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Can cycling help you become more focused and less distracted? New research

man cycling sitting with bike
Dorothy Castillo / Pexels

For those who love getting on the bike, there are plenty of proven benefits for physical and mental health. My mood has always lifted when I come back from cycling. Researchers found that cycling promotes overall health and longevity, reduces the risk of functional disability, and improves cardiorespiratory fitness.

Researchers wanted to find out whether 12 weeks of cycling could improve inhibitory control in healthy, sedentary young adults. Can getting on the bike help you become more focused and less distracted? What can 12 weeks of cardiovascular exercise do? Inhibitory control is essentially how well your brain can focus, ignore those distractions, and prevent you from impulsive reactions. It turns out, cycling really does help your brain.

The study

In a study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 62 healthy, sedentary young adults (who didn’t typically exercise) were placed into two groups:

  • Experimental group — Completed a cycling ergometer program involving six weeks of moderate-intensity continuous cycling exercise, followed by six weeks of moderate-to-high intensity interval cycling exercise.
  • Control group — The passive control group didn’t participate in any exercise programs and just continued with their typical daily routines for those 12 weeks.
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The researchers measured how quickly and accurately participants responded during brain tasks. The tasks are designed to test participants’ attention, focus, and self-control. The study authors also measured brain activity using an EEG (electroencephalogram). 

The results

Here are the study results:

  • Those who did the cycling program improved their brain speed and got faster at responding without making additional mistakes. Their brains processed information more efficiently.
  • The brain activity of those in the cycling program revealed signs of improved cognitive control, showing they were able to stay more focused and manage distractions.
  • The control group, which didn’t participate in the cycling program, didn’t show the same improvements and actually declined in some areas.

Concluding thoughts

Even just 12 weeks of cycling can sharpen your brain, improve your focus, and enhance how well you manage distractions and control impulses. This study involved healthy young adults who were sedentary, meaning they didn’t really exercise, yet they still achieved these benefits by getting on the bike. This study also involved a switch from moderate-intensity cycling to high-intensity interval cycling, highlighting the benefits of more vigorous cardiorespiratory exercise.

Steph Green (Steph Zee) is a singer-songwriter and professional writer with over 12 years of experience in healthcare and… Read Full Bio
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