title: Rail commuting duration and passenger stress.
abstract: Over 100 million Americans commute to work every weekday. Little is known, however, about how this aspect of work, which may indeed be the most stressful aspect of the job for some, affects human health and well-being. The authors studied a sample of 208 male and female suburban rail commuters who took the train to Manhattan, New York. The greater the duration of the commute, the larger the magnitude of salivary cortisol elevations in reference to resting baseline levels, the less the commuter's persistence on a task at the end of the commute, and the greater the levels of perceived stress. These effects were not moderated by gender. Commuting stress is an important and largely overlooked aspect of environmental health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Design and Environmental Analysis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853-4401, USA. gwe1@cornell.edu
authors.forename: Gary W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Wener
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D009515:New Jersey; D009519:New York City; D011890:Railroads; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014186:Transportation
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone