Millenials’ take on bicycles
Millennials are a generation of people that puts a lot of stress on leading a healthy lifestyle. Cycling, being proved to be a habit that would contribute to an extremely healthy life, a natural surge would be expected in bicycle ownership. But, researches say otherwise. The statistics of cycle ownership has dropped globally. This raises a few eyebrows and points to some obvious questions. How healthy is the millennial life really? With an extremely busy lifestyle, millennials choose cars, metros or motor bikes over bicycles. But getting back on bicycles can be very helpful for the generation.
The generation of stress
Humans have evolved to have better brain, better health and better lifespan. But researches show that millennials are going to be the first generation to have worse health than their parents at middle age. There are several reasons contributing to this. If we look at them one by one, it is evident that cycling is capable of bringing a positive impact on the lifestyle millennials are currently having.
The major contributory factor for bad health is stress. Growing up with very liberal ideologies and then settling down into the reality of a full time work with less pay is taking a toll on mental health of millennials around the globe.
What to expect from the millennial lifestyle?
Individuals who are in their 20s and 30s now run a higher risk of cancer, heart diseases and diabetes in 30 years. It is not surprising because the dependence of this generation on unhealthy habits like smoking is also particularly high. This again reminds of the higher stress level this generation is trying to cope with. Many smokers give stress to be a reason that wouldn’t let them quit smoking.
Cycling as a stress buster
There are much better coping strategies that would help you with stress and cycling is one, if not the best, out of them. Some researchers say that it can even help to reduce nicotine dependency.
Getting on a bicycle would not give you magical cure. But, many experts suggest that cycling could be used as a form of meditation. Focusing on constant pedalling can take your mind off other problems that bug you. Especially if you are someone who like travelling or riding, finding some time to take your bicycle out for a spin would bring you the utmost peace of mind. Find a lane full of trees or a hill you can climb. Even though cycling is not a magical cure, getting closer to nature might actually work magic.
Cycling for mental wellbeing
Among millennials, psychological problems like anxiety and depression are found to be on a rise by many researches. Cycling is an activity that can involve you both physically and mentally which would help you have a better state of mind.
Cycling as an exercise
What is the key to a healthy life? A no-brainer answer to this question would be ‘workout’. Most of the millennials hold an office job and those long sedentary hours invite a lot of lifestyle health problems. Your body becomes a hub of aches and pains and other serious problems like muscular-skeletal disorders, heart diseases, cancer etc. There are multiple ways to get your body physically active. Cycling is proved to be one of the best cardio workout methods. When you body is sensitive with muscular strain, there are high chances of getting injured as well. Cycling being a low impact work-out causes less strain, while involving all the major muscle groups. It strengthens bones, improves joint mobility, increases flexibility and reduces body fat levels.
Why prefer cycling over other exercises?
Along with helping you stay physically active and mentally relaxed, cycling is also a lot of fun. In an extremely busy schedule it s easier to fit in cycling than any other work-out routine as you can take your bicycle to ride to the nearest grocery store, or to the park or even to your workplace. For the same reason, buying a bicycle is a much better investment than setting up a gym as a bicycle can always take you from one place to the other, while your gym cannot.
