Could Your Commute Change Your Health?

Most of us live busy, fast-paced lives. Between work, errands, preparing meals, maintaining the home, spending time with family and friends, and just trying to keep up with our to-do lists, it can be hard to find time each day to be physically active and to move our bodies.

But physical activity is really important for maintaining good overall health and promoting longevity. And while making sure we work out regularly is a great place to start, we can also boost our overall activity levels outside of the time we designate as “exercise.” It can make a big difference if we also learn to move our bodies more in our daily routines, such as while doing chores around the house, playing with our children, or even commuting.

If you are having a hard time fitting enough physical activity into your daily routine, you may want to consider a more active form of commuting.

Taking advantage of commuting time

Many people spend a significant portion of their day commuting to and from work. Sometimes, commuting can take up to several hours of each workday. And often, those hours are spent sedentary, sitting in a car.

What if you were to shift some of that commuting time to time spent being physically active? By choosing to walk, bike, or take public transportation (for all or even part of your commute), you can kill two birds with one stone — getting to where you need to go and giving your health a boost while you are at it.

Benefits of actively commuting for your health

People who opt for active modes of transportation on their commutes show higher overall levels of physical activity. In one study, the results showed that people who walked to work had 60% more time of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week compared to people who drove to work. For the people who walked to work, that time spent walking accounted for almost 50% of their weekly physical activity levels.

Researchers have shown that increasing your level of physical activity through an active mode of commuting (walking, biking, or even public transportation) can benefit your health and decrease risk for disease.