How Cycling Affects your Brain
It’s time to dust off your bike and give your brain an extra boost this morning!
It is scientifically proven that unleashes some unexpected benefits of cycling, did you know that after 30 minutes of spinning on a stationary bike, increases your memory by 30%?
So how can cycling benefit your mind? Keep on reading to find out the health benefits of Cycling on your brain.
Expand Your Mind
Exercise can be like nourishment to your brain, although your stretching out your quads, and building those leg muscles are one advantage of cycling but more blood vessels in your brain and muscles mean more oxygen and nutrients help them work. When you pedal, you also force more nerve cells to fire. As these neurons light up, they intensify the creation of proteins like brain-derived neurotrophic factor and a compound called noggin which promote the formation of new brain cells.
The result of doubling or tripling these production neurons are actually building your brain so all new and old cells can communicate with each other for better and faster functioning. As each year passes this kind of growth is important as we get older our brains can tend to shrink and these connections can shrink. Building your brain through cycling allows you to have sharper memory skills, higher concentration levels and greater problem solving ability.
Cycle Your Way Smarter
After reading the above you may be thinking, will more exercise make me smarter? Unfortunately, studies have shown that more isn’t always better and that longer more intense training intervals can temporarily compromise memory and information processing. It is simple too little exercise and your brain doesn’t get what it needs to work optimally and too much and your body will take all the glucose and other resources it needs.
Boost Your Positivity
There is a lot more to cycling than just boosting your IQ, there are many scientific studies which have proven mental fitness can improve your emotional benefits. Did you know that cycling can elevate your mood, relieve anxiety, increase stress resistance and banish those blues!
As soon as you begin to pedal feel good chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine are released, when pedalling past that 30-minute mark more feel good chemicals are then released. Chemicals such as endorphins and cannabinoids along with these mood boosters, regularly cycling helps keep your hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol in check. With these hormones in check you will feel less stressed and you will bounce back from any anxiety filled situations more easy.
Other Health Benefits of Cycling
Although cycling improves brain function, there are many other benefits to cycling this can include the prevention of any serious illness. It is important to remember that this isn’t guaranteed against all diseases but can greatly reduce the chances of the following:
- Heart disease – Heart disease is the number one cause of death in the UK. Unfit people have almost double the risk of dying from heart disease compared to more active and fit people.
- Diabetes – According to Diabetes UK, physically active people have a 33-50% lower risk of developing type II diabetes compared to inactive people.
- Cancer – By being physically active, you can reduce the risk of breast, bowel and womb cancer. Cancer Research UK says that keeping active could help to prevent more than 3,000 cases of cancer in the UK every year.
Environmental Impact of Cycling
Not only is cycling great for your health, but its an environmentally friendly method of transportation. Cycling to and from your destination reduces pollution and the emissions of greenhouse gases. Did you know that cycling 10lm each day can prevent emissions at 1.3 tonnes of annual greenhouse gasses, this can reduce many health issues associated with air pollution.
Some of the main gases come from cars in standstill traffic in cities, these gasses include:
- carbon dioxide
- carbon monoxide
- sulfur oxides
- oxides of nitrogen
- hydrocarbons
These harmful gases can be responsible for nervous system damage and severe respiratory issues. Research has showed people who cycle are les prone to the ill effects of pollution as they breathe in less polluted air.
