KEY POINTS:
LONDON - Gazing at that great looking guy or girl on the 8.15 bus or train to work may bring brief relief from commuter stress, but planning your day is better.
A new study on reducing the strain of the daily jaunt to the office found that commuters who used the time to organize their schedules, plough through some work or read were less ground down by the experience over time.
"People using their time more profitably have a better state of well-being," said Nottingham Trent University researcher Glenn Williams who led a survey of nearly 600 commuters.
Researchers divided coping mechanisms into nine categories which included activities such as singing, working, reading, meditation/praying and ogling your fellow passengers to get through the journey.
Thousands travel to work each day on public transport systems that are routinely faulted by congested roads, unpredictable buses, delays and infrastructure that can be decades old.
The stress that commuting causes can badly affect people's lives; damage their relationships or make them unhappy with their jobs and communities, Williams said.
"We thought gosh, there must be a better way of trying to have a better commuting experience," he said.
Williams said the least effective long-term methods for coping with stress consisted of eyeing up attractive fellow passengers, using substances such as tobacco and alcohol, seeking psychological help or allowing responses such as anger to cloud your emotions.
The study found that people with a high level of resilience to stress used the less effective strategies less often.
Williams said those who coped best focused on their personal goals or searched for solutions to alleviate the ups and downs of the commuting life rather than looking outwards.
"Our results are trying to show that there is a way to commuter heaven."
- REUTERS
