A Handle on your Health: Driving & Effects On Your Health
Everyone is aware of the effects of having an automobile accident but are you aware of the other potential risks to your health from driving? Almost 4,000 Texans will lose their lives in motor vehicle crash this year and while that’s alarming by itself there are plenty of other effects to our health that come from driving that we are really only just discovering.
The open road means freedom for us here in Texas. It is a right of passage for teenagers turning 16. We use our cars to tell other people about who we are. Many of us have emotional connections to our car. But while cars can be cool, the amount of time we spend in them can have deleterious effects on our minds and our bodies.
A large Australian study shows that spending two hours a day driving your car increases your risks for adverse health effects. The study also finds that it’s not just two hours commuting to and from work that are the problem but any driving that adds up to two or more hours a day. A Berkley study found that if you drive an average of 25 miles a day you’re at increased risk of dying early.
Raise your hand if you find driving to be stressful. If you raised your hand then you’re in good company. Studies show that people’s stress levels go up with driving. This increased stress causes lower satisfaction with our life choices and our job and increases depression. Long commutes actually correlate with more sick days and visits to the hospital. A UK study found that it only took 15 minutes into a commuter’s drive for anxiety levels to increase. As you can probably predict all this stress causes increases in heart rate and blood pressure too.
Along the same lines as stress comes rage. You have probably heard of “road rage” or even been guilty of it yourself. But this is incredibly unhealthy behavior. When you enter a state of rage your brain is no longer thinking clearly. With rage comes a greater risk of bodily injury and death.
If I told you spending more time behind the wheel correlates with increased use of alcohol and tobacco would you believe me? Well, an Australian study clearly demonstrates that people smoke and drink more alcohol if they spend more time driving. The study doesn’t indicate whether people are smoking and drinking in their car while driving. Increased alcohol use increases blood pressure and liver disease as well as the obvious risk of death from motor vehicle crashes. Increased smoking increases the risk of lung diseases like COPD and cancer.
The more time you spend in your car seat, the less time you are spending exercising. Exercising is important for your overall health. It affects so many things such as your cardiovascular health, psychological health, obesity and cholesterol to name a few.
Insomnia and insufficient sleep can become more of a problem for people that spend more time driving. This always seemed like an obvious issue for truck drivers but I was surprised to learn it was an issue for the average person with longer commutes. The studies are clear that we need our 7-8 hours a day to be at our best. Too little sleep causes mood changes, increased blood pressure, increased risk for diabetes and heart attacks. Being tired on the road causes more accidents, in fact, more accidents than being drunk.
We don’t eat the way we should, either, if we drive more. Specifically, studies show we eat less fruits and vegetables when we spend more time on the road. Fruits and vegetables help control cholesterol, inflammation, blood sugars and can decrease heart attacks and cancer. I am amazed that increased driving time correlates with decreased fruits and vegetables. I would like to see a study that correlates fast food consumption with driving times. I suspect there is a strong correlation.
We could also get into all the health effects from the pollution that comes from all the cars on the road as well, but we will save that for another time.
Normally I go over solutions and remedies for your health care but if you are one of the people at risk from driving too much I really don’t know what to recommend. If you can recognize that you have increased risks to your life and health from driving too much, hopefully you can make some changes to your driving habits that will help.
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Dr. John Turner is a family medicine and emergency medicine doctor with 25 years of experience. He is also the owner of My Primary Care Clinic and My Emergency Room 24/7 here in Hays County. Dr. Turner may be reached at 512-667-6087.
