Feeling great as I have hit the third week of riding the cycle to work.
Less tired,completes the ride with in 20 mins and feels so good after the ride energetic and active.
found this article in the net ,felt like to share every bit of it is true!
30 reasons to take up cycling
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1. You’ll get there faster
Commute by bike in the UK’s major cities and you’ll get there in half
the time of cars, research by Citroen shows. In fact, if you drive for
an hour in Cardiff’s rush hour, you’ll
spend over 30 minutes going absolutely nowhere and average just 7mph,
compared to averaging around 12-15mph while cycling.
2. Sleep more deeply
An
early morning ride might knacker you out in the short term, but it’ll
help you catch some quality shut-eye when you get back to your
pillow. Stanford University School of Medicine researchers asked
sedentary insomnia sufferers to cycle for 20-30 minutes every other
day. The result? The time required for the insomniacs to fall asleep
was reduced by half, and sleep time increased by almost an hour.
“Exercising
outside exposes you to daylight,” explains Professor Jim Horne from
Loughborough University’s Sleep Research Centre. “This helps get your
circadian rhythm back in sync, and also rids your body of cortisol,
the stress hormone that can prevent deep, regenerative sleep.”
3. Look younger
Scientists
at Stanford University have found that cycling regularly can protect
your skin against the harmful effects of UV radiation and reduce the
signs of ageing. Harley Street dermatologist Dr Christopher Rowland
Payne explains: “Increased circulation through exercise delivers oxygen
and nutrients to skin cells more effectively, while flushing harmful
toxins out. Exercise also creates an ideal environment within the body
to optimise collagen production, helping reduce the appearance of
wrinkles and speed up the healing process.” Don’t forget to slap on the
factor 30 before you head out, though.
4. Boost your bowels
According
to experts from Bristol University, the benefits of cycling extend deep
into your core. “Physical activity helps decrease the time it takes
food to move through the large intestine, limiting the amount of water
absorbed back into your body and leaving you with softer stools, which
are easier to pass,” explains Harley Street gastroenterologist Dr Ana
Raimundo.
In addition, aerobic exercise accelerates
your breathing and heart rate, which helps to stimulate the contraction
of intestinal muscles. “As well as preventing you from feeling bloated,
this helps protect you against bowel cancer,” Dr Raimundo says.
5. Increase your brain power
Need your grey matter to sparkle?
Then get pedalling. Researchers from Illinois University found that a
five percent improvement in cardio-respiratory fitness from cycling led
to an improvement of up to 15 percent in mental tests. That’s because
cycling helps build new brain cells in the hippocampus – the region
responsible for memory, which deteriorates from the age of 30.
“It
boosts blood flow and oxygen to the brain, which fires and regenerates
receptors, explaining how exercise helps ward off Alzheimer’s,” says
the study’s author, Professor Arthur Kramer.
6. Beat illness
Forget
apples, riding’s the way to keep the doctor at bay. “Moderate exercise
makes immune cells more active, so they’re ready to fight off
infection,” says Cath Collins, chief dietician at St George’s Hospital
in London.
In fact, according to research from the University of North Carolina,
people who cycle for 30 minutes, five days a week take about half as
many sick days as couch potatoes.
Riding’s the way to keep the doctor at bay
7. Live longer
King’s
College London compared over 2,400 identical twins and found those who
did the equivalent of just three 45-minute rides a week were nine years
‘biologically younger’ even after discounting other influences, such as
body mass index (BMI) and smoking.
“Those who exercise
regularly are at significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease,
type two diabetes, all types of cancer, high blood pressure and
obesity,” says Dr Lynn Cherkas, who conducted the research. “The body
becomes much more efficient at defending itself and regenerating new
cells.”
8. Save the planet
Twenty bicycles can be parked in the same space as one car. It takes
around five percent of the materials and energy used to make a car to
build a bike, and a bike produces zero pollution.
Bikes
are efficient, too – you travel around three times as fast as walking
for the same amount of energy and, taking into account the ‘fuel’ you
put in your ‘engine’, you do the equivalent of 2,924 miles to the
gallon. You have your weight ratio to thank: you’re about six times
heavier than your bike, but a car is 20 times heavier than you.
9. Improve your sex life
Being more physically active improves your vascular health, which has
the knock-on effect of boosting your sex drive, according to health
experts in the US. One study from Cornell University also concluded
that male athletes have the sexual prowess of men two to five years
younger, with physically fit females delaying the menopause by a similar
amount of time.
Meanwhile, research carried out at
Harvard University found that men aged over 50 who cycle for at least
three hours a week have a 30 percent lower risk of impotence than those who do little exercise.
10. It’s good breeding
A ‘bun in the oven’ could benefit from your riding as much as you.
