Excessive Business Travel Can Cause Anxiety And Depression

A study conducted by the Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health confirms what we already know about too much business travel in a month. If you are a business traveller who has to be away from home more than two weeks a month, no one has to tell you that this much travel can wear you down. You already know how tired and anxious you begin to feel just about going out of home again for the next time. According to the study, people who travel for business two weeks or more a month are more likely to report symptoms of anxiety, depression and trouble sleeping than those who travel less than one week a month.

According to the study, a person who drinks can develop dependency on alcohol if he is a frequent traveller. The study was based on the health records of 18,328 employees who underwent checkups in 2015. There have been a lot of previous studies on the same topic as well, and all have come to the same conclusion that too much travelling for business is only likely to increase the chances of depression, anxiety, and insomnia. The Columbia University study is only the latest to confirm that a schedule of heavy business travel can have various negative health effects, including the threat of deep vein thrombosis, jet lag and exposure to radiation on a commercial plane.

“Employers should provide employees who travel for business with accommodations that have access to physical activity facilities and healthy food options,” said Andrew Rundle, associate professor or epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health. His earlier studies found a tie between extensive business travel and obesity and high blood pressure. The latest study on this topic appeared in the December edition of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.