Subways And Trains. Why Do They Drain Energy?

[Makrosky]

Hey guys, I've noticed every time I take the subway or a train, I'm drained of energy afterwards. Like, I could be ok. I just take a 20 minute subway ride, and I feel drained and uneasy. Does that happen to anyone else? Is it related to electromagnetism? Or because it's generally ugly and you see everyone drained there as well? Or what the fuc...??

 

[Lilac]

In the 1950s, my mother would sometimes have to get off a subway, they would so stress her out. In the times we live in, the ugliness and the dangers are much greater. High-stress situation!

 

[milk_lover]

Maybe there is no enough supply of clean air? Maybe because of too many people that you really don't care about who look miserable? You see slave workers for the e evil corporates going to work in the morning and coming back tired to their houses to spend little time with their families. All negative energy. No wonder that energy is transferred to you.

 

[whodathunkit]

I always thought it had to do with the stress of going much faster for long periods of time than humans were ever meant to do. At least that has a little something to do with it. Our physiology is not built to "go" even at 55mph for any great length of time. I get tired just from riding in a car for a couple of hours, even if I'm not driving.

 

[Brasica]

Humans are not meant to be around that many unfamiliar faces. This would have been a very dangerous situation in the past, so your brain is probably freaking out.

Might be worth trying to find the full paper of this:

Rail commuting duration and passenger stress. - PubMed - NCBI

 

[lindsay]

This is how I feel about driving - only because where I live, I will inevitably hit slow moving traffic and crazy drivers. If I lived in the middle of nowhere, it wouldn't bother me so much. I love trains - not subways. Then again, I hate taking the train into New York City unless I can sleep and avoid talking to people. And I hate the subway in New York - dirtiest most crowded place ever. So I guess it depends on the subway/train and how crowded and dirty it is.

 

[tyw]

In some likely order of worst to bad ....

(1) When on the subway, you're likely right next to high voltage Power lines. 50Hz or 60Hz power lines probably emit the most damaging electromagnetic radiation possible.

See:
- Andrew Marino, PhD, JD - Going Somewhere
- The Body Electric (book) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

(2) Though not as bad at 50-60Hz frequencies, the high Megahertz and Gigahertz frequency radiation given off by cellphone use and other electronics on the subway is bad for the same reason.

Again, see the cited books above for the very real and measurable stress reactions that EMF have on the body.

NOTE: depending on what car you drive, (1) and (2) can be major stress factors as well.​

(3) Rushed and anxious atmosphere. Some people do fine under this, some don't. This is going to be highly dependent on personal design.

"Too many unfamiliar faces" is dependent on context. eg: Do you feel the same way in a busy farmers' market? A football stadium? A parade? etc ... for lack of a better word, a crowds "Aura" depends on many different factors.

----

Probably many other reasons, so trust empirical judgment first and foremost.

...

 

[tara]

I get tired just from riding in a car for a couple of hours, even if I'm not driving.

Me too. Less so if I'm driving. A fifteen minute bus ride used to wipe me out sometimes.
Motion sickness - senses having trouble matching sensory data - visual and inner ear etc? I think susceptibility to this may be another hypothyroid symptom?
Driving keeps you more aware of where your body is.
A belly full of salty greasy fish and chips was one of the better prophylactics for long journeys.

I've found trains less trouble than a cars and buses, but still sometimes a bit bothersome.

 

[Makrosky]

Thank you guys for posting!!!

I think there's a very big difference that I didn't talk about in my original post. Being tired/fatigued is not the same feeling as being drained. For instance, when I drive a car for a long time, supposing there are no major stressors like traffic jams or dangerous roads, I can feel tired afterwards. It's a good tyring sensation, like you spent some energy into something and hence you're tired. It's like exercise or moderate work. You also get a benefit from it.

However, the feeling from the subways and trains is like if someone inserts a pipe on my body and sucks all the energy off it. This is drained, opposed to tired. It's like water going down a sink. It also has a peculiar "gloom" feeling, uneasy body, I don't know how to explain it. Like if something ugly and depressing get stuck into my body/soul. I think @milk_lover and @lindsay are right to that regard.

@tara, oh yes, if something is a stressor and you're well fed, then the stressor affects you less. Regarding the motion sickness, I can tell you the feeling is different. I sometimes sail and maintaining the equilibrium with all your muscles is very tyring BUT it is also refreshing because the activity is fun. Again, not the same tired than drained.

@Dex, @whodathunkit : yes, it could be a part of the equation. I also thought many times about that. I live in a very touristic city and when I travel downtown where there are hundreds of tourists drain my energy as well. Less so than in the subway because I think I still can walk and move and do whatever to counteract the fight-or-flight reaction. In the subway/train you are bound to your seat and you just see the stress reaction going up without being able to fight back. In my case I wasn't refering to a stress reaction but I get some of those as well while on rush hour. It's different than the draining sensation though.

@tyw, I think that must be the most important factor on what happens. Because I can see poverty and slave workers and everything when I go to poor districts or poor countries and it doesn't affect me in the same way, at all.

I also think the subway/train gives you a sense of powerlessness, like you're carried without doing anything. It puts you in a passive state.

 

[dd99]

I agree. When I take the tube home from work in the evening, I find myself yawning uncontrollably - the air is stuffy and the people are all sardined in. I do reduced breathing exercises that help a lot. I used to get kind of depressed having to be in such close proximity to smelly, miserable-looking people.

But the thing that has rescued my commute is Danny and Georgi's podcasts! I can tune in to that and arrive home much more energized. Then, as soon as I'm in the door, I have a glass of OJ and a carrot salad and then I can play with my kids for a hour or so in a positive frame of mind.

 

[tara]

and then I can play with my kids for a hour or so in a positive frame of mind.

Go Dad. :)

 

[JamesGatz]

The EMF factor from train rails is pretty bad - the lighting they have on trains/buses is also really not good - their chairs are also some toxic plastic - theres also the claustrophobic feel to it being stuffed in a car with everyone else

It's getting worse where I'm living- they have about 4-8 wall mounted TV's on the train carts now so you get obliterated with EMF - they added it inside stations too so it definitely gets stressful