Riding a bike makes you happier than earning more money

The prestigious universities of Yale and Oxford are clear-sighted: your bike makes you happier than money.

Cycling is synonymous with happiness, and it is something that all those who practice it have confirmed and accepted. Now we know that going out on your mountain bike is better than a pay raise, for example. Yale and Oxford have shown that sports have a much greater impact on your mental health than your economic level.

Certainties and new data about cycling and happiness

It is not new that cycling and sports in general help you in terms of serotonin levels and overall happiness. Better health, better lifestyle, less risk of cardiovascular diseases, and better attitude and mood are scientifically proven factors for decades, study after study.

But when compared to money, it seemed that money was above cycling. But nothing could be further from the truth: your bike makes you happier than money.

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The prestigious universities of Yale and Oxford started from that opposite hypothesis to dismantle it in a recent study published in 2020. In the study, they analyzed the physical behavior and mood of over 1 million American citizens, and published their results in the scientific journal The Lancet.

They used the concept of "poor mental health" to measure the daily state of all of them, and segmented them by age, race, gender, marital status, income, level of education, body mass index, physical health status, and possible previous depression. With all these crosses, the data were clear-sighted: everyone, without exception, had more "happy" days per year the more they exercised, and cycling accounted for a high percentage of their activities.

Specifically, they affirm that your road bike, gravel bike, or mountain bike can give you up to 18 more days of happiness per year. Two and a half more weeks of well-being just by cycling.

Cycling: one of the most practiced exercises

It is true that they took into account a multitude of types of physical exercise, even considering mowing the lawn, for example. But cycling occupied an important space. However, even cleaning the house improved the data.

But there were sports that improved not only aerobic and anaerobic issues, but their socialization was more productive. Above cycling, there were only some social team sports, but because they did not consider going out on your mountain bike as a team sport. So going out, and going out to ride in a team even more, significantly improves your mental health.

And the salary difference? It was estimated at around €22,000 per year. That is, a person who practices cycling is happier than someone who does not even if the latter earns up to €22,000 more per year. To be practical: if you earn a thousand euros a month and ride a bike, you can be happier than a person who earns up to €2800 monthly but is sedentary and does not exercise.

Endorphins, serotonin, and noradrenaline are responsible for these results. Your body and mind are the means. And your happiness is the result.

So you know: if you want to improve your mood, don't think about asking for a raise, but rather a few more hours a week to practice cycling. You won't be richer, but you will be much happier.