8 Health risks due to the location of the office too far

The long journey to and from work is not a happy moment for most people. But it turns out that a remote office can impact more than just time. The time you spend on the streets has been shown to be detrimental to your physical as well as mental health. Here are some of the adverse effects of long trips to work - in private vehicles, city buses, or trains - on your health.

What are the negative effects of being too far away?

1. Blood sugar increases

Driving more than 16 kilometers every day, to and from work, is linked to high blood sugar. That's what a team of researchers from the University School of Medicine at Saint Louis and the Cooper Institute in Dallas found and published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine. High blood sugar levels can lead to prediabetes and diabetes.

2. Lack of sleep

The 2012 Regus Work-Life Balance Index found that people who took more than 45 minutes to and from work each day reported lower quality sleep and higher levels of fatigue than people with shorter commuting times.

Click on the following link to find out how to effectively get a good, quality sleep at night, or tips on sleeping on public transportation.

3. Weight gain

The further away you commute to work each day, the higher your chances of being overweight. This is because long commuter trips make many people have to leave early in the morning and skip breakfast, so they prefer to buy makeshift, high-calorie fast food during the trip.

And of course, lingering in the car or squeezed into the train or bus leaves little time for you to get enough physical activity - which can contribute to an increase in body mass index and high blood pressure.

4. Blood pressure rises

Long commutes during rush hour - coupled with the anxiety of arriving late to the office or important meetings - can result in increased stress which can boost your blood pressure. This was evidenced in an experiment from the University of Utah research team, in which participants were told they were late for a meeting and would be given monetary incentives for achieving their goals as quickly as possible.

People who drove in more intense traffic reported higher levels of stress and blood pressure than the group of participants who drove on casual streets. High blood pressure over time is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

If you feel like you're always in a rush, it might be worth considering leaving for the office at least an hour before rush hour - even if you arrive at work at the same time as usual. This way you will definitely feel less anxious during the trip.

5. Risk of chronic neck pain

One-third of workers who spend more than 90 minutes commuting to work per day say they experience neck and back pain that won't go away, according to a 2010 Gallup poll. However, of all employees who take only 10 minutes or less to get home- going to work, only one in four people reported back pain. The extra time spent hunched over in a chair or while standing on a bus or train plays a big role in fostering this problem.

The solution is only one: try to always sit upright, with good spine support and head straight at shoulder level. Good posture can help you reverse this problem, and is a lifestyle choice that requires you to remember it every day to become an automatic habit.

6. Prone to depression

Workers who drive alone or take public transportation are reported to be less able to enjoy daily activities and have more difficulty concentrating than pedestrians or cyclists, according to a 2014 study from the University of East Anglia. Interestingly, researchers found that mental wellbeing scores decreased for those who boarded cars as time spent behind the wheel increased. For pedestrians, it's quite the opposite: those who made the long commute to work by foot had better mental health scores.

Additionally, researchers from the University School of Medicine at Saint Louis and the Cooper Institute in Dallas also noted in their report that people with at least 10 miles of traffic each way had a higher tendency to depression, stress, anxiety, and social isolation than those with shorter commuting times or no commuting at all.

While there isn't much you can do to shorten or eliminate your travel time, you can outsmart it by doing something like listening to a great song or audio podcast. You might also try chatting with the person next to you. According to a study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2014, passengers on commuter buses and trains report more positive experiences when they communicate with other passengers than when they close themselves off.

7. Your happiness and life satisfaction have plummeted

Workers whose offices are much more prone to feeling nervous and anxious, dissatisfied, depressed, and more likely to feel that their life is meaningless than those who do not have to spend long commuting to work. These are findings from the Office for National Statistics in the UK looking at the impact of commuting travel on personal well-being. It also found that every extra minute of commuting time made you feel worse.

Taking a bus for 30 minutes or more is associated with the lowest levels of life satisfaction and happiness, but even if you are lucky enough to cycle to work and enjoy the beautiful nature, your satisfaction will also decrease if the distance you cover is too long.

8. Exposure to excess pollution

In a 2007 study of Los Angeles residents, it was found that up to half of their exposure to hazardous air pollution occurred when they were commuting in their vehicle. The study authors said driving with closed windows, using recirculated air conditioning, and driving slower than 30 km per hour could reduce exposure, but still not as much if you cut driving time.

Likewise with cycling to work, said a study from the Netherlands in 2010. However, the benefits of cycling, which can improve heart work, still outweigh the health risks of exposure to air pollution.