According to research from Michigan University in the US, mums-to-be who
regularly exercise during pregnancy have an easier, less complicated
labour, recover faster and enjoy better overall mood throughout the nine
months. Your pride and joy also has a 50 percent lower chance of
becoming obese and enjoys better in-utero neurodevelopment.
“There’s
no doubt that moderate exercise such as cycling during pregnancy helps
condition the mother and protect the foetus,” says Patrick O’Brien, a
spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.
A ‘bun in the oven’ could benefit from your riding as much as you
11. Heal your heart
Studies from Purdue University in the US have shown that regular
cycling can cut your risk of heart disease by 50 percent. And according
to the British Heart Foundation, around 10,000 fatal heart attacks could
be avoided each year if people kept themselves fitter. Cycling just 20
miles a week reduces your risk of heart disease to less than half that
of those who take no exercise, it says.
12. Your boss will love you
No,
we don’t mean your Lycra-clad buttocks will entice your superiors into
a passionate office romance, but they’ll appreciate what cycling does
for your usefulness to the company. A study of 200 people carried out
by the University of Bristol found that employees who exercised
before work or at lunchtime improved their time and workload
management, and it boosted their motivation and their ability to deal
with stress.
The study also reported that workers who exercised felt
their interpersonal performance was better, they took fewer breaks and
found it easier to finish work on time. Sadly, the study didn’t find a
direct link between cycling and getting a promotion.
13. Cycle away from the big C
There’s
plenty of evidence that any exercise is useful in warding off cancer,
but some studies have shown that cycling is specifically good for
keeping your cells in working order. One long-term study carried out by
Finnish researchers found that men who exercised at a moderate level
for at least 30 minutes a day were half as likely to develop cancer as
those who didn’t. And one of the moderate forms of exercise they cited?
Cycling to work. Other studies have found that women who cycle
frequently reduce their risk of breast cancer by 34 percent.
14. Lose weight in the saddle
Loads
of people who want to shift some heft think that heading out for a jog
is the best way to start slimming down. But while running does burn a
ton of fat, it’s not kind to you if you’re a little larger than you’d
like to be. Think about it – two to three times your body weight goes
crashing through your body when your foot strikes the ground. If you
weigh 16 stone, that’s a lot of force! Instead, start out on a bike –
most of your weight is taken by the saddle, so your skeleton doesn’t
take a battering. Running can wait…
15. You’ll make more money
If
you’re cycling to lose weight then you could be in line for a cash
windfall… Well, sort of. Researcher Jay Zagorsky, from Ohio State
University, analysed data
from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth – which saw 7,300 people
regularly interviewed between 1985 and 2000 – to see how their obesity
and wealth changed over that period. Zagorsky concluded that a one unit
increase in body mass index (BMI) score corresponded to an £800 or eight
percent reduction in wealth. So, shed a few BMI points on the bike and
start earning.
16. Avoid pollution
You’d think a city cyclist would suck up much more pollution than the drivers and
passengers in the vehicles chucking out the noxious gases. Not so,
according to a study carried out by Imperial College London.
Researchers found that passengers in buses, taxis and cars inhaled
substantially more pollution than cyclists and pedestrians.
On
average, taxi passengers were exposed to more than 100,000 ultrafine
particles – which can settle in the lungs and damage cells – per cubic
centimetre. Bus passengers sucked up just under 100,000 and people in
cars inhaled about 40,000. Cyclists, meanwhile, were exposed to just
8,000 ultrafine particles per cubic centimetre. It’s
thought that cyclists breathe in fewer fumes because we ride at the
edge of the road and, unlike drivers, aren’t directly in the line of
exhaust smoke.
Cyclists breathe in fewer fumes than drivers
17. Enjoy healthy family time
Cycling
is an activity the whole family can do together. The smallest tyke can
clamber into a bike seat or tow-along buggy, and because it’s kind on
your joints, there’s nothing to stop grandparents joining in too.
Moreover,
your riding habit could be sowing the seeds for the next Bradley
Wiggins. Studies have found that, unsurprisingly, kids
are influenced by their parents’ exercise choices. Put simply, if your
kids see you riding regularly, they think it’s normal and will want to
follow your example. Don’t be surprised, though, if they become
embarrassed by your tendency to mismatch fluorescent Lycra when they
become teenagers.
18. It means guilt-free snacks
Upping
your salt intake is seldom your doctor’s advice, but in the few days
leading up to a big ride or sportive, that’s exactly what you should
do. This gives you the perfect excuse to munch on
crisps and other salty foods you might normally avoid. The sodium in
them helps protect your body against hyponatraemia, a condition caused
by drinking too much water without enough sodium that can lead to
disorientation, illness and worse.
19. Get better at any sport
Whether
you want to keep in prime shape or just improve your weekly tennis
game, a stint in the saddle is the way to begin. A recent medical study
from Norway carried the title Aerobic Endurance Training Improves
Soccer Performance, which makes it pretty clear that the knock-on benefits to other sports and activities are immense.
