[Closed] Riding bikes - counter-productive for dealing with stress?

Almost always makes me feel better. Even if I don't ride that well it gives me time to think... cycling is clever.

getting away and being alone on a bike regardless of stress levels is brilliant and i value this time i have.

No matter how stressed I am, it's gone once I point down the trail and give it the beans.
Absolutely brilliant way to forget about lifes worries I find. All that matters is the bike and the trail....the 'real world' seems so far away it's irrelevant.

The only negative would be if you're just riding by way of procrastinating on some work you need to do...in which case that stress will be there once you get back home/work etc.

I'd have to say yes and I was actually thinking about this earlier today.

Generally I'm a grumpy bad tempered ****, but since I've started cycling 6 days a week my general mood has been much better!

For me, riding is like being in a bubble. The world and all associated nonsense are a hazy memory. It's wierd, real life just seems so far away.

Without that escape I struggle to find sense out existance.

i would ride all day every day if i could, nothing else work-wise or other aspects of life-wise gets a look-in when out on the bike. awesome.

Sorry, got that the wrong way round. I'd say cycling is good for dealing with stress.

During a rather unhappy period of my life, I lost the ability to even enjoy going for a spin. I'd head out... and then turn back... 🙁

Nowadays: going for a ride never fails to cheer me up, even when I'm riding like a klutz. It's just nice to be on a bike, in the woods, with mates or alone... Simple. 😀

I think it's the endorphins that are released through physical exersize, isn't it? That makes us feel better.

Personally, like most here, I always feel better for a ride

I was having a rubbish cycle today and it should have been perfect: justing messing on the singletrack around Peaslake/Pitch. In the end I gave up and just sat in the sunshine with a mug of tea watching the world go by...bliss. 🙂

Still I was out for 4 hours and got none of the things I should have been doing done so the anxiety levels are now up...in fact I better get to my son's school or I'll be late

Cycling reduces my stress levels but life quickly catches back up with those few stolen hours 🙁

Don't really get stressed to be honest, but it is good fun to ride

Thanks for your replies.

To put it in perspective, if the stress one is dealing with is in the top five most stressful life events, should that make a difference?

In other words, can riding be an added pressure and possibly resulting in a unnaturally high heart rate?

Would definitely agree that endorphins are released but just wondering whether in some circumstances exercise is not a good idea. Just thinking out loud really.

It's not so much a stress-reducer for me but just a way to totally clear your head - I tend to just focus on the riding when out and forget all the other million things going on.

Don't think I've ever felt worse after going out mtbing than before.

I guess when under a huge amount of stress your immune system could be affected.

So maybe just do some more chilled rides and not push yourself too hard? I also have had a lot of panic attacks and things and have been using a relaxation CD by Glenn Harrold which is very good and helps get your breathing under control.

I would have been up a watertower with a Barrett .50 cal by now if it wasn't for mountainbiking. 😕

So yes, it does help.

I find my commute great for dealing with stress. Some of the route is on busy roads but the last 10 miles are car free. My mind just drifts off. Much better now its daylight as I can relax a fair bit more. Had a bit of a stressful day today and can't wait to get on the bike at 5pm.

I find road riding or running better for clearing your head than mtb. You can just empty your head and concentrate on the rhythms.

mtb is good for filling your head, and gives you a more of a high, but road and running better for emptying your head and realising that it might all be ok afterall.

What MrsFlash says, I prefer road riding to MTB for dealing with stress. I'm going through a really bad patch at the moment - been made redundant, no sign of a new job, less than no money but once I'm out on the bike it all just goes away. Fantastic way of dealing with stress, I feel so much better for it. If I haven't been out on the bike for whatever reason I have a really bad nights sleep, but sleep much better after I've been out on the bike during the day.

Ride your bike, don't worry about 'training' or whatever, just get out there, it'll do you the world of good.

All the best.

As Dave Smith, coach and sports psycho said "mountain biking to think about nothing; road riding to think about everything".

If you want some time to ponder life and think about what's going on, then road riding's great. If you want to forget all your troubles, then mountain biking's the thing. I tend to agree with that, which I think means I disagree with MrsF and Crazy-legs.

