We are all aware that cycling is beneficial for our physical health. It can help you shed pounds, stay fit, keep your joints healthy, and provide an energy boost. But did you know that cycling is also good for your mental health?
It’s so good for your brain, in fact, that cycling can supposedly decrease the potential for the early appearance of dementia in older adults. This news is based on a new study released by JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).
What JAMA’s New Study About Cycling Claims
Huazhong University of Science and Technology and the University of Sydney did a study of half a million people in the U.K., which consisted of both men and women from different ethnic groups with an average median age of 56. They found that cycling is not only excellent for your physical health, but that it can help keep “your brain’s memory centers from shrinking.”
The researchers didn’t just focus on cycling but also considered other modes of transportation, such as “car/public transit, walking, a mix of walking and non-active transport, or cycling/mixed cycling.” Additionally, they weren’t interested in how people used these forms of transportation for commutes to work, but what the research subjects did in their free time.
Cycling Can Decrease the Early Onset of Dementia
Dementia has become a global health problem, according to JAMA. Shockingly, the number of projected cases of the disease has only increased “from 55 million in 2019 to 139 million by 2050” in older adults before the age of 65.
The researchers focused on adults who used what they call “travel modes,” walking, cycling, etc. While walking and other activities are part of these “travel modes,” they don’t effectively protect an elderly person’s brain from early signs of dementia the way cycling does.
Cycling came out on top of walking, running, or other modes of transport. In fact, the results of the study show that “Cyclists had a 19 percent lower risk of all-cause dementia, 22 percent lower for Alzheimer’s specifically, a massive 40 percent lower risk for early-onset dementia, defined as dementia that hits before the age of 65, and 17 percent lower for the standard late-onset.”
Why Is Cycling Better For Your Mental Health?
The two universities took brain scans of the active individuals involved with the study. The researchers found that those participants who were cyclists (road, casual, etc.) had substantially increased their gray matter. Gray matter in the brain is where we store and process information, memory, emotion, and movement.
Compared with other active individuals from the study, cyclists were shown to have healthier brains overall. That’s because cycling involves processing a lot of visual and cognitive information that occurs rapidly.
Cyclists have to stay alert for changes in the road or traffic, adjust to shifts on the route they’re riding, and shift gears for flats or hills while maintaining a good cadence. That’s a lot to think about when all those thoughts aren’t thoughts at all but reactions. If you’re in a race or event situation, that complicates things even more, not to mention being subject to various weather conditions.
Last Thoughts
It’s wonderful to see academic studies that support the beauty of cycling. After all, it is the best sport (and activity) ever invented. It’s magnificent that the bicycle is still growing in popularity, which says a lot for a device invented in 1817.
And who knew a machine invented for speed and efficiency over the horse-drawn carriage would benefit both our physical and emotional health? Fortunately, I think the bicycle will be around for a long time to come. It’s a survivor. It amazes me to think how much the bicycle has changed and adapted to history. Perhaps one day cars will fly, and then bicycles (whatever form they take) will reclaim the road and we can ride free from danger.
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