CYCLING GIVES YOU MORE ENERGY
The only group of commuters who report enjoying their daily trip to work are the active ones. Pedestrians, runners and cyclists make up that group, and cyclists travel the fastest out of the bunch. But isn't all that biking going to make you feel more tired than you do already? Counter intuitively, expending the energy needed to bike actually leaves cyclists feeling more awake and less fatigued. A study published in Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics found that riding a bike actually lessened feelings of fatigue by 65% and boosted energy levels by 20%. That’s because exchanging a driving commute for a biking commute means trading in agonizing bursts of stressful cortisol for invigorating bursts of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to energy that is released when we exercise. What’s more, you don’t have to bike hard to reap the benefits – just 3 days a week biking at a low to moderate pace will do the trick. If you want to feel more awake, it’s actually worse to drive.