7 Ways Grand Rides Bike Share Improves Your Health
Grand Rides is the community bike share program for Grand Forks and East Grand Forks powered by Altru Health System! Last year, users burned over 7 million calories by using Grand Rides. Want to join in on the fun while improving your health? Read 7 Ways Grand Rides can help improve your health!
Better Mental Health
There are many ways that biking improves your mental health and happiness! When you go on a bike ride using Grand Rides, the exercise creates a release of adrenaline and endorphins which are mood-boosting hormones! Biking can also be enjoyed with friends and family, creating quality time and memories with loved ones.
Strengthen your Immune System
By biking on a consistent basis, you can help your body fight off common colds and illnesses and take fewer sick days from work! Studies have shown that exercise has huge benefits on the upper respiratory system! Exercises like biking can also improve our immune system by increasing the production of essential proteins and waking up lazy white blood cells.
Build Muscle Mass
Building muscle mass can help burn more calories daily and decrease the likelihood of injuries in the future. The resistance element of cycling means that it doesn't just burn fat: it also builds muscle! Biking particularly uses the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and calves. Muscle is leaner than fat, and people with a higher percentage of muscle burn more calories even when just sitting or standing!
Lower Impact Exercise
You may think, wouldn’t it be easier to just go for a run? Although running is great exercise, running is also weight-bearing which means injury rates are higher. Cycling, by contrast to running, is not weight-bearing. The lack of weight bearing also means that cycling does not do as much to increase bone density as other sports - so it's a good idea to add a little strength training into your workout routine!
Better Sleep at Night
It isn't surprising that tiring yourself out by biking will improve your sleep - but now it's been proven. Not only does biking improve your quality of sleep but it also helps you fall asleep faster at night. Researchers suspect that this has to do with the relationship between the brain and body. For example, exercise can calm anxiety, which is one key cause of insomnia.
Lower Risk of Heart Disease and Cancer
Cycling raises your heart rate, gets blood pumping around your body, and burns calories. As a result, it's one form of exercise recommended as a healthy way to cut your risk of developing major illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. New evidence found that cycling to work can cut a rider’s risk of developing heart disease or cancer in half. The full study can be read here.
Increased Brain Health and Cognition
Exercise has been repeatedly linked to brain health and the reduction in chances of dementia later in life. A 2013 study found that during exercise, cyclists' blood flow in the brain rose by 28 percent, and up to 70 percent in specific areas. Not only that, but after exercise, in some areas, blood flow remained high even after exercise. Improved blood flow is good because it delivers all sorts of good things that keep us healthy!
