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Best Health Blog
Can stressful commutes cause physical pain?
I’m a commuter. I’m on the train each day for an hour and 15 minutes each way. I use this time to think about my day, think about my personal time, and sometimes think about nothing at all. I’m not the only one who feels this way—as you see on any train, bus or subway, people use their iPods and newspapers to zone out.
But there are cliques who commute too. They bunch together (and unfortunately, they’re usually near me if I try to sneak in a nap) and chat loudly about the silliest of things (a colleague who is cheating on a spouse, their physical reactions to certain foods, the parenting skills of a “friend”—you get my drift). I’d rather sit beside a cellphone talker than the gossipy groups, because at least there is only half of the noise pollution—I can’t hear the person on the other end of the phone.
It tends to be crowded during these two and a half hours, so you’ll understand why I consider my personal space (physical and audible) so precious.
There are also physical benefits to calm, quiet “me” time. A new study from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research shows that it can alleviate physical pain. According to Science Daily, people who meditate felt pain less intensely. The researchers say the intensity of pain was reduced by 18%.
When you want to think about nothing at all, meditate or zone out, how do you do it? And how do you handle a stressful commute?
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