Six ways cycling can improve your lifestyle, health & wellbeing
Think you know all there is to know about how cycling can impact your lifestyle, health and wellbeing? Think again! We’ve compiled 6 lesser-known cycling facts to get you as amped about the positive effect cycling can have on health as we are. Let’s go!
Heart attack risk can drop by up to 50%
According to a WHO study, regular cyclists can reduce their risk of heart attack by up to 50 percent. A daily distance of 4.5 kilometers is enough for this.
Cycling can extend your lifespan by 3.7 years!
The "Copenhagen City Heart" study examined the influence of different sports on life expectancy over a period of 25 years. The result: regular cycling can have a positive effect on lifespan and can extend it by an average of 3.7 years.
Bicycling can help the brain grow
Several studies show that bicycling promotes growth of the hippocampus. This is the part of the brain that acts as an interface between long-term and short-term memory. New nerve cells are also formed here. Researchers also found that cycling can increase spatial awareness and improve our ability to concentrate. Just don’t forget to protect that growing brain with a helmet!
Consistent cycling can achieve better sustainable weight loss results than intensive fitness programs
A team from the University of Copenhagen studied the effect of cycling on weight loss. The control group, who cycled 14 kilometers a day at a leisurely pace, lost an average of 4.5 kilograms of fat mass within six months. Participants in an intensive daily fitness program lost slightly less, at 4.2 kilograms.
The benefits of cycling are multilayered. You’ve seen how it can impact your personal health - but what about the health of our cities?
Short-distance cycling saves 340 kilograms of CO 2 per year
Commuters who cycle even just 5 kilometers to work every day can save around 340 kilograms of CO 2 every year. That’s a pretty decent amount! The more we can encourage commuters to hop on two wheels, the happier our planet will be.
Compared to cars, cycling pays off at +30 cents per km
Generally, a car costs around 40 cents per kilometer to drive. Cyclists, however, on the same route can actually make a net gain of 30 cents. That’s one free coffee every week! This calculation (by the Swedish Linnaeus University) takes into account the costs incurred for the necessary infrastructure, operating costs, accidents, resource use and climate change.
We hope you’re feeling inspired to get out and go with these unique cycling facts, geared at boosting your (and our cities) health & wellbeing. And next time you try to convince yourself that to be healthy you need to only eat quinoa... jump on two wheels instead!
*Source: Techniker Krankenkasse
About Swapfiets
Swapfiets is the world’s first ‘bicycle as a service’ company. Founded 2014 in the Netherlands, the scale-up quickly developed being one of the leading micro mobility providers in Europe with 280.000 members in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Spain, Austria and UK.
The concept of Swapfiets is quite simple: For a monthly subscription fee, Swapfiets members receive a fully functional bicycle or e-mobility solution for their own use. If needed, a repair service is available within 48 hours to repair or directly swap the two-wheeler at no additional cost.
