Your daily commute can take a serious toll on your physical health. Try these tips for calming down and avoiding road rage.
Waking up before sunrise only to spend an hour crawling along the freeway on your way to work… Everyone knows the morning commute isn’t fun. But did you realize it can also take a serious toll on your health?
According to researcher Dr. Mary Ann McLaughlin of New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center, the tension of your daily drive can raise your adrenaline level. And when adrenaline goes up, as she told FOX News, “blood pressure rises. The issue with car commuters is that there is a constant stress.” When your blood starts boiling from getting cut off in traffic, you’re at serious risk for heart attacks and other severe health problems.
So what can you do to reverse the damage that your daily drive causes to your body? Here are a few ways to relax when you’re on the road.
1. Give yourself an extra ten or twenty minutes to arrive. Sure, it means waking up a little earlier—but it means you won’t be biting your nails because it’s 9:15 and you’re still stuck behind the wheel.
2. Remember the golden rule. Yield to let someone into your lane, even if it slows you down for a second—the good karma will come back to you.
3. Brush it off. If another driver is a jerk, just let it slide. Chances are, you’ll never have to see him again.
4. Don’t stress about the time. If you’re late, you’re late. Call your boss on a hands-free phone to let him or her know, and then stop fretting. Worrying about it from the road won’t solve anything.
5. Turn on the radio. Load up an iPod with your favorite tunes or a compelling audio book to make the drive go by faster.
And when all else fails, you can always ask your boss about telecommuting—or create your own work from home opportunity.
Note: We’re adding content from our archives—this was originally published November 2007, and has been updated.