Associations Between Weekly Commute Time, Weekday Sleep Duration and Driving Fatigue Amongst Working Adults in Israel

Long commutes are recognized as an occupational health risk and road safety. In high-traffic countries, prolonged commuting may represent a potentially significant yet underexplored public health concern, particularly with respect to gender-specific vulnerability patterns. This study thus examines the association between weekly commute time, weekday sleep duration and driving fatigue via a gender-based analysis. Drawing data relating to 3,387 employed adults from the 2023 Israel Social Survey. Long commuting was defined as ≥15 hours/week. 20.2 percent of the survey respondents were long commuters, 54.7 percent women and 45.3 percent men. Outcomes measured included insufficient sleep duration (<6.5 hours) and self-reported driving fatigue. Multivariable logistic regression models were stratified by gender and adjusted for demographic and work-related variables. Long commuting was linked to insufficient sleep duration (OR=1.56) and increased driving fatigue (OR=1.71) amongst women and with driving fatigue (OR=2.13) but not significantly with sleep duration amongst men. Health behaviours differed according to gender, women with long commutes engaging in more physical activity (46.2% vs. 40.3%) and exhibiting lower obesity rates (18.1% vs. 19.3%), men being less active, more obese, and smoking more frequently. Extended weekly commuting appears to be an independent gender-specific occupational health risk factor, exerting effects on sleep, fatigue, and health behaviors. Women report more sleep disruption while men experience higher fatigue and adverse health behaviors. These findings highlight the need for gender-sensitive health interventions, flexible work policies, improved transportation infrastructure and recognition of commuting as an important modifiable determinant of worker health.