Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2019 Feb 20;14(2):e0211779.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211779. eCollection 2019.

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults

Louise-Ann Leyland  1   2 , Ben Spencer  3 , Nick Beale  4 , Tim Jones  3 , Carien M van Reekum  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

The effect of cycling on cognitive function and well-being in older adults

Louise-Ann Leyland et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

It has been demonstrated that, on their own, both exercise and stimulation from the environment can improve cognitive function and well-being in older adults. The combined effect of exercising in the outdoor environment on psychological function is less well studied. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of an outdoor cycling intervention on cognitive function and mental health and well-being in older adults. A total of 100 older adults took part in the study (aged 50-83), 26 of which were non-cycling controls, 36 were conventional pedal cyclists and 38 were participants using an e-bike (a bike fitted with an electric motor to provide assistance with pedaling), as part of a larger project (www.cycleboom.org). Participants took part in the study for an eight-week period, with cycling participants required to cycle at least three times a week for thirty minutes in duration for each cycle ride. Cognitive function and well-being were measured before and after the intervention period. For executive function, namely inhibition (the Stroop task) and updating (Letter Updating Task), both cycling groups improved in accuracy after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. E-bike participants also improved in processing speed (reaction times in go trials of the Stop-It task) after the intervention compared to non-cycling control participants. Finally, e-bike participants improved in their mental health score after the intervention compared to non-cycling controls as measured by the SF-36. This suggests that there may be an impact of exercising in the environment on executive function and mental health. Importantly, we showed a similar (sometimes larger) effect for the e-bike group compared to the pedal cyclists. This suggests that it is not just the physical activity component of cycling that is having an influence. Both pedal cycles and e-bikes can enable increased physical activity and engagement with the outdoor environment with e-bikes potentially providing greater benefits.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Stroop interference score for the non-cycling controls, E-bike cyclists and pedal cyclists before and after the intervention.
Error bars are +/- 2 SEs.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Stop-It task RTs (ms) for go trials for the non-cycling controls, E-bike cyclists and pedal cyclists before and after the intervention.
Error bars are +/- 2 SEs.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Letter updating score for non-cycling controls, pedal cyclists and E-bike cyclists before and after the intervention.
Error bars are +/- 2 SEs.
Fig 4
Fig 4. SF-36 mental health component for the non-cycling controls, e-bike cyclists and pedal cyclists before and after the intervention.
Error bars are +/- 2 SEs.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. World Health Organisation. World Report on Ageing and Health. 2015 Available from: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/186463/1/9789240694811_eng.pdf?...
    1. Rowe JW, Kahn RL. Human aging: Usual and successful. Science. 1987; 237: 143–149. 10.1126/science.3299702 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Erickson KI, Kramer AF. Aerobic exercise effects on cognitive and neural plasticity in older adults. Br J Sports Med. 2008; 43: 22–24, 10.1136/bjsm.2008.052498 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Yaffe K, Fiocco AJ, Lindquist K, Vittinghoff E, Simonsick EM, Newman AB, et al. Predictors of maintaining cognitive function in older adults: The health ABC study. Neurology. 2009; 72: 2029–2035. 10.1212/WNL.0b013e3181a92c36 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Erickson KI, Voss MW, Prakash RS, Basak C, Szabo A, Chaddock L., et al. Exercise training increases size of hippocampus and improves memory. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2011; 108: 3017–22. 10.1073/pnas.1015950108 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types