20. Make creative breakthroughs
Writers, musicians, artists, top executives and all kinds of other
professionals use exercise to solve mental blocks and make decisions –
including Jeremy Paxman, Sir Alan Sugar and Spandau Ballet. A study
found that just 25 minutes of aerobic exercise boosts at least one
measure of creative thinking. Credit goes to the
flow of oxygen to your grey matter when it matters most, sparking your
neurons and giving you breathing space away from the muddle and
pressures of ‘real life’.
21. You’re helping others
Many
cyclists turn their health, fitness and determination into fundraising
efforts for the less fortunate. The London to Brighton bike ride has
raised over £40 million for the British Heart Foundation since the two
became involved in 1980, with countless other rides contributing to the
coffers of worthy causes.
22. You can get fit without trying too hard
Regular,
everyday cycling has huge benefits that can justify you binning your
wallet-crippling gym membership. According to the National Forum for
Coronary Heart Disease Foundation in the US, regular cyclists enjoy a
fitness level equal to that of a person who’s 10 years younger.
23. Boost your bellows
No
prizes for guessing that the lungs work considerably harder than usual
when you ride. An adult cycling generally uses 10 times the oxygen
they’d need to sit in front of the TV for the same period. Even better,
regular cycling will help strengthen your cardiovascular system over
time, enabling your heart and lungs to work more efficiently and getting
more oxygen where it’s needed, quicker. This means you can do more
exercise for less effort. How good does that sound?
24. Burn more fat
Sports
physiologists have found that the body’s metabolic rate – the efficiency
with which it burns calories and fat – is not only raised during a
ride, but for several hours afterwards. “Even after cycling for 30
minutes, you could be burning a higher amount of total calories for a
few hours after you stop,” says sports physiologist Mark Simpson of
Loughborough University.
And
as you get fitter, the benefits are more profound. One recent study
showed that cyclists who incorporated fast intervals into their ride
burned three-and-a-half times more body fat than those who cycled
constantly but at a slower pace.
Cycling can help you lose pounds – but don't take it too far!
25. You’re developing a positive addiction
Replace
a harmful dependency – such as cigarettes, alcohol or eating too much
chocolate – with a positive one, says William Glasser, author of
Positive Addiction. The result? You’re a happier, healthier person
getting the kind of fix that boosts the good things in life.
26. Get (a legal) high
Once
a thing of myth, the infamous ‘runner’s high’ has been proven beyond
doubt by German scientists. Yet despite the name, this high is
applicable to all endurance athletes. University of Bonn neurologists
visualised endorphins in the brains of 10 volunteers before and after a
two-hour cardio session using a technique called positive emission
tomography (PET). Comparing the pre- and post-run scans, they found
evidence of more opiate binding of the happy hormone in the frontal and
limbic regions of the brain – areas known to be involved in emotional
processing and dealing with stress.
“There’s a direct link between feelings of wellbeing and exercise,
and for the first time this study proves the physiological mechanism
behind that,” explains study co-ordinator Professor Henning Boecker.
27. Make friends and stay healthy
The
social side of riding could be doing you as much good as the actual
exercise. University of California researchers found socialising
releases the hormone oxytocin, which buffers the ‘fight or flight’
response.
Another nine-year study from Harvard Medical
School found those with the most friends cut the risk of an early death
by more than 60 percent, reducing blood pressure and strengthening
their immune system. The results were so significant that the
researchers concluded not having close friends or confidants is as
detrimental to your health as smoking or carrying extra weight. Add in
the fitness element of cycling too and you’re onto a winner.
28. Be happy
Even if you’re miserable when you saddle up, cranking through the
miles will lift your spirits. “Any mild-to-moderate exercise releases
natural feel-good endorphins that help counter stress and make you
happy,” explains Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health
Foundation. That’s
probably why four times more GPs prescribe exercise therapy as their
most common treatment for depression compared to three years ago. “Just
three 30-minute sessions a week can be enough to give people the lift
they need,” says McCulloch.
29. Feeling tired? Go for a ride
Sounds counter-intuitive but if you feel too tired for a ride, the
best thing you can do is go for ride. Physical activity for even a few
minutes is a surprisingly effective wake-up call. A review of 12 studies
on the link between exercise and fatigue carried out between 1945 and
2005 found that exercise directly lowers fatigue levels.
30. Spend quality time with your partner
It doesn’t matter if your paces aren’t perfectly matched – just slow
down and enjoy each other’s company. Many couples make one or two riding
‘dates’ every week. And it makes sense: exercise helps release
feel-good hormones, so after a ride you’ll have a warm feeling towards
each other even if he leaves the toilet seat up and her hair is
blocking the plughole again.
