A new study published in the scientific journal Preventive Medicine suggests that people who swap their car for cycling, walking or even public transport to get to work improve their well-being and are more focused at work.
To reach this conclusion, researchers from the University of East Anglia (England) studied 18 years of data on more than 18,000 suburban residents aged 18 to 65, making daily journeys to work.
The data took into account several aspects of psychological health, including the feeling of being useless, unhappy, the ability to get out of a problem, or the inability to sleep were annotated by the researchers.
Similarly, factors influencing well-being, such as income, having children, moving house, changing jobs or relationships were also taken into account in the study.
Among study participants, 73% reported commuting to work car or by motorbike/scooter, 13% said they would get there on foot, and 3% by bicycle.
11% of respondents preferred to get there by public transport.
After analyzing the data, the researchers found that people swapping the car or the bus for the bike or walking saw their psychological well-being increase after this change in mode of transport.
Participants also reported being more focused and less under pressure at work when using methods other than the car.
“Our study shows that the more people use the car for their daily commute, the more their psychological well-being deteriorates, explains researcher Adam Martin, co-author of the study, And, conversely, people feel better when they have a long walk to work. »
Public transport also more pleasant than the car
More surprisingly, the scientists noticed that using public transport rather than the car was also beneficial to psychological well-being.
“You may think that the disruption of transport or the crowds of commuters could be the cause of considerable stress, points out Mr Martin, but buses or trains also give the traveler time to read, relax or even to socialize, and you often have to walk to get to the bus stop or the station subway, and it seems to make users smile again. »
In addition to being good for the line and for the planet, the use of a bicycle, walking, or public transport to go to work would therefore also be good for morale!
