Pedaling Away From Anxiety—Cycling and Mental Health

We often read about the benefits of exercise for a body and mental health, but some forms of activities significantly benefit your emotional and mental health. One such form is cycling which is a combination of exercise and exposure to the outer environment. Cycling is accessible to everyone and has a lot of health benefits, such as brain-boosting benefits. If you wish to fight away depression, stress, and anxiety, you need to have optimum physical and emotional health.

Cycling is easy and also convenient, and you can easily include it in your daily routine. You can also fight the issue of traffic in your city and save your time too. Cycling boosts your mood and provides you happiness; moreover, it benefits your general and mental health!

Positive Effects Of Cycling On Your Mental Health

1. Improves mood:

   Cycling helps in pumping the blood around your body at a higher rate. This action results in the rapid spread of endorphins and other mood elevators like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Therefore regular cyclists enjoy a good mood most of the time.

2. Improves memory:

   Regular cycling also works as a memory booster. When you ride a bike, it helps you build new brain cells that are responsible for memory.

3. Promotes sleep:

   Regular cycling helps you to sleep better by synchronizing your circadian rhythm. It also helps to reduce the level of stress hormones that hinder deep sleep.

4. Promotes creative thinking:

   Cycling causes a relaxing effect on the brain, therefore, helps in stabilizing mental and physical function. Thus it is also helpful in improving your creative thinking.

5. Promotes positivity:

   Studies prove that cycling has a remarkable effect on the head and heart. Therefore, it is very beneficial to reduce depression, stress, and anxiety levels and improve mental health.

6. Works as a meditation:

   You can enjoy cycling as a form of meditation too. It is effortless; you have to concentrate on the actions, the regular uniform movement of your legs, the wind on your face, the rhythm of your breathing, and focus only on the action of cycling and the physical situations it causes. You will love the way how this activity promotes well-being and calmness and clear your mind.

Benefits Of Cycling

Many people ride bikes to stay healthy and remain fit. But some people ride bikes because it brings happiness. Science suggests that mental health can prove a stronger predictor of life expectancy than your physical health; therefore, it is essential to make yourself feel happy along with physical fitness.

1. Studies state that if you engage in even half an hour of regular exercise, your mood and well-being will improve. If you have an active lifestyle, you will feel a better spirit and better overall well-being. And cycling is one of the easiest ways to engage 30 minutes of your daily life, enjoy a good mood, and better mechanical working of your body.
2. Most of us today are not having a positive attitude towards our life. In this era of social media, it is becoming difficult to maintain an optimistic view. And here too bicycling can help you, and restore self-esteem. Regular biking can help you have an overall positive attitude and positive perception of yourself.
3. Physical activity is always important to reduce the risks of clinical depression later in life. For example, cycling is a form of effortless exercise that can help in reducing depression. So it works as an effective antidepressant too.
4. While cycling, you are in contact with the natural environment enjoy the relaxing breaths. And this activity clears your mind and helps reduce anxiety. Therefore it reduces the risk of anxiety disorders such as social anxiety, panic attacks, etc.
5. Apart from the above benefits of cycling, there is one more fantastic benefit: you can quickly get rid of rush hour in your city. Traffics induce anxiety, tension, anger, and it is not suitable for your mental health. Therefore driving a car in traffic is bad for your mind. And if you adopt cycling, your mental health can improve.
6. Cycling is a great exercise and a healthy addiction. If you’re addicted to overeating security, alcohol, drugs, etc., you can replace all of them with your habit of cycling. Whenever you feel down or anxious, riding bikes can give you happiness and strengthen your mental state. As mentioned above about the hormones released by cycling, the hormones help you elevate your mood and give you a better feeling.

   When you regularly practice it, your body will automatically create an urge to do so. Thus you can easily make cycling a healthy addiction of your life and enjoy mental peace.

7. While cycling, your heart rate is elevated, which affects your brain, and all the hormones released play a crucial role in improving your attention and focus. If you practice it for a long time, you will notice decreased anxiety and emotional stress, improving focus.

Other Health Benefits of Cycling

As your muscles involve during cycling, this activity also has various physical benefits. Cycling is a type of aerobic activity that affects your blood vessels, heart, and lungs.

1. Regular cycling helps to maintain your cardiovascular health. As during cycling, heart muscles involve, the activity will strengthen your heart muscles. It also reduces the risk of cardiovascular disorders such as high blood pressure, stroke, heart attack, etc.
2. Cycling is an excellent option for those who want to control or reduce their body weight. It is a comfortable exercise that can be variable according to your time and capability. Cycling raises the metabolic rate, burns body fat, and helps in building muscles. A healthy diet should combine along with cycling to lose weight. Studies show that cycling helps in burning calories.
3. If you have diabetes, the reason behind this can be a lack of physical activity. And yes, diabetes is a severe public health concern, and cycling can help you reduce the risk of developing diabetes. Cycling is also helpful in reducing the risk of breast cancer and colon cancer.
4. Riding a bicycle helps improve your balance strength and coordination. In addition, it strengthens your bones and can protect you from bone injuries, and is also suitable for reducing the symptoms of arthritis.

Why should one opt for cycling?

• You will have to spend only a few hours in your daily life to remain physically and emotionally healthy.
• This activity causes fewer injuries and less strain as compared to other forms of exercise.
• You can use a bicycle as a mode of transport, get rid of traffic, and enjoy healthy riding.
• Cycling is beneficial in improving stamina, fitness, and strength.
• It is a form of exercise that is good for your muscles and uses all the body’s major muscles.
• Biking can also be adventurous. You need not stay confined indoors but can enjoy rides over the hills and other places.
• You can vary the intensity and need not invest high involvement in physical workouts.
• Once you learn to ride bikes, there is no going back. Later you need not put extra effort as you won’t forget it.