How reducing travel time helps control diabetes

Viswa used to travel 3 hrs every day, to and fro, from work. He would wake up at 5.00 AM, do very little in the form of exercise and then get ready for work. This was the time when his HbA1c was 8.3. He would mostly have his breakfast and lunch outside as he left home by 6.30 and did not take lunch to office.

He would come home in the evening exhausted after the long travel. Travelling three hours once in a while is manageable but travelling three hours every day is not easy. Travel places undue strain on your time and health. Not only time gets wasted during travel but also you can't perform optimally rest of the time because of exhaustion.

Subsequently Viswa had to undergo treatment for diabetic retinopathy. After treatment, as luck would have it, we moved to a new place because of his project. We found a house very near to his office and called it home. The travel time got reduced from 3 hrs to 30 min in total.

You may be wondering whether reducing travel time can have a significant, positive impact on your health, whether it is worth all the trouble of moving house. Trust me, it is worth it.

Reducing the travel time had many positive effects in our life:

• Viswa has more time to exercise. His exercise duration has climbed from 0-15 min to 1 hr. I think that exercise can be the single most important factor in getting the blood glucose levels down to the accepted range.


• As his office is near our house he walks back home every day sneaking in 15 min of more exercise.


• Viswa eats a good breakfast, peacefully, as we have more time to prepare and enjoy it.


• He has stopped having lunch outside and carries his lunch. He has more time, therefore gets involved in planning and preparing his lunch.


• He comes back home still energetic and relaxed. He has started to participate more in activities at home.


• More than anything he seems to be less tensed and in a positive frame of mind as he is able to spend more time with friends and family and take care of his health.

Though it happened by chance for us it was a welcome change. His HbA1c has reduced to 6.6.

Moving closer to work is not an option that everyone has. If you do have it ABSOLUTELY consider it. You may be required to work for 8 hrs, sleep for a minimum of 7 hrs but definitely need not travel 3 or 4 hrs every day. Changes like this will definitely add up when it comes to managing diabetes.