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cycling (copyright kalyan02:Flickr)Video: Dr Steve Peters explains how a fit body helps keep a healthy mind
We all know that cycling’s good for you. Riding regularly helps with cardio-vascular health and keeps the weight off. But what about your non-physical health?
Studies show that even relatively mild cycling has physical benefits. After a year of bike commuting, a typical new cyclist has lost a stone in weight.
In this video from the BBC, Alex Riley talks to sport psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters, who looked after the minds of Team GB at and in the run-up to London 2012, and finds out how cycling - and exercise in general - can be good for your mental health too.
John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work.
He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history.
Since then he has worked on MTB Pro magazine and was editor of Maximum Mountain Bike and Australian Mountain Bike magazines, before switching to the web in 2000 to work for CyclingNews.com. Along with road.cc founder Tony Farrelly, John was on the launch team for BikeRadar.com and subsequently became editor in chief of Future Publishing’s group of cycling magazines and websites, including Cycling Plus, MBUK, What Mountain Bike and Procycling.
John has also written for Cyclist magazine, edited the BikeMagic website and was founding editor of TotalWomensCycling.com before handing over to someone far more representative of the site's main audience.
He joined road.cc in 2013. He lives in Cambridge where the lack of hills is more than made up for by the headwinds.
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9 comments
I had a crash about 3 months ago, and one of the tougher parts has been the resulting depression. It's something I have a tendency towards generally, and it's helped that it had a specific and definable set of causes, but crumbs! 8 weeks off exercising did not help.
The improvement in my mood from the first week I started riding a little was like night and day. There's a lot of body chemicals that keep the brain in check that are boosted by exercise. At the moment I can tell I'm not totally balanced, but at least it's a heck of a lot better base state to be a bit iffy from.
In a previous job I used to have a 25 mile round trip commute every day, which I cycled. There were occasions where I'm sure I was more productive cycling home than I had been all day, as I could think much more clearly about problems I was trying to resolve while cycling than by staring at them on a computer screen.
I always feel much better after a ride, even the commute to and from work, it's a feeling of being cleansed and free to think. Lots of things get put into perspective while riding my bike, it's a meditation.
And then of course there is always the sense of achievement after climbing a hill, and the thrill of the decent.
Life without my bike would be.......... unthinkable!
Just over 2 years ago I was diagnosed with Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and mild depression. I have been cycling for about 5 years now. Just prior to my diagnosis, I was very hard on myself if I didn't have a 'perfect' experience every time I went out on a bike whether that be a short spin, a long club run with the fast group, taking part in a sportive or even a few races.
When I was diagnosed, I was put on a course of medication (Lyrica) for GAD and have been attending regular Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions. I was offered additional medication for depression, but through personal choice I decided not to. One of the side effects of Lyrica is the potential to put on weight - my metabolism has slowed somewhat. During the past 2 years I've changed my approach to cycling to manage my physical and mental health a lot better.
Sometimes it is just so bloody hard to get off my backside and get out on the bike, but I know that it is good for me. It's just too easy to let all the negative crap take over to the point where you are so anxious about 'not getting it right', having a mechanical, having an accident or being consumed with work issues. When I get out on the bike, I just feel at home ... the negatives just get left behind.
When I have occasional bad bouts of anxiety, the bike is a really excellent way of helping me work things out, thanks to the CBT skills I've developed. It also helps me manage my weight too!
When I do get on my bike now, I usually feel good afterwards at the sense of achievement. It's just a sense of well being and being on what I call 'an even keel' where you aren't experiencing extreme highs or lows and where I am able to deal with all the challenges associated with day to day life. I'm enjoying my cycling now a lot more, which encourages me to do it more, which helps my health.
The type of cycling I do now has changed .... I get a lot out of just going for a spin to a local park on my mountain bike(not just the road bike). My latest project is getting my wife and youngest child cycling too, which gives me a great sense of fulfillment.
I haven't done a lot of competition this year, but I feel that I'm getting to a point now where I've got my priorities in order and can do it for the right reasons.
Cycling is now good for me .... long may it continue.
Your tale makes my reluctance to get out seem mostly like sheer laziness.
Good on you for sticking with cycling and, as you say, long may it continue. I'm sure your family appreciate the difference.
"Exercise is good for you. But it's hard work." Bravo, BBC.
One of the things I like about cycling is that it doesn't feel like hard work even when I'm racing along... the adrenaline reward cancels out the hard work feeling.
I was on the track whilst they were filming this.
Thankfully i was travelling so fast around the track you cannot see me (and my hairy legs and big fat belly)
Not only your mental health, although it has helped mine, but also keeping your brain from degenerating, as is happening with my Parkinson's.
But keeping myself fit and health will help keep the effects to a minimum