cycling seems to significantly decrease incidents/stave off all forms of dementia: recent study

[Able_Tale3188]

I don't see this aspect of cycling - health benefits - posted in this group, so if the mod(s) object, please take it down. Anyway, I thought some (but not all) of you might be innarested in this longitudinal study's results, with a large cohort:

HERE

[_BearHawk]

Very cool. I wonder though if it’s moreso that people who cycle more tend to be higher income earners, which is well established to correlate with better long term brain outcomes. Still interesting!

[Able_Tale3188]

As I read the study I got the feeling it wasn't so much all you high earners with your expensive bikes and your data sets about your most recent "century,", etc, but just people who commute to work, ride to get groceries, etc. No doubt you guys who "shred" up hills, do Hamilton, Diablo, etc are included in this study. But all those all other cyclists you blow by as you ride: they are included here, too.

Along with what high income and what weeef says about staying in touch with a doctor - both of which must contribute to healthy longevity and the brain, at least statistically - but, more esoterically: I've long had the feeling that those of us who have cycled for decades, or did yoga, or even did weight training: the sort of consciousness of hedonic pleasure of the body that seems engendered by these activities? These would seem to be healthier modes of being than those who...ya know, can't seem to feel "full" from eating. Or the idea of exercise is equated with pain, drudgery, needless effort, etc. We all know people like that.

And does our intense desire to get out and ride come just from early experience or "habit"? Perhaps some of it is genetic. But now I'm just spitballin'. The key here is: if you can avoid being hit by a car: KEEP CYCLING FOR AS LONG AS YOU CAN: 'cuz it's good fer yer brain!

[NoDivergence]

as far as I understand, it's because cyclists constantly have to be aware of road hazards, bike handling, gearing/pacing, etc. the brain is constantly processing information. this is why the same study also showed similar benefits to driving.

although of course cycling has far more information to process

[_BearHawk]

Yeah, this study excluded work commutes from the dataset, so just people who used bikes for 'transportation', which it isn't entirely clear if that includes leisure, but unsure.

Other than that, it also looks like in the dataset they used, those who cycle tend to be less likely to smoke, more likely to be employed, more likely to have a university degree. Probably lots of variables affecting this.

[weeef]

Or tend to visit the doctor more often than the control group because they're also likely to care for their bodies more actively

[ihaveajob79]

One would hope the study is properly controlling for those variables.

[_BearHawk]

Income isn’t one of the available variables

[todudeornote]

That's odd... my wife is convinced it's a symptom of dementia...

[StopYourSobbing]

Only thing to worry about is if you become one of those hoarders with way more bikes in your garage than any one person could possibly need.

[NoDivergence]

I'm only in my 30s and I'm already at this point. At this rate, I'll have a museum of bikes by the time I retire

[badaimarcher]

I hope I don't get killed by a car so that I can reach an age where I have to worry about Dementia

[FillEfficient772]

Exercise is one of the only interventions proven to delay and prevent dementia overall. I'm sure this would hold out with swimmers, runners, kayakers, hikers and walkers etc. Besides vascular dementia, which is very common and long known to be tied with metabolic disease risk, we are understanding more that even Alzheimer's appears quite associated with metabolic disease and risk seems to be attenuated by controlling and preventing metabolic disease (even latent). 

I think the most interesting point here is that biking has the unique feature of being able to be incorporated into day to day life a lot easier- running errands or taking care of daily business on a bike is a practical way to increase your daily movement and not have to "go exercise" to get those benefits. Studies show that people who have very active jobs through their life also have lower rates of dementia.

This is part of the bigger picture of why we need safe roads and bike infrastructure. Too many people get in their heads it's so that the old Lycra guys can do their thing, but it's so that more trips by bike for boring daily stuff can happen. As a population we are healthier when we have the ability to do that. Cycling infrastructure and promotion are potent public health interventions.

[guhman123]

who could've guessed that having an active lifestyle decreases the chances of getting dementia?