Health Benefits & Cycling
Indoor cycling? Yes, there is such a thing and a rather popular one at that.
Indoor cycling in fact a broad arena in the cycling world. This can include anything from your classic stationary bike to intense group spin classes at the gym to using high tech virtual cycling platforms.
Regardless of your chosen method, there are many benefits of indoor cycling.
Read MoreCycling is a great way to get exercise, but it also has a number of benefits for mental health.
Read MoreWho doesn't want to be a little happier, reduce their future risk of developing depression, and enhance their cognitive function? Fortunately, there is mounting evidence that exercise including biking can play a role in helping with each of these!
With depression being one of the most common mental disorders and antidepressant medications being very frequently prescribed much recent research has focused on other means of treatment and prevention. There have been many studies showing benefits of exercise including cycling. Many of these studies have shown at least an association between cycling and improvement in mood, depression, or prevention of future depression. We understand that there are many factors involved in this highly complex area, and suggest seeking professional help if necessary. However, as long as you are riding safely hopping on your bike and going for a spin appears to behold some significant mental health advantages :)
One recent fascinating and convincing study published in Translational Psychiatry in 2016 by Alderman, Olson, Brush & Shors looked at meditation and aerobic exercise in combination as a clinical intervention for individuals with major depressive disorder and also in typical healthy individuals. After an eight week intervention of two sessions of 30 minutes of focused attention mediation and 30 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise (treadmill or cycle ergometer) the individuals with major depressive disorder reported significantly less depressive symptoms and typical healthy individuals reported less depressive symptoms as well.
There was also a systematic review of prospective studies examining the relationship between physical activity and the prevention of depression. This was published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine by Mammen, G. and Faulkner, G. (2013). This review included 25 of 30 studies which demonstrated in high quality that there was an association of lower risk of subsequent depression with baseline physical activity. This even included low levels of physical activity including walking!
These two studies highlight some of the existing evidence to support cycling as a way of improving your mental health. (More of enhanced cognitive function in a future post.) This is not to mention the fresh air, sunshine, and contentment of partaking in a clean form of exercise and/or transportation!
Alderman, B.L., Olson, R.L., Brush, C.J., & Shors, T.J. (2016). MAP training: combining meditation and aerobic exercise reduces depression and rumination while enhancing synchronized brain activity. Translational Psychiatry, 6, e726; doi:10.1038/tp.2015.225.
Mammen, G. & Faulkner, G. (2013). Physical activity and the prevention of depression: a systematic review of prospective studies. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, volume 45, issue 5, 649-57.
The majority of us agree riding a bike is usually a lot of fun in addition to being a clean mode of transportation. In addition, it is a great form of exercise which makes us healthier, right? Most would assume this to be correct as well. However, is there evidence of this holding true? Yes, indeed there is!
A search of PubMed quickly revealed three recent studies among many others supporting this notion.
One study published in the American Journal of Health Promotion studied bicycle commuters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The study examined frequency of commute and destination cycling in relation to cardiometabolic risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as obesity, high blood pressure, and altered cholesterol. The study showed lower odds of obesity, hypertension, and high triglycerides in association with increased frequency of bicycling. More specifically, there were 20% fewer risk factors when taking three cycling trips per week. (Berger, A.T., Qian, X., Pereira, M.A., 2017)
A second study by Celis-Morales et al published this year (2017) in the British Medical Journal investigated for associations between active commuting and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all cause mortality. The study found lower risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all cause mortality associated with cycle commuting.
Another study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association by Grontved et al (2016) looked at Swedish individuals who either commuted to work by bicycle or passive transportation. They found that cycling to work was associated with lower odds of obesity, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and impaired glucose tolerance compared to passive travel to work. Thus, suggesting that cycling to work can be an effective means of prevention cardiovascular risk factors.
Again, we really didn't need another reason to love cycling, but there is plenty of strong evidence that it can play an important role in preventing cardiovascular disease!
1. Berger, A.T., Qian, X., Pereira, M.A., (2017) Associations Between Bicycling for Transportation and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Among Minneapolis-Saint Paul Area Commuters: A Cross-Sectional Study in Working-Age Adults. American Journal of Health Promotion. doi: 10.1177/0890117117710735.
2. Celis-Morales, C.A., Lyall, D.M., Welsh, P., Anderson, J., Steell, L., Guo, Y., Maldonado, R., Mackay, D.F., Pell, J.P., Sattar, N., Gill, J.M.R. (2017) Association between active commuting and incident cardiovascular disease, cancer, and mortality: prospective cohort study. British Medical Journal. doi: 10.1136/bmj.j1456
3. Grontved, A., Koivula, R.W., Johannson, I., Wennberg, P., Ostergaard, L., Hallmans, G., Renstrom, F., Franks, P.W. (2016) Bicycling to Work and Primordial Prevention of Cardiovascular Risk: A Cohort Study Among Swedish Men and Women. Journal of the American Heart Association. 5(11), doi: 10.1161/JAHA.116.004413
We already love cycling and really need no further reason to indulge in one of our favorite activities and modes of clean transportation. But alas, there are many more reasons to support the utilization of these self powered vehicles.
Most of us are well aware there are countless benefits of cycling. There are far too many to cover in a short blog post. So we'll simply begin to scratch the surface with this post and further expand in future posts to come!
Two of the most obvious positive impacts of riding bicycles include the effect on the environment and improved physical health. One may consider the benefits of cycling grouped with many other forms of physical activity and surmise that it is equal to any of a number of other forms of exercise. However, this would not be entirely true. There are some ways which cycling specifically is beneficial to your health.
Consider the short article in this link: http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/the-top-5-benefits-of-cycling
The article mentions the effects of cycling being a low impact activity which is beneficial for your joints reducing damage from repetitive impactful stress on the joints. It also refers to the "aerobic workout" and building muscle. These are all true, but on a deeper level there are far more wide reaching effects on the human body which take place through this type of training. For example there are positive cognitive, psychological, cardiovascular, and social outcomes which can be a result of training in this manner. In future blog posts we will work to expand upon these areas and others in greater detail for those who are interested in some more scientifically proven ways to support your love of riding bikes :)
