Have you ever noticed how stressed you get behind the wheel
of a car. We get upset when the person in front of us is
driving to slow, traffic is backed up, a car cuts us off,
or wishing the kids in the back would settle down. As we
know stress causes many of the health problems we face
today. Just think how a reduction in your stress while
driving will make you healthier, especially when you think
how many times we drive everyday.
bmwIf you live in an area similar to my parents in South
Dakota you may be thinking to yourself what stress while
driving. This article is for the rest of the world that
has to deal with traffic, road construction, and more
learner permit drivers than we know what to do with. The
average person spends 1.5 hours a day behind the wheel of a
car. Since we are not going to being spending this time
exercising we can learn to lower our stress and improve our
health while we drive.
The first secret to lower your stress while driving is to
identify what cause you stress while behind the wheel.
Most people have some daily event that causes their stress
levels to rise. For some it is when they are stuck in
traffic, getting cut off, changing lanes, or bad weather.
These stresses are usually caused by fear that you may not
be aware of. For instance when you hit gridlock in traffic
is it really the traffic that upsets you or the fact that
you are going to be late. You may find though you get
upset at the traffic that it is really an underlining issue
that causes your stress. The more you understand what
causes you stress behind the wheel the better you can make
a better choice to distress while driving.
I used to train a psychiatrist who talked about that one of
the most common syptoms she would treat was road anxiety.
She helped these people by having them eat a candy bar on
their way home from work when they were the most stressed.
What she didn’t know was that the reason people are
so irritable on the way home from work comes a lack of
proper eating habits. You body wants 5 small meals a day
when it doesn’t get it your body finds unhealthy ways
to get energy. In the case of our rush hour drivers,
because they typically eat 3 meals or less, they have low
blood sugar while driving home which causes them to be
quickly go to anxiety and rage. You will find as your
blood sugar is stable from eating throughout the day, your
stress levels reduce substantially.
Tips for Better Stress Free Driving
1. Start your trip earlier: It will always take longer than
you think to get some where, especially if you live in a
big city. Most people’s stress rises because they
didn’t give themselves enough time reach their
destination if things don’t go perfectly. If you
start early than you won’t be as bothered when
traffic situations happen.
2. Relax while driving: Use the time while driving to
unwind and reflect about your day. If you have a lengthy
commute home spend the time being alone with yourself
instead of racing to get home as fast as you can to only
have plenty of stuff do once you get their. You have an
opportunity to take a few minutes out of the rat race while
you drive home.
3. Be courteous: We all hate it when someone cuts us off
though I can’t throw the first stone from never
cutting people off myself. A person once told me that how
would you feel if that person was rushing a dying person to
the hospital and that if they make it on time the person
would survive. Every time I see a person driving
dangerously I wish them well and hope that their need to
drive fast has benefit for them. This works the same
during accidents which if you live in Phoenix is an
everyday occurrence. What calms me down is I truly hope
the people are ok. Though I don’t like traffic
slowing down, I don’t people hurt either. I find I
lose my anger when I think of the poor people who are
having it worse than my delay home.
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About The Author: Charles Carter, BS in Exercise Science is
President of LIVE, llc of http://www.liveleantoday.com -
visit the website for more information on weight loss, core
fitness programs, optimal diets, and online personal
trainer and dietician services. For more information on
products go to http://shop.liveleantoday.com .
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