I spend 8 hours a week commuting to graduate school. While I would like to move closer to shorten my commute, my wife works near where we live currently, and she too commutes to (a different) school. Moving in any direction away from where we are now would be impractical, but the drive has not been kind. The drive killed my 2001 Ford Escort—for 4000 miles I had to shift into neutral when I braked to avoid stalling, and the Escort was not a standard. Unfortunately, the commute might be killing me as well.

According to an article from ABC News, commuting is associated with a slew of health risks. “Swedish researchers surveyed 21,000 workers aged 18 to 65, and those who commuted by car or public transit reported more everyday stress, exhaustion, missed work days and generally poorer health compared to the active commuters, according to the study published Oct. 30 in BMC Public Health,” the article said. The article defines “active commuters” as those who bike or walk to work.

This is consistent with my own commuting experiences. The drive is draining, especially after an 8 hour work day and a 3 hour night class. In addition to the stress of commuting, the extended periods of sitting are also unhealthy.

NPR recently interviewed Steven Blair, an epidemiologist, on his study of health risks associated with extended periods of sitting. NPR notes that, “Specifically, [Blair] found that men who reported more than 23 hours a week of sedentary activity had a 64 percent greater risk of dying from heart disease than those who reported less than 11 hours a week of sedentary activity. And many of these men routinely exercised.”

The problem with sitting, Blair says, is that the largest muscle groups remain inactive for extended periods of time, which ultimately decreases metabolism. These health risks come in addition to the burden of rising gas prices. In my area, gas prices are hitting $3.90 a gallon. I can barely afford graduate school, even with a tuition waiver, and I certainly cannot afford to waste gas or to come down with a serious health condition that requires medical attention. Medical attention is more expensive than graduate school.

For me, I go from sitting in my car to sitting at a desk to sitting at a desk in class, and until I complete my coursework, I am stuck with this routine. I have no way to reduce the distance that I am traveling. However, being aware of this health risks has instilled in me the importance of structuring my life around a healthy lifestyle, which is now a part of my career goals. As for what I can do now to lessen the stress and financial burden of my commute, I have come up with 5 tips.

1. Podcasts and Audiobooks. Music and talk radio quickly became dull for me, so I have become a podcast and audiobook addict. The content is more stimulating than music, and it expands my knowledge horizons. Seth Godin’s audiobooks are especially relevant to my interests (though they might not be for you), but I think that everyone can get something out of This American Life and Radio Lab, two of the bests podcasts I have found.

2. Carpool. I was fortunate enough to meet someone in my office that also commutes from my town, and he is a nerd like me. Splitting driving duties decreases the exhaustion levels, and having a conversation on the drive helps to pass the time more pleasantly, and sharing the cost of gas makes the commute less expensive.

3. Call a friend. In many cases, my wife and I end up commuting at the same time, so we talk for the hour that we are driving, which keeps my mind active and keeps me from dwelling on the misery of driving (check your local laws for cellphone use while driving).

4. Cruise control and maintenance. Driving less aggressively (not breaking or accelerating suddenly) can increase fuel economy, and using your cruise control to maintain a constant speed can help your engine function more efficiently. Also, change your air filters and maintain your tire pressure to increase the efficiency of your engine.

5. Condense your workload. Initially, I was commuting five days a week. I spoke to my boss, and he agreed to let me work some of my hours from home, allowing me to fit my 20 hour graduate assistant position and my coursework into four days, cutting my commute time from 10 hours to 8. This may not be an option for everyone, but it’s worth considering. The tradeoff is that I spend more time on campus and at work in those four days than most of my peers, but reducing some of stress and saving some money makes the tradeoff well worth it.

Bonus. Strength train. My friend and fellow grappler Stephan Kesting uses his commute time to do grip training. I am not that hardcore (yet), but his video demonstrates that we should think more creatively about how we spend our commute time.