I get up, get ready, get in a car, drive to the train station, look for parking, get on a train for an hour and a half, arrive at Penn Station, get another train, walk five minutes, and start my work day.

我起床、做好準備、進到車裡、開到火車站、找停車位、上火車，總共要搭一個半小時，抵達賓夕法尼亞車站後再搭上另一班火車，步行五分鐘，然後開始我的工作

Is this killing me?

這是不是在傷身呢？

Before you go and post that comment telling me to move closer, you need to see that I'm not the only person doing this.

在你留言叫我搬家住近一點前，你要知道我不是唯一一個每天這樣通勤的人

This is the train station I commute from.

這是我出發的火車站

This place is huge and yet it's full almost every single day.

這地方很大，但它還是幾乎每天都是滿的

Just this past fall they had to rip out an entire section of trees to make more space for parking and it's still not always enough.

這個秋天他們才將一整區的樹都清掉，就為了有更多的停車空間，但依然還是不夠

According to US census data, the average American commute is nearly 30 minutes one way, a number that's been on the rise for the last few decades.

根據美國人口普查數據，平均每個美國人單趟通勤要花上近半小時，而且這數據在近幾十年還在持續攀升

In general, people are choosing to commute further and farther than ever before.

基本上，人們選擇通勤得要比以前越來越遠

And those long grueling hours in cars, on trains, or buses can take a toll on a person's health.

而那些在車裡、火車上、或是公車上的漫長累人時間可以有損一個人的健康

Especially when we all hate it so very, very, much.

尤其是當我們都超級超級厭惡這一切

If you commute or you've been on the internet at all, you've seen the articles and maybe you've read the studies.

如果你也通勤或是你上網過，你已經看過這類文章，也或許讀過相關研究了

Commuting has been linked to higher rates of obesity, stress, anxiety, depression, higher blood pressure, higher rates of divorce, neck and back problems, shorter lifespans, and you get the point.

通勤和發展出肥胖、壓力和憂慮的較高機率有關，另外還有憂鬱、較高的血壓、較高的離婚機率、頸子和背部問題、壽命縮短，你懂的

Commuting long distances just isn't good for you.

長距離通勤就是對你不好

But a lot of it comes down to how you do it.

但很大一部分也和你的通勤方式有關

For example, a Canadian study of commuters in Montreal found that people who walk, bike, or hop on a train had a higher life satisfaction than those with comparable commute times on other types of transit.

舉例來說，一項有關在蒙特利爾通勤的加拿大研究發現，那些走路、騎腳踏車或是透過火車通勤的人，相比其他花同樣時間但是用不同通勤方式的人，要有更高的生活滿意度

In another study, British researchers found that people who drive to work instead of using public transportation are more likely to be obese.

在另一項研究中，英國研究人員發現，比起使用公共交通運輸，那些自己開車上班的人較可能肥胖

Sitting in a car all day really adds the negative effects of an inactive lifestyle.

在車裡坐一整天會增加原先就不活躍的生活方式的負面效果

You're sitting for hours on it and when all is said and done, it's really hard to find the time or the motivation to exercise. And that's not it.

你在車裡面坐了幾小時，但終究真的很難找到時間或是動力去運動。而且還不只這樣

Research has shown that driving alone in particular can make you more miserable.

研究也顯示獨自一人開車尤其會讓你更加悲慘

You're alone with your thoughts for hours, often in frustrating situations, so it's not really surprising that this is the disaster for both your mental and physical health.

你和你的思緒被困在一起，通常還是在令人沮喪的情況下，所以不意外的，這對你的心理和生理健康來說都是一場悲劇

Yet according to a 2010 report, this is exactly how 80% of Americans commute to work every single day.

然而，根據一項 2010 年的報導，這其實就是八成美國人每一天通勤工作的方式

Now by comparison, those who take public transportation are slightly healthier and slightly more satisfied with life.

相較之下，那些搭公共運輸的人比較健康一些，而且也對生活滿意一些

Yet we tend to be more negative about our experience overall.

即使如此，大致上我們還是對自己的經歷感到消極

Public transit commuters often resent the timetables.

利用公共交通通勤的人通常痛惡時間表

If I don't leave work at 6 o'clock on the dot, I won't catch the 6:21.

如果我沒有在 6:00 準時下班，我就無法趕上 6:21 分的火車

if I don't catch the 6:21 I have to get on the 6:53, and that's the difference between me getting home at 8:00 p.m. and me getting home at 8:45.

如果我沒有趕上 6:21 的，我就要等 6:53 的，那就會造成我在 8:00 到家和在 8:45 才到家的差別

Throw in things like transfers, delays, cancellations, and you have a really solid foundation for a very stressful, very annoying commute.

再加上轉車時間、班次延誤和班次取消，你就會有一次非常有壓力、非常煩人的通勤體驗

Basically none of this is looking good for my mortality.

基本上，這所有的一切看來都有害我的生存

Then why do so many of us do it?

那麼為什麼我們那麼多人還要這樣做呢？

Commuting has been viewed as a source of stress, but in fact it gives people a break.

通勤被視為壓力的來源，但事實上它給了人們休息的時間

It's sometimes the only hour of the day that individuals have alone, to be by themselves to think, to listen to music.

有時候，那就是一個人一天之中能獨處的幾小時，能夠自己一個人好好思考，或是聽音樂

Meaning my commute isn't technically dead space in my day.

那意味著我的通勤並非就是我生活中的空白時段

I catch up on reading, I listen to podcasts, I take advantage of the alone time, but I can also get work done when I need to.

我能夠閱讀，我可以聽播客，我好好利用獨處的時間，但有需要時我也能把正事做好

The change in communications has made commuting an extension of the workday or an opportunity for the individual to do things they couldn't otherwise do.

交通的改變使得通勤稱為工作日的延伸，或者是一個機會，讓人們能夠做他們其他時候不會做的事

It's not just a way to go from point A to point B.

那不只是一個從 A 地到 B 地的過程

In other cases, where people live in the gig economy,

還有的時候，人們是生活在零工經濟中

and so, having a home that is accessible to transportation is far more important than having a home which is next to your workplace.

所以，擁有一個能夠方便通勤的住家，遠比就住在工作地點的附近要重要

If you're not gonna have a lifetime job, let's have a lifetime home.

如果你不能擁有一個做一輩子的工作，那就有個一輩子的住家吧

So is my commute actually killing me?

所以我的通勤真的在傷害我的健康嗎？

Well it's certainly not the best way to spend so much of my time and it is exhausting, but you can make the most of it.

這麼說吧，那的確不是我花費大把時間最好的方法，而且那非常累人，但你可以善用通勤的每一刻

And there's something to be said about coming home at the end of it all.

那麼忙了一天回到家也就有些什麼值得的了