Back2School Back2Work
From topping up your sun tan to filling up your car – it’s not exactly what you want to be thinking about after a relaxing holiday.But if you’re at school, it means no more lie-ins until midday. Even if you’re bursting with energy as you get back to reality, fully charged batteries will eventually lose performance. So what’s the best way to fight against that? We have the right solution for you, to ensure you don’t lose motivation.
It’s no secret that sport and exercise are good for the body and the soul, and cycling in particular has a number of benefits.
1. Cycling is a good way to relax and reduce stress
Switching from holiday mode to work or learning mode can often be more of a jolt than you think. You’re thrown straight into stressful everyday life, and we all know that stress is toxic for our body. So it’s important that you find time to relax whenever you can. Cycling is ideal for that, as it clears your head and helps you take your mind off the stress of work or school. And as well as allowing you to unwind mentally, long bike rides have a positive impact on your whole body. Cycling releases feel-good hormones like endorphins and serotonin, which considerably reduces stress symptoms.
2. Save money by cycling
Energy prices are steadily increasing, and autumn is coming. But how much money could you save if you commute by bike rather than by car? Studies show that cycling rather than travelling by car can save you 500 euros a month on average in your commute, not to mention the positive impacts on your health and on the environment! Saving money is pretty good motivation, isn’t it?
3. Cycling helps us sleep better
Sleep is incredibly important in order to produce our best performance – if we don’t get enough of it, it’s basically impossible to focus and motivate ourselves for school and work. And research shows that we sleep better if we do a little cycling every day. Just 30 minutes in the saddle a day is enough to get to sleep quicker, which can increase the amount of sleep we get by up to an hour. Getting outside and seeing more daylight is a good idea – sunlight reduces production of the stress hormone cortisol, which allows you to find your natural sleep rhythm more easily and sleep better.
As you’d expect, the Bike Citizens team have put plenty of thought into this, and we’ve launched the Bike2Work and Bike2School campaigns. It’s our way of boosting your daily motivation to make your bike the preferred option for getting to work or to school, so that you can be one of the large number of people who enjoy the benefits of cycling.
4. Cycling is good for the brain
We’ve all had those good days when we’re on the ball and are extremely productive at work or at school, which puts us in a good frame of mind and automatically gives us motivation for the next few days. Going for a bike ride doesn’t just stimulate your body: it also stimulates your brain. Cycling boosts circulation, helps get more oxygen into our system, and encourages our body to produce more proteins to form new brain cells. It also helps the different parts of our brain communicate better with each other, which increases our cognitive abilities – so we think more clearly, understand things more readily, become smarter and improve our social skills.
5. Respect the environment
Care about protecting our natural world? Then switch to your bike and start cycling. You’ll be doing a good deed every day, and you’ll feel better. Cycling is a great way to get around without producing harmful emissions, it saves space, and it’s quiet. Real-world examples show that commuters who switch from using their car to cycling 5 km to work and back every day can save around 300 kg CO2 every year. So cycling, alongside walking, is the most climate-friendly way to travel. When you ride a bike, you don’t produce any noise or any CO2, particulates or nitrogen oxides. So you’re being kind to the environment, especially on short journeys.
Did you know?
The BiciBus has a big role to play as we embrace the climate and transport revolution. The aim of this initiative is to encourage children and young people to cycle to school. In future, there are plans to offer the BiciBus for commuters and for university students too. The first BiciBus is Austria is already running – between 7 October and 4 November 2022, pupils at the Jägergrund primary school in Graz are given a safe way to cycle to school on Friday mornings. Read our latest post if you’d like to find out more about this initiative.
We hope these tips will help you with your journey to work or school. Who knows – maybe you’ll switch to cycling as soon as tomorrow? Take care, and have fun cycling!
