Commuting affects women's mental health

New research reveals that commuting is detrimental to women’s mental health.

Although women spend less time travelling to and from work than men, a study carried out by the London School of Economics and the University of Sheffield shows that they find the daily grind more stressful.

Basing their findings on data from the British Household Panel Survey, researchers suggested that this was because women often have more responsibility for childcare and housework.

Co-author and economist Professor Jennifer Robert, from the University of Sheffield, said "We know that women, especially those with children, are more likely to add daily errands to their commute, such as food shopping and dropping off and picking up children from childcare.

"These time constraints and the reduced flexibility that comes with them make commuting stressful in a way that it wouldn't be otherwise."

The research, published in the Journal of Health Economics, indicates that women with pre-school age children experience the largest adverse effects. In fact, they are psychologically four times more affected than men with children of this age. Women in relationships with no children were also affected by commuting.

Stress can cause mental health problems like depression. If you are concerned about psychological treatment, choose a health insurance policy which offers cover for psychiatric treatment.

You can get quotes and compare health insurance quotes live on our site now.

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