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A Shrink On A Bike

Daniel Carlat

Updated: May 16, 2024

Biking and psychiatry--any connection? The obvious one is that biking is healthy, both mentally and physically.


Biking with my wife in Australia this past winter of 2024, I saw this sign:


The sign says: "You can't be sad while riding a bicycle".


It was placed here by JDRF, which is a non-profit organization funding research on diabetes--and they sponser a fund-raising bike ride in the Barossa Valley of Australia every year.

 

While it's not strictly true that "you can't be sad while riding a bicycle"--given the wrong weather, the wrong clothes, the wrong hill, you can be completely miserable on a bike--it's usually true that biking puts a smile on your face.

 

One of the hallmarks of depression is inertia and difficulty staying active--in fact, a key therapy for depression is "behavioral activation", which focuses on being able to accomplish things in day to day life. Getting into an exercise routine is part of this.

 

So biking is a kind of depression-buster--you accomplish something through going on a bike ride and you get endorphins flowing through exercise. And since it is often a social activity, you alleviate isolation.

 

"You can be sad while riding a bicycle" is probably more than just a slogan--it's a prescription.


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