On Yer Bike: Why Cycling To Work Can Help Boost Your Mentality

Commuting is the bane of most of our lives, from slow buses to sweltering trains, not forgetting the inevitable aches and pains we endure after hours of standing on overcrowded carriages. It’s not exactly the way we’d choose to start our days and often leaves us feeling stressed out and demotivated.

In fact, according to a recent study by Aviva only 1 in 20 train commuters feel motivated after their daily commute.

So what’s the solution?

Jumping on a bike of course! According to Aviva after studying 2,000 working UK adults, more than half of those who cycle to work said they arrive refreshed after their commute. That scores higher than any other common form of commuting, including walking.

It’s also double the proportion of bus passengers – only 12% claimed that their commute improved their motivation levels and triple the proportion of drivers (8%). The biggest mood killer being trains – with only 6% of users saying their commute increased motivation.

For overall impact on mood, commuting on two wheels came up trumps again with more than half (53%) of cyclists saying that riding into work improved how they felt.

Dr Doug Wright, Medical Director at Aviva UK Health, said: “It’s clear that the way people commute to work has a major impact on how they feel when they arrive. It seems from our research that if you are willing to jump on a bike and get to work under your own steam it can boost your mood as well as your physical health.”

Unsurprisingly, the study also found that those who cycle to work were most likely to say they were generally happy with their fitness (71%), beating walkers (63%), train travellers (56%) and car drivers (54%).

So next time someone shouts ‘on yer bike’, take it as a piece of advice rather than an insult!

To read Aviva’s study in full go to: www.aviva.com