A new study published in the scientific journal Preventive Medicine suggests that people who swap their cars for biking, walking or even public transport to get to work improve their well-being and are more focused at work.
To come to this conclusion, researchers at the University of East Anglia (England) studied 18 years of data on more than 18,000 suburban dwellers between the ages of 18 and 65, making daily commutes 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.
Likewise, factors influencing well-being, such as income, having children, moving, changing jobs or relationships were also taken into account in the study.
Of the study participants, 73% reported commuting to work by car or by motorbike / scooter, 13% said they walked, and 3% by bicycle.
11% of respondents preferred to get there by public transport.
After analyzing the data, the researchers found that people swapping cars or buses for the bike or walking saw their psychological well-being increase after this change of mode of transport.
Participants also reported being more focused and less under pressure at work when using methods of travel other than the car.
“Our study shows that the more people use the car to make their daily commute to work, the more their psychological well-being deteriorates,” explains researcher Adam Martin, co-author of the study. people feel better when they have to walk a long way to get to work. “
Public transport also more pleasant than the car
More surprisingly, scientists found that using public transport rather than the car was also beneficial for psychological well-being.
“You may think that the disruption of transport or the crowds of commuters could be the cause of considerable stress, says 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 train station. Metro, and it seems to bring smiles back to users. “
In addition to being good for the line and for the planet, using cycling, walking, or public transport to go to work would also be good for morale!
