Getting on our bike always makes us feel happier, even when it's wet, cold or dark outside. There's something about a spin of the pedals that always lifts our mood.
There's scientific evidence for the exercise-makes-us-happier theory, too. A 2010 study from the American College of Sports Medicine showed that just one 30-minute exercise session can boost your mood and tackle depression.
The study, published in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise, took 40 participants, all of whom had been recently diagnosed with depressive disorders but were not taking any form of antidepressant medication, and divided them into two groups: a control group that rested for 30 minutes and an exercise group that walked on a treadmill for 30 minutes.
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The participants were asked to complete written surveys before their rest or exercise and at regular intervals afterwards, and the results showed that although both groups reported fewer feelings of negativity afterwards (tension, depression, anger, fatigue), only the exercise group expressed increased good feelings such as ‘vigour’ or ‘well-being’.
If walking for 30 minutes can act as a method for managing feelings of depression, completely free from prescribed medication, in people with diagnosed depression who aren’t necessarily cyclists, the principles can surely be applied to our kind, too. After all, if low-to-moderate-intensity exercise is all that’s needed to give yourself a boost, imagine the benefits that cyclists can get from intense exercise, such as 30 minutes of pedalling hard.
Exactly how exercise boosts your mood is a little more complex, though there is plenty of science to back it up. It comes down to heightened production of chemicals in the brain that help to keep you happy, such as serotonin, dopamine and phenylethylamine. Not only this, but exercise releases growth hormones that increase the supply of blood and oxygen to the brain, stimulating the release of powerful mood-enhancing endorphins. These chemical messengers can create euphoria and pain relief that is stronger than that produced by morphine.
Happy chemicals – and how to get more of them
Serotonin
Dopamine
Phenylethylamine
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