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A Journey from Work to Home is about more than just Getting There – the Psychological Benefits of Commuting that Remote Work Doesn’t Provide

Five takeaways:

The average American commuters spends nearly one full hour a day – 26 minutes each way on average– getting to and from work. 7.7% of workers spending two hours or more on the road.

The pandemic disrupted the commutes of millions, which many were quite thankful for. But as Covid wore on there were surprising rumblings that some people actually missed and valued the ritual of their pre-pandemic commutes.

Why? A recent study suggests it is because the commute offers us a “liminal space” – a time free of both home and work roles that provides an opportunity to recover from work and mentally switch gears to home (or vice versa). The elimination of the commute costs many people this valuable time.

The lack of a liminal space usually provided by a commute can cause blurred boundaries between private time and work, which can lead to increased stress levels and lower productivity.

Those who work from home can learn from this and create their own form of “commute” to build liminal space for recovery and transition. This could be as simple a 15-minute walk to mark the beginning and end of the workday.

by Matthew Piszczek and Kristie McAlpine for The Conversation
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

Sitting All day is Terrible for your Health – Now, a New Study finds a Relatively Easy way to Counteract it

Five takeaways:

A Recent study set out to determine the least amount of walking one could do to offset the harmful health effects of sitting for long periods of time, as we often do at work.

The findings suggest that breaking up the day with short walks was the best means of reducing blood sugar levels substantially. The optimal tactic is doing five-minute walks every half hour, which was shown to reduce blood sugar spike after eating by almost 60%.

Study participants also said that the walking breaks had mental health benefits, making them feel more energized, sharper, and happier compared to those who stayed stationary for long periods of time.

This matters because it further confirms how walking can counteract the negative effects of lifelong/long term sitting, which include chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, dementia and getting several types of cancer at much higher rates.

Implementing techniques and guidelines in your workplace for more walking breaks could lead to a happier, healthier workplace. On a personal level, it can increase the quality of your work and guarantee better long-term health.

by Keith Diaz for The Conversation
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This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

How to Remember Everything

Five takeaways:

As this piece’s title might suggest, it argues that memory is a buildable skill. It starts with the story of an Atlantic reporter who covered a memory competition for his job, became inspired by speaking to the competitors, and went back to the competition a year later after practicing their memory-honing skills everyday.. and won the whole thing.

The technique is called ““elaborative encoding”— the act of “relating disconnected numbers, words, or facts to networks of existing memories and knowledge.” This involves giving the hard-to-remember things (like names or phone numbers) hooks that rely on our visual or spatial memory, which is much stronger.

For instance, competitive “memory athlete” remembers the milk and eggs on his grocery list by placing items in a “memory palace,” picturing himself pouring a gallon of milk over his head just outside his front door, then walking inside to see a chicken juggling some eggs.

In 2017, researchers found that learning to employ mnemonic devices when trying to build memory actually reorganized the connections in subjects’ brains. It showed that the act of memory actually lit up the brain’s nerve centers.

Importantly, memory training forces us to collect a bank of images to use as memory devices. It hones our attention, and our imaginations. This makes it a hugely valuable pastime in a chaotic world that tends to pull our attention in far too many directions.

From Annika Neklason at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

Electric Vehicles are Bringing out the Worst in Us

Five takeaways:

This article argues that while it is crucial to address climate change by transitioning the automotive industry away from fossil fuels and towards electricity, the current emphasis on large, battery-powered SUVs and trucks by car manufacturers perpetuates a harmful American culture of wanting to drive bigger, faster, and heavier vehicles.

The increasing trend towards bigger cars makes for less space on the road, increasing the possibility of accidents. It also disproportionately endangers pedestrians– pedestrian fatalities reached a 40-year-high in 2021.

Electric version of SUVs and Trucks tend to be even heavier than their gas-guzzling counterparts, due to the addition of huge batteries. For example, the new electric Chevrolet Silverado EV will weigh 8000 pounds– 3000 more than the gas-powered version.

As car manufacturers focus on creating faster and larger vehicles, they are missing an opportunity to make electric vehicles safer than their gasoline-powered counterparts- eschewing potential safety-minded design changes the EV technology might allow.

To truly maximize the overall benefit of the advance of electric vehicles into the mainstream, we must push manufacturers and lawmakers to ensure the development of smaller, cleaner vehicles are needed to address the emissions problem– without creating a new class of dangerous cars that rule the road.

From David Zipper at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

This site may contain links to articles or other information that may be contained on a third-party website. Advisory Services Network, LLC and MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors are not responsible for and do not control, adopt, or endorse any content contained on any third party website. The information and material contained in linked articles is of a general nature and is intended for educational purposes only. Links to articles do not constitute a recommendation or a solicitation or offer of the purchase or sale of securities.

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