization says that you’re a mega commuter.
How Do I Make My Long Driving Commute Better?
As previously mentioned, there are several different ways that you can employ to make your long driving commute better. You can check below to see a couple of them:
- Leave 15 to 25 minutes earlier
One of the issues with long driving commutes is that it can cause fear. Yes, it can cause the fear of not wanting to get late work. And if this happens, it could make you become pretty exhausted before arriving at work.
That said, one way to reduce the issue of fear attached to long-distance commuting is to ensure you leave for work about 15 to 25 minutes earlier. This way, you’ll be able to save yourself some time, while driving the long distance to work.
- Perform enjoyable activities
Besides leaving 15 to 25 minutes earlier to work, another way to make your long driving commute to work better is by using enjoyable activities to pass the time until you get to your workplace.
So, the question is; what are the enjoyable activities that you can perform while driving to work? First, you can decide to play your favorite songs – this could be classical music. Apart from that, you may also decide to play your favorite audiobook and listen as you drive to work.
