Letters | Seoul is working to cut commute time. Hong Kong should, too
- Readers discuss the options to improve Hong Kong’s urban design, the benefits and challenges of a shorter work week, and US double standards when it comes to international rules
Our commute time has an impact on our health. For one, studies have found that commute time and sleep time are negatively correlated. According to one study of American adults, for every 30 minutes of additional commute time, sleep time falls by 11 minutes on average. Long commute times can also increase one’s risk of insomnia and sleep disorders.
Not only that, if our commute time is long, we could end up sacrificing our exercise time. A longer commute distance will encourage a commuter to take a car or bus rather than walk or cycle.
Taking all these factors into account, it’s reasonable to assume that a longer commute time could increase the risk of overweight and obesity.
With only 24 hours a day, we should target spending no more than an hour a day to commute. That is known as “Marchetti’s constant”, named after Italian physicist Cesare Marchetti, who theorised that a person’s commute time would stay constant at about an hour a day no matter the mode of travel.