Tips to ease your daily commute

Research shows that your daily commute could cause neck and back pain, high cholesterol, high anxiety and obesity. If you are faced with a long daily commute, say more than 30 miles, here are some steps you can take to ease unhealthy effects of your daily commute.

Get comfortable: An uncomfortable commute could add to your stress. An upright position helps you to see the road ahead better and help you keep your spine aligned. If your car seat doesn’t have a back support, try a lower-back cushion. Grab the wheel at 8 and 4 o’ clock positions.

Breathe easy: Breathe deeply and slowly like in belly breathe in Yoga, four to six times a minute to ease any tension.

Keep your distance: A 3 to 4 second vehicle distance between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you.

Avoid multitasking: Avoid talking on the phone, checking e-mails or texting. It is unsafe, illegal and adds to your stress.

Practice coping skills: If you tend to be irritated if someone cuts you off, try few coping techniques to avoid stress buildup. Make a list of those situations that upsets you while you are driving and have solutions figured out in advance.