Getting ready to travel to work more stressful than commuting.

Preparing for your daily commute may be more stressful than your actual commute says Gasoline Alley Services (GAS). Participants took part in a month-long experiment where they were asked to wear a fitness tracker and monitor their heart rate when travelling to work, and to keep a diary of their travels.

Most participants experienced an average increase of 10% in their heart rate when driving their car or motorbike. But when preparing to leave their home, heart rates shot up by an average of 42%.

Those with children experienced the biggest increases in their heart rate, with participants reporting that “getting them organised and in the car” was one stress, while others said they wanted to beat the school run traffic. One person in the study commented that “it’s my daily battle to get my kids out of the house, it’s such a headache.”

Even those without children recorded elevated heart rates before leaving, as they raced to get themselves ready and out on the road.

The desire to beat the traffic may be the reason those who took part in the experiment stressed more before leaving than while actually driving. “All those who took part in the study commented on how they left earlier to avoid getting caught up in queues” says Kylie Baudet, Marketing Manager at GAS. “We also noticed that heart rates increased when drivers had to face situations they couldn’t control, like waiting at traffic lights or petrol stations.”

GAS undertook the experiment as part of the company’s on-going effort to make life easier for New Zealand drivers. “We are interested in how we can make the lives of commuters and our customers better,” says Tim Ellis, Managing Director of GAS. “It is why we are introducing products like our new GAS UP app that mean faster and easier refuelling at our service stations. We want to help Kiwis reduce the amount of time it takes to do chores like filling up their car – and hopefully cut down on commuter, school run and other travel stress at the same time!”

While commuting was not as stressful as expected, heart rates still increased when drivers reported being cut-up, or having to follow slower drivers in the outer lane. Motorcyclists taking part also commented that slippery and rainy conditions greatly increased their heart rate, as they had to concentrate more when riding.

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