DadiKaKehna

Living in Delhi, or for that matter smaller but busier towns is quite a drain on your mental health. But you could make it easy and relaxing in simple ways, says ROSHANI DEVI

Yes, we have heard it all – how it used to take just 15 minutes to office on a 15-km ride two decades ago and how it takes nothing less than an hour now, manic traffic, killing pollution, road rage, heat and what not. You could save yourself from becoming a victim of prolonged hours on unbearable roads. Here’s how:

Listen to music: It soothes your soul, relaxes you and kills your time before you feel the need to kill. Radio FM keeps you engaged with talk and song so invest in a good stereo. A study has found that people who heard music when stuck in traffic were less likely to get angry than those who didn’t.

Become an organizer: Doing all your pending odd jobs in the car is the best way to take care of empty hours. Now that your phone has turned smart, you can too. Call home, book appointments, chat up long lost friends and, of course, clear some office work.

Sleep: The best way to catch up on sleep is to wait for the car to get into motion. A good 45 minutes is the most powerful nap you can take if you are not doing anything else. Short naps are energy capsules that you take for granted and often fall short on, thereby adding up all the stress and tiredness to make a deadly cocktail of problems.

Go nuts: Have your health nibbles, take long breaths, do pranayam. Sitting idle comes with benefits.