Your Brain on Bicycling

 Thinking about Riding?

It's no secret that cycling makes you more FIT. It also sharpens your thinking and melts away stress. Now researchers are discovering why—and exactly how you can maximize the cognitive benefits of a good ride !

When in need for a morning rush to catalyze the start of a day most turn to caffeine saturated consumables such as coffee, tea and chocolate. Not only do these stain the teeth of those consuming them but by the time they notice the staining caused by the caffein, they're already undergoing a dreadful caffeine crash. Researchers have recently conveyed studies on the psychological effects of cycling before performing everyday tasks. The conclusions provided by the studies suggest that there is indeed a cycling prescription for happiness. With benefits such as endorphin release and productivity boosts, it is questionable why most people don't ditch their coffee habits and invest in a bicycle.

The advantages of maintaining a relatively stable mental health becomes evident in studies that show those who engage in brain stimulating activities reap benefits such as: a higher tolerance to stress,the increased production rates of brain cells, the growth of rich capillary beds, and elevated moods. Although exercise, specifically, cycling is a stress of its own, it is a rather good stress. Routine biking consequentially builds up the riders stress resistant and tolerance as a direct result of the mind and body getting used to being pushed under pressure. With every pedal revolvement, your body forces more nerve cells to fire. Nerves cells are found throughout the body but appear in abundance around the brain, brainstem and spinal cord.  When these nerve cells are stimulated by exercise such a cycling, new brain cells are formed. The formation of brain cells result from protein compounds such as neurotrophic factor, BDNF and ‘noggin’. Riding even has the potential to develop rich capillary beds in human grey matter, allowing for more oxygen to be brought forth to the brain. With all these studies in the neurological effects of cycling, researchers have concluded that riding can literally grow the human mind. Obviously, a bigger and stronger mind is beneficial to the effectiveness, productivity  and ultimately the survival of a human being.

in reference to SELENE YEAGER : read more.