|  |  | | | | How To Commute: Make The Daily Grind Gentler On Your Body And Soul.
By Matthew Segil
Mens Fitness, May 1995 |
| Does your trip to and from work drive you batty? Do you live too far away or have too crowded a schedule to even consider riding a bike or taking public transportation? If you follow this expert advice, those interminable stretches of sphincter-tightening traffic will seem, well, a little less horrid:
- Your first goal is to avoid traffic as much as possible, says commuter-stress expert Ray Novaco, PhD, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine. That tip isn't as annoyingly obvious as it sounds: Doing so might simply mean avoiding the evening rush hour (the more stressful of the two commutes) by working out at a gym near your office. As a bonus, the workout will reduce what stress you already have.
- Sitting is one of the back's prime nemeses, paving the way for aching joints and injury, says Kenneth Light, MD, director of the San Francisco Spine Center. According to Light, stress and fatigue make you slump in your seat, which, in turn, stresses and fatigues your back, making you more weary and prone to injury-including sciatica, pain that runs from hamstring to buttock. Light recommends moving your seat bottom as close to the steering wheel as possible; that way, you won't have to sit swaybacked to reach the wheel. You'll know you're sitting pretty when your knees are slightly higher than your hips.
- If your back doesn't conform to the curve of your car seat, Light recommends getting a lumbar support, available in any medical supply store.
- All that plastic and dough you've been cramming into your wallet is a pain in the butt-literally: It forces you to sit unevenly and can hamper circulation. Take it out while you drive.
- During your commute, try stretching when it's safe. Simply lifting your shoulders toward your ears and holding them there for about 10 seconds can help relieve tension in your neck and shoulders, improving your circulation as well. So can slowly turning your head from side to side when stopped at traffic lights.
- Invest more brainpower in controlling what comes out of your radio. You may love Megadeth, but if it makes you want to head for the nearest mosh pit, it's not going to make traffic any less confining. Same goes for Muzak. Books on tape not only have a relaxing context-the good old stress-free days when people read to you-but they also provide some soothing food for thought, not to mention an easy way of boning up on all those classics you never read in school. Sometimes the best solution is simply to turn your stereo off. The quiet can be surprisingly soothing.
- If you don't mind being resented by drivers all around you, get a car phone. One rigged with a speaker is less dangerous than the kind that require you to take a hand off the wheel.
- Hold off on that coffee until you get to work. It's been shown to help spur the release of stress hormones.
- Say you've already sequestered Mr. Coffee to the office, though, and you're still wound up too tightly behind the wheel. The solution, Novaco says, is to refuse to let other drivers get on your nerves. If a guy cuts you off, pulling beside him to show him your middle finger will only make you angrier-and perhaps even nervous about whether he's a bazooka-toting psycho. Instead, focus on nicer things-like breathing deeply and steadily, taking the air all the way into your gut. Or on that neat audio book you just bought.
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| | | | | The Spine Network of California is committed to informing the public as to how they can protect their backs and their health. Further information about the network itself may be found here, and we are quite accessable at either trudy@spinenetwork.com or 1-888-673-4575. An appointment can be arranged within 48 hours of your call. The following readings may also be of interest to you:
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