Walk or Bicycle to Work to Stay Happy: Study

Ditch your car and take a walk or bicycle to work in order to stay mentally fit and happy, advises a study.

A past study suggests people who take public transport instead of driving down to work are happier and less stressed.  Ideally, walking, cycling and doing other forms of light aerobic activities everyday benefit health by managing blood pressure, fat and cholesterol levels in the body. A new British research urges people to leave their own vehicles at home and walk to their work place to enjoy positive impacts on psychological health.

Experts from the University of East Anglia used survey data of over 18,000 commuters across the U.K. in past 18 years and found people in the last decade increasingly prefer taking a mass transit system than driving.  In addition, the survey also looked at a number of factors related to their well-being like number of children, quality of personal relations, income levels, sleep quality, problems in daily life, feeling of worthlessness and overall happiness, reports the BBC.

Almost 73 percent of the surveyed participants drove to work, 13 percent walked and 3 percent bicycled every day. Nearly 11 percent reportedly relied on public transport like buses and trains to commute daily. The researchers noted that compared to those who drove every day, respondents who walked and bicycled had increased level of well-being. This group of participants experienced less stress, physical and mental exhaustion and did not have any trouble concentrating on work or personal life.

Those who stayed behind the wheel for more than an hour were likely to be more stressed, irritated and anxious. These negative effects diminish after travelling for three or more hours. Car owners who stopped driving and began walking or taking buses to work saw positive changes in their mental status and personal well-being.

"Our study shows that the longer people spend commuting in cars, the worse their psychological well-being. And correspondingly, people feel better when they have a longer walk to work. You might think that things like disruption to services or crowds of commuters might have been a cause of considerable stress," said Adam Martin, study author and researcher from UEA's Norwich Medical School, reports the BBC.

"The effects of commuting on personal well-being were greatest for anxiety and happiness, suggesting that commuting affects day to day emotions more than overall evaluations of satisfaction with life or the sense that daily activities are worthwhile," the authors wrote in the study, reports the Daily Mail.

More information is available online in the journal Preventive Medicine.