Commuting 'more stressful than flying a jet fighter'

The true level of stress faced by commuters in London is revealed today.

A major new study claims the average journey by train or bus is more stressful than being a fighter pilot in combat, or a police officer in a riot. The researchers also say that as passengers' stress levels rocket, their brains switch off, leading to a condition they identified as "commuter amnesia".

Psychologist Dr David Lewis, who led the research, warns that commuters-could suffer serious heart problems. He also says staff are arriving at their offices less able to work. "People's productivity is damaged. The stress levels harm their ability to concentrate when they make it in."

Researchers measured the blood pressure and heart beats of more than 125 commuters, on a variety of routes. More than 800 people were also interviewed.

The normal resting heartbeat on a healthy young person is about 60 beats per minute.

However, as they battled to and from work, the volunteers' heartbeats reached peaks of more than

double that - comparable with the rate during strenuous exercise.

Dr Lewis said: "Getting to this rate during physical exercise is good but commuters get this from purely psychological reasons and it puts them at risk of serious heart problems."

He compared the commuters' stress levels with that of fighter pilots and police in training. He said: "The levels experienced by commuters were higher. It's pretty shocking. We found spikes in the heart rate that corresponded with changing trains. The key for commuters is the feeling they are not in control, this is what makes them lose their temper. The phenomenon of "commuter amnesia" discovered by the study, conducted on behalf of Hewlett-Packard, was found by studying volunteers' brain patterns.

Dr Lewis said: "It's a form of self-hypnosis. It's a defence mechanism for the brain, and it's very effective."

Digby Jones, director general of the CBI, said: "This confirms that

... urgent delivery of an improved transport system must become a government priority."

Londoners could also be suffering from the winter blues. Doctors say that the vast majority of us will have increased lethargy, sleeplessness, depression and low self-esteem caused by the lack of sunlight. About a million people in Britain will suffer an extreme version known as Seasonal Affective Disorder.