Hello, my cubicle carpoolers, open space cyclists, corner office car shareres, home den dawdlers, and coffee shop subway riders. My name is Brock Armstrong, and I am… not the Workplace Hero. If I am doing my job correctly, I am slowly but surely, podcast by podcast, making you into a Workplace Hero. I am simply an information super highway. Heh… remember how we used to call the internet that? No? You're probably too young. Anyway…

Today's Heroic idea came from Workplace Hero, Erin Moline, who sent me an email saying "I'm in my car a lot and with traffic so heinous that I often have to focus a lot and it can be exhausting. I have my ergonomics correct in the car, but I noticed it makes me a little frazzled." And that is exactly what I plan to do with today’s episode. Remember, my Heros, that you can suggest topics you would like me to cover by sending me a note on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or by emailing [email protected].

Now, as much as I hate to start the podcast off with a depressing list of horrifying stats, that is exactly what I am going to do. Sorry.

But before I do that - did you know that this podcast has an email newsletter that goes along with it? It does. And you can sign up for it at wokrplacehero.me. The form is on the righthand side of the page. Rest assured, because we believe strongly in the idea of Inbox Zero, you will only receive an email once per week, and it will be short, informative and easy to delete. Best of all, just for signing up, you will receive a coupon code for 10% off at the online health and fitness store, GreenfieldFitnessSystems.com. Over there they have a staggering array of supplements, gear, clothing along with some wacky things that will help keep you healthy and fit. So sign up for the newsletter at workplacehero.me and get your discount code now.

And now, back to how commuting impacts your mental and physical health—and don't worry, I will also let you know what you can do to offset the damage.

According to a report in USA Today, the average North American's commute is 25.5 minutes each way. That's about 51 minutes per day or about 204 hours a year spent commuting. Just to put that in perspective, researchers recently found that most adults only do 17 minutes of fitness activities per day or about 103.4 hours per year. So we are only exercising for approximately half the amount of time that we are spending commuting. Ug!

The following list is from an excellent Time.com article called, 10 Things Your Commute Does to Your Body, by Carolyn Kylstra.

1. Your Blood Sugar Rises Driving more than 10 miles each way, to and from work, is associated with higher blood sugar, according to a report written by researchers from the University School of Medicine in Saint Louis and the Cooper Institute in Dallas and published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine. And as we all know, high blood glucose levels can lead to diabetes.

2. Your Cholesterol is Higher The same report in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that the 10-mile one-way drives were also associated with higher cholesterol levels among commuters. This idea is similar to what we talked about in the "To Stand or Not to Stand" podcast with Katy Bowman a few weeks ago which you can find at workplacehero.me/stand

3. Your Depression Risk Rises The researchers from the University School of Medicine in Saint Louis and the Cooper Institute in Dallas also noted in their report that people with commutes of at least 10 miles each way have a higher tendency toward depression, anxiety, and social isolation. We'll talk about how to shake that in a bit.

4. Your Anxiety Increases A newer report from the Office of National Statistics in the U.K. finds that people who commute more than half an hour to work each way report higher levels of stress and anxiety than people with shorter commutes or no commutes at all. Now, while there's not much most of us can do to shorten or eliminate our commute, we can make the most of it by doing something enjoyable during it… like listening to your favourite podcast. Jus' sayin'.

5. Your Happiness and Life Satisfaction Decline The same report from the U.K. found that people with commutes of any length experience lower life satisfaction and happiness than people with no commutes at all. Riding a bus for 30 minutes or longer was associated with the lowest levels of life satisfaction and happiness. It also resulted in the highest amount of chewing gum found stuck to the back of your pant leg when you arrive at work.

6. Your Blood Pressure Temporarily Spikes A researcher from the University of Utah set up an experiment where participants were placed in simulated driving scenarios: They were told they were late to a meeting and had a financial incentive to get to their destination quickly. Half the group was put in high-density traffic; the other half in a less congested environment. The people who drove in more intense traffic had much higher reports of stress, as well as higher blood pressure.

Now this likely goes without saying, but if you are one of those people who feel like you're always in a rush, it might be worth leaving well before rush hour—even if you arrive at work at the same time as you normally would, you'll feel less anxious. Keep listening for some breathing techniques you can use to help manage your stress level.

7. Your Blood Pressure Rises Over Time, As Well A study of 4,297 Texans found that the farther the participants lived from where they worked—the longer their commutes—the higher their blood pressure was. High blood pressure over time is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.

8. Your Cardiovascular Fitness Drops The same study out of Texas found that people with longer commutes also had lower levels of cardiovascular fitness and physical activity. It's not hard to see how spending more time in sitting in traffic results in spending less time pounding the pavement or pumping iron.

9. Your Sleep Suffers The Regus Work-Life Balance Index found that people who commute for longer than 45 minutes each way reported lower sleep quality and more exhaustion than people with shorter commutes. For some tips on how to get better sleep refer to the past podcast with Dr. Tam about Air and Light at workplacehero.me/airandlight

10. Your Back Aches Spending hours a week slouched over in a car, subway or bus seat has negative consequences on your posture and your back and neck. Which is why I always recommend standing on public transit. Not only will you not nod off and miss your stop but you will also spend the entire trip firing those little stabilizer muscles and engaging your proprioceptors which can help diminish many of the physiological issues associated with sitting for long periods of time.

Not surprisingly, according to a new study by researchers at McGill University, commuters are more likely to feel happier walking to work than taking any other form of transportation.

According to a BusinessInsider.com article, a team of researchers surveyed over 3,300 students, staff and faculty members about their travel times, comfort, safety, street harassment, cost, and wait times.

The researchers found that participants were happiest when they walked, rode the train, or cycled to work — in that order.

The researchers found that participants reported lower satisfaction when they traveled by car, subway, or bus - in that order.

When researchers dug deeper into the factors that affect commuter satisfaction, they discovered that travel duration mattered a great deal. Unsurprisingly, ...