Cycling is a fun and exhilarating activity that’s been around for centuries. It’s something the whole family can enjoy, and it has a wide array of benefits. It also doesn’t discriminate; all kinds of people of all ages, all cultures, from all walks of life, can easily learn to ride a bike.
Cycling has become extremely popular over the last 50 years, for a multitude of reasons. More and more people are trading their non-environmentally friendly cars in for bicycles for their daily commute to work. In the wake of the pandemic, the UK predicted that 14 million people were ready to swap their driving for pedal power. There’s also been an increase in people taking up cycling as a sport and it’s a popular way to spend your leisure time too. You can explore all kinds of places, and it’s a far faster mode of transport than traveling by foot.
There are so many amazing benefits of cycling. But now, we’re going to look at a few of the benefits of cycling that are a little more unusual.
Before we dive in, here are some interesting and lesser-known facts about cycling:
- According to the WHO, 30 minutes of cycling a day reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke by 35%. 1 hour of cycling per day decreases your risk of death by 35%.
- The aerobic exercise from cycling releases endorphins and other happy hormones, which helps to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.
- Cycling improves your circulation, which in turn helps to reduce arthritis and speeds up the recovery time if you’ve gotten cut or bruised.
And finally, here are 7 surprising and unexpected benefits of cycling that will change the way you view this age-old activity.
1. Sleeping Better
Who would have thought that cycling every day could affect your sleep routine? A study conducted on healthy older women shows that just 1 hour of cycling in a day improved their quality and duration of sleep.
Cycling is a freeing and de-stressing activity. An evening ride to wind down your day could have some surprising benefits for your sleep health and quality.
2. Improves Awareness, Concentration, and Problem-Solving
Whether you are riding on the open road, a busy highway in peak hour traffic, or on a forest trail, cycling requires attention to detail and situational awareness. When a sport always requires that you’re in a state of full concentration and totally aware, it stretches your abilities to the maximum.
If you make a wrong turn or aren’t concentrating properly, you can put your life and possibly someone else’s in danger. Some of the unexpected and surprising benefits of cycling are the wonderful way in which it challenges you to become more aware, to concentrate harder on your surroundings, and to think outside the box when it comes to problem-solving.
You need to be quick on your feet (or in this case, on the pedals) and make fast decisions to ensure your safety and the safety of other vehicles or people around you.
3. Improves Your Balance and Strengthen Your Core
Keeping yourself upright on a two-wheel contraption whilst pedaling isn’t always easy, especially if you’re on rough terrain. But cycling every day helps you to improve your balance and build the core strength needed to keep yourself and the bike upright at all times.
When you’re staying balanced whilst looking behind you to change lanes or grabbing your water bottle for a quick drink, your core muscles and balance intuition are called to work in full force.
4. Give Your Bowels a Boost
Cycling provides a unique combination of adrenalin-fueled cardio and an extensive core workout. It’s an aerobic exercise that stimulates the heart rate and breathing and combining this with the core exercise that happens whilst balancing on a bike does wonders for the stomach and intestines.
Every time you contract your core muscles whilst cycling, you’re helping your bowels to avoid any sluggish behavior. If you struggle to stay regular, then perhaps cycling is just the sport for you.
5. Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Cycling is an eco-friendly way to get around and get some fresh air and exercise. Not only are you working on your fitness and stamina levels while getting from one place to another, but you are not emitting anything harmful into our atmosphere whilst doing so.
Cycling as your chosen form of transport means you’ll emit less pollution, less noise, and less carbon emissions.
6. Cycling Can Improve Your Sex Life
Any exercise will go a long way to improving your sex life, but cycling is specifically great for this topic. It’s proven to boost sex drive in women and is associated with a lower risk of erectile issues in men.
Additionally, cycling activates, works, and strengthens a specific set of muscles that are all vital to a healthy sex life. The muscles that get worked and strengthened whilst riding a bike are the same muscles used during sex. The more developed and stronger these muscles are, the more athletic and longer-lasting intercourse will be.
7. Cycling is Eco-Friendly
Cycling is one of the few popular sports that have almost no negative impact on the environment. The only place where there’s any impact is the energy and materials used to construct bicycles and biking accessories, such as helmets and sportswear. Even in saying this, the materials and energy used for the biking industry have a significantly lower impact on the environment than most other popular sports and leisure activities.
Another way in which cycling is supportive of the environment is that cycling doesn’t require any electricity. It also requires no gasoline, no building or building maintenance, no outdoor maintenance or watering of fields, parks, or grounds. You can cycle anywhere, on just about any terrain, without any accommodations required.
Suffice to say, the benefits of cycling run far deeper than you may have initially thought. This type of exercise is hugely beneficial to you and the planet, and it’s affordable and enjoyable too.
