Cycling is a perfect exercise for those wanting to build fitness, with it being low-impact and doable both indoors and outside, and those looking to try something new.
A new study, published just this month, has found that cycling workouts can also lower dementia risk by 88%.
The study, published in Neurology, looked at a sample of 1462 women, aged 38 to 60. At the beginning of the study (between 1968 and 1970), 191 of the women completed a maximal cycling test on a stationary bike.
They completed indoor cycling intervals – riding at a low intensity and increasing it every few minutes until exhaustion. Researchers then noted their maximum workload, measured in watts, and used it as a marker of their cardiovascular fitness.
In 1974, 1980, 2000, 2005, and 2009, the women were examined for signs of dementia via interview, neuropsychiatric examinations, and hospital records. The researchers also looked at contributing lifestyle factors like education, income, diet, smoking habits, and any existing illness.
The results showed the benefits of aerobic exercise for brain health, with the fittest among the women being least likely to develop dementia.
The benefits of aerobic exercise for brain health
The study results showed that only 5% of the highly fit women (labelled as such from the scores at the beginning of the study) developed dementia, compared to 32% in the moderate group.
This led researchers to the conclusion that high levels of fitness delayed the age of dementia onset by 9.5 years, and the women with top cardiovascular fitness had an 88% lower chance of developing dementia.
While this is an eye-opening study, utilising almost 45 years of data, it can’t show cause and effect as “highly fit” women are more likely to have other healthy lifestyle habits, like a better diet.
However, the findings are supported by years of other research, including a review in AIMS Neuroscience that found regular exercise of moderate to vigorous intensity improves synaptic activity, blood flow, and brain irrigation, and neuronal plasticity.
Scientists from Johns Hopkins University recently found that just five minutes of exercise a day can contribute to a lower dementia risk.
Why is cycling good cardio?
- Increases heart rate
- Low-impact
- Improves bone strength
- Builds core strength
- Improves posture
- Boosts full-body muscle strength
- Versatile
A note on the study
As noted, this study has some limitations as it’s unable to prove that aerobic exercise, especially cycling, directly lowers dementia risk on its own. It also only included Swedish women and used power and effort to determine fitness level rather than VO2 max, which is considered the optimal way to measure cardiovascular fitness.
That being said, women are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as men, and women make up two-thirds of dementia cases globally, with risk rising in menopause, as our bodies lose oestrogen’s protective benefits. This study suggests a simple way to limit risk through lifestyle changes.
How to start cycling
- Find the workout you love: This study looked at indoor cycling, so you could try riding a stationary bike or doing a spinning workout at the gym. For those living in busy cities, this could be preferable to riding outdoors.
- Get the right bike: If you want to explore the great outdoors, make sure you know what bike to get. Many women buy bikes that are too big for them, which makes cycling uncomfortable.
- Start small: You don’t have to go cycling every day. Try cycling once or twice a week to begin with, working your way to three or four times a week if you have the time. The NHS recommends 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise every week, so aim for this.
- Challenge yourself: The key to doing aerobic exercise for brain health and better fitness is to put your cardiovascular system under strain. Much like any other muscle, the heart needs a stimulus to get stronger, so aim for 50 to 70% of your maximum heart rate (220 minus your age) at the beginning, working up to 70 to 85%.
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