British commuters get free doses of murderous adrenaline with every train ride – study
According to the TUC, the total average UK commute takes up just less than an hour per day (58.4 minutes). Londoners having the longest commute (81 minutes). So does it figure that Londoners make for the better fighter pilots?
Dr Lewis, a fellow of the International Stress Management Association who led the HP research, observed: “The difference is that a riot policeman or a combat pilot have things they can do to combat the stress that is being triggered by the event. But the commuter, particularly on a train, cannot do anything about it at all. So it is this sense of helplessness combined with the stress that is perhaps the most worrying aspect of it…
“At best it’s a dismal experience; at worst it may well have health consequences. How much harm it is doing would depend on how robust your physical system is anyhow and how high your blood pressure goes. We have measured a systolic pressure [the force blood exerts on the artery walls when the heart beats] in the region of 170-180 in some people. These have been occasions when the person we’ve been monitoring has lost their temper and had a serious row. And under those circumstances you can have a heart attack.”
Source: The Times
Posted: 6th, September 2020 | In: News Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
