{"id":5410,"date":"2026-04-12T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/news\/7608488\/you-arent-the-only-one-who-just-sits-in-the-car-before-or-after-a-long-day\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T13:01:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T20:01:33","slug":"you-arent-the-only-one-who-just-sits-in-the-car-before-or-after-a-long-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5410\/you-arent-the-only-one-who-just-sits-in-the-car-before-or-after-a-long-day\/","title":{"rendered":"You aren’t the only one who just sits in the car before or after a long day"},"content":{"rendered":"

Have you ever pulled into the driveway of your home or a parking lot spot and just … stayed there? <\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s a few minutes, or half an hour. You might be scrolling on your phone<\/a>, belting out a favorite song or just staring into the distance.<\/a><\/p>\n

Scroll through TikTok and you\u2019ll find countless videos of people wondering aloud why they’re doing the same thing: arriving at work, home, the gym, and then just sitting in their car. Some get there early on purpose. Others stay long after they\u2019ve parked.<\/p>\n

The behavior is so common it\u2019s become its own kind of ritual, one people are increasingly recognizing and sharing online.<\/p>\n

It turns out, science has a few ideas for why people do this. Whether in a car, on a sidewalk or just outside a door, that temporary pause can act as a buffer between one part of the day and the next. And while there isn’t an extensive body of research to back it up, experts say this can be good for you \u2014 if you keep a few things in mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of times we\u2019re just going 100 miles an hour,\u201d said Jenny Taitz, a clinical psychologist who runs her own practice in Beverly Hills. \u201cBut if we can literally stop, like slow down, take a step back, observe, proceed mindfully, maybe like a few minutes to reset between activities, it kind of gives you an ability to be intentional.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parked car breaks serve as an emotional reset<\/p>\n

Brief moments alone can help reset emotions when moving from one thing to another \u2014 like leaving work stress behind before coming home.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy taking a brief little break, you can at least take a moment to relax and prepare before moving forward,\u201d said psychologist Anthony Vaccaro with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Vaccaro sits in his parked car for a few minutes after arriving home from work, turning up the speakers to listen to just one more song.<\/p>\n

People seek out these breaks to process, recalibrate and shake off the gloom. And doing it in a car make sense because \u201cit’s an in-between space,\u201d according to psychologist Thuy-vy Nguyen with Durham University in England and founder of Solitude Lab, which studies how being alone affects and rejuvenates us.<\/p>\n

The car is an environment people can have total control over, from the temperature to the music.<\/p>\n

What you do in that moment matters<\/p>\n

Scientists say taking brief moments to decompress during the workday<\/a> and after can improve mood, sharpen focus and boost energy levels. <\/p>\n

When it comes to breaks in the car, though, whether that pause helps \u2014 or hurts \u2014 depends on how the time is spent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re in your car scrolling and thinking about something that\u2019s upsetting to you or ruminating, you know, in your head spiraling, the parked car is not a reset. It\u2019s the stressor,\u201d said Taitz.<\/p>\n

Scrolling on your phone can pull your attention toward what\u2019s happening on the screen, which can in turn make it harder to decompress.<\/p>\n

If sitting in a parked car has become a habit, be mindful of how you’re spending the time. Take a few moments to slow your breathing, listen to a familiar song or make a simple plan for how you want to show up next \u2014 whether that’s feeling calmer, more patient or more focused. Even a short pause can shift your state.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could change your blood pressure in five minutes,\u201d Taitz said, referring to simple techniques like slowing your breathing or relaxing your body. <\/p>\n

Think of it as a pause, not an escape<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a difference between a helpful reset and avoidance. If the parked car breaks are making you late for important meetings or dinner with friends, or it feels difficult to get out of the car and confront the rest of the day, they may do more harm than good \u2014 or indicate that something more serious is going on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really about why you\u2019re doing it, and whether it\u2019s interfering with other aspects of your life. That\u2019s really what\u2019s going to determine whether this is a good or bad behavior for you,\u201d Vaccaro said.<\/p>\n

Decompressing in a car can be about more than just shaking off stress. The sheer volume of information people take in every day can make a quiet pause even more essential and rewarding.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always juggling so much, not taking a lot of time to slow things down,\u201d Taitz said. \u201cTrying to find those moments can allow for things to be happier and more joyful and fulfilling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Think of it less like stalling, and more like refueling.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Have you ever pulled into the driveway of your home or a parking lot spot and just … stayed there? Maybe it\u2019s a few minutes, or half an hour. You might be scrolling on your phone, belting out a favorite song or just staring into the distance. Scroll through TikTok and you\u2019ll find countless videos […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":521,"featured_media":5411,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"guid":"34e37d4b-eb1c-462e-ae33-8ee3de616a0e","source":"The Associated Press","byline":"Aya Diab And Adithi Ramakrishnan","published":"2026-04-08 11:13:07","updated":"2026-04-08 11:13:07","_infotelid":"","_prepressid":"","_multisite_post_sync":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1317,1303,533,493,1304],"tags":[],"region":[206,207,208,209],"class_list":["post-5410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-international","category-lifestyles","category-topnews","category-world","region-kamloops","region-kelowna","region-penticton","region-vernon"],"blocksy_meta":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5410\/you-arent-the-only-one-who-just-sits-in-the-car-before-or-after-a-long-day\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"You aren’t the only one who just sits in the car before or after a long day","url":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5410\/you-arent-the-only-one-who-just-sits-in-the-car-before-or-after-a-long-day\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/news\/5410\/you-arent-the-only-one-who-just-sits-in-the-car-before-or-after-a-long-day\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-be9dcc5500a8d838cd68f8f21c6245e0277a2ce06fb5ba575b1b87339789dc15.jpg?w=150&h=150&crop=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/infonews.ca\/inwheels\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/inwheels-be9dcc5500a8d838cd68f8f21c6245e0277a2ce06fb5ba575b1b87339789dc15.jpg"},"articleSection":"Health","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Associated Press"}],"creator":["The Associated Press"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"iNwheels","logo":""},"keywords":[],"dateCreated":"2026-04-12T20:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-04-12T20:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-04-12T20:01:33Z"},"rendered":"