This is a question that is on a lot of people's lips. And we have the answer! YES. The benefits of cycling are off the scale - and i'm not just talking about the physical benefits, I mean the mental too!
Your mental health is just as important as your physical, let's talk about this.
Have you ever sat down and thought 'gosh I just feel so down and unmotivated'? This can be due to a drop in a chemical in your body called dopamine. Now, there are many ways to lift that level of dopamine back up, but a great one - yep you've guessed it... cycling!
Cycling helps with lots of chemicals and hormones in our bodies like cortisol and adrenaline, and did you know that this then results in improved ability to handle stress?
The list goes on and on - cycling also helps lower the risks of depression, enables a better quality of sleep, improves your memory, improves creative thinking and productivity.
So if all of the mental benefits weren't enough already, get ready for physical!
Now we all already know that most forms of exercise will help maintain a healthy weight or encourage weight loss where needed, but the physical improvements don't stop at the scales. Cycling helps with your cardiovascular fitness, which comprises of helping your heart, lungs and circulation. Improving you cardiovascular health can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases and when you choose cycling to help with this it will strengthen your heart muscles, lowers resting pulse rate and reduces your blood fat levels! Wow! And thats not all, cycling also improves your muscle strength and flexibility, joint mobility, posture and coordination, bone strength, and even lowers chances of being at risk of some types of cancer!
That's quite a lot to take in isn't it - all of that just from cycling, who knew?
Surely theres nothing holding you back now after hearing all of that! So, what's your next step? You want to take up cycling? Great!
Before you take the plunge - you've learnt about health, but maybe you should now take a look at how to keep safe when cycling. Luckily for you, we have another post talking all about safety and all you'll need to protect yourself! Take a look at the links below to find out more and also learn about the product that's keeping us all safe at the moment, the LEDwear Hi-Vis Backpack Cover - a must have for any cyclist wanting to stay safe and stay seen!