5 Health Problems Due to Stress When Driving

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Stress is a form of body response or pressure caused by a desire, and we can increase stress if the pressure has not been met. This can happen at any time, including when you drive. While you are driving, you may encounter things that are not desirable and cause a variety of negative emotions such as anxiety, boredom, or feeling impatient to reach the goal. Without realizing it, this condition can cause excessive secretion of the hormone cortisol and can be dangerous if it occurs for a long time.

Impact of stress when driving on health

The stress level when driving is closely related to the length of time on the trip. This can be exacerbated by the presence of congestion conditions or places where public vehicles are too full and uncomfortable. If not addressed, stress when driving can cause various impacts, including:

Increased levels of sugar and blood cholesterol - this is the result of an uncontrolled increase in the hormone cortisol. Stress conditions when driving are also caused by you being less active, resulting in a slower metabolism of blood sugar. However, in contrast to blood sugar levels that can change, cholesterol levels in the blood can get worse over time due to continuous exposure to stress.
Increase blood pressure - Driving conditions are very easy to affect one's blood pressure, especially when there is anxiety due to driving during rush hour. Stress conditions with increased blood pressure every day can trigger the development of heart disease.
Sleep disturbance - feeling tired after working and driving can cause a decrease in the quality of the night's rest. This gets worse if you experience stress when driving at night because of the condition "fight or flight"Can make it difficult to fall asleep and become more tired the next day.
Triggering an unhealthy lifestyle - Even though it is not realized, stress when driving is very wasteful because it tends to occur for a long time. As a result you feel very tired and lose time to exercise. Stress conditions also trigger unhealthy consumption patterns because they cause the desire to eat more high-sugar and fat foods.
Back pain - stress causes you to be less aware of your posture when sitting at the time of driving. If this happens for a long time it can cause a variety of disorders in the back that are characterized by pain.

How to deal with stress when driving

Although it causes various effects on health, stress when driving will be very difficult to avoid. But this can be minimized by doing several ways like the following:

Change perceptions about the duration of driving
This is the simplest way to deal with stress by realizing that the duration of travel is unavoidable and is a consequence of the distance of your residence and destination. Use driving time to think and calm down for a moment from various activities that confiscate your concentration. Also consider whether or not there are other alternatives to take your trip such as riding public transportation, walking, or using a bicycle. Choose the one you enjoy the most.

Listening to music
Listening to music is one of the activities that can distract you in some time. This is needed to reduce the exposure of the source of stress to your mind continuously. Choose the type of music that you like and can improve your mood and make you more relaxed.

Make a move stretching
Doing a few movements to stretch your muscles can facilitate blood flow and help you relax more. Do it by contracting the tendons of the leg muscles, fingers and neck and holding it in 8 to 10 seconds. Do it several times until the muscles do not feel stiff or become weaker.

Eat healthy snacks
Providing healthy snacks for cars like cut fruit can help reduce stress when driving, especially when you are hungry. Provide lots of snacks that contain lots of vitamin C because it can lower blood pressure and keep stress hormone production under control.

Meet the adequacy of sleep time
The optimal energy condition of being able to sleep at night can help you deal with situations that cause better stress. Lack of sleep also causes you to become more hungry during the day, and this can make you more stressful when driving. If you go home at night, avoid all activities that can reduce your sleep time such as watching TV at night.

Depart early
By leaving early, you have more time to spend on the trip and can avoid being stuck in traffic during rush hour. This also helps you to be calmer and reduce anxiety when undesirable conditions occur such as traffic jams.

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