If I'm stressed, mountain biking helps, provided I can get past the hassle of getting changed, finding my kit, lights, shoes etc. On the road there's not much else to occupy my mind so I just think over the things that are going on in my life, which is sometimes a good thing, sometimes not so good.

BTW, I don't think riding while stressed can do you any physical harm unless you're bordering on a heart attack already.

Sometimes if I'm stressed I'll just ride to somewhere beautiful and sit for a while. No pressure to ride like a god, just time to myself.

[i]If I'm stressed, mountain biking helps, provided I can get past the hassle of getting changed, finding my kit, lights, shoes etc. On the road there's not much else to occupy my mind so I just think over the things that are going on in my life, which is sometimes a good thing, sometimes not so good.[/i]

I find it the other way, road riding is simple. My mind just wanders, I think about the ride, the bike, the route. Road riding is great for just entering a sort of alternative slightly dreamy world. MTBing, I concentrate on the ride/line choice/gear choice etc but if I'm distracted (by life stress or whatever), I end up riding like a prat and that's just annoying.

Of course, on the cross bike, the darkness closes in, the red mist descends and it's hard enough to remember to breathe, but that's something different altogether.

Mountain biking for me can be good for stress if it's a good ride. If you head up to the hills on a sunny day and you have all day to just bat across the moors, with good descents and all, and you're on top of things then fine.

If on the other hand you have loads to do but you head out anyway; your bike's not working properly, the same old dull trails are muddy, it's wet, and you fall off lots - you have a miserable time and it just makes matters worse...

Depends on how you want to approach it, I think.

I absolutely love going where I like, for how long I need to at the speed that feels right.

The more stressed I feel the harder I go. I have built up my stamina quite a bit! As mentioned above I think it's about the important disconnect from everything which does not involve that ride. Even mishaps, like stacks and flats become a positive when I can think "Right, **** it, these things will happen and ONWARD!"

I like the feeling of having really pushed myself really hard and arriving home near exhaustion. Wonderful feeling of contentment all of next day.

Removes stress everytime, even those horrible commutes when there's an eejit in a barely controled motor. I'm slightly worried that i can't ride for the next three w/e's. So it fun in the darkness time 🙂

I think for sure it helps on many levels. Firstly there's whatever you get from the ride itself - the adrenaline, effort, cameraderie, views, clearing your head, mud, whatever.

Secondly and just as important there's the discipline of making time to do something you enjoy, even if it's only a couple of hours a week.

Sometimes this helps you spot "stuff" for what it is...

I was having a horribly stressful time with work this morning, so decided to just get out and take advantage of the sun and dry trails.

Definitely feel less stressed now, even though I haven't solved all the work-related problems - I can see that they're not as serious as I thought this morning.

I agree with jackthedog - when I'm riding I'm in a bubble and other thoughts can only kind of bounce off the outside surface of it. I can see problems but they don't sink in, sort of thing.

I'd say cycling is probly not good for your stress levels, [url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/beardy-cyclist ]when you're on a bit of singletrack road, with an impatient car driver beeping their horn behind you, wanting to overtake...[/url]

s****....

I find heading out on the bike, both road and mountain to be completely relaxing and a great de-stressing tool. In fact I have taken to using this to my advantage with Mrs H, as when I am crabity and bad tempered she sends me off out for a bike ride 😛

LOL @ RudeBoy. 🙂

i rode a lot during my marriage break up, de-stressed me a lot as i could work stuff out in my head and release some of the frustration and anger into the pedals, i've never climbed so fast before or since! so for me yea it helps

I couldn't exist without the stress relief of mtbing. Road riding is ok, but the irritation of other road users is always there.
I'll take a day on the mtb (even if its a bad one) over.. well almost anything really, except maybe a bluebird day on the snowboard (but they're rather few and far between).

[i]when I am crabity and bad tempered she sends me off out for a bike ride [:P] [/i]
Great idea - I shall point this out to mrsdezb in future!

Not sure if its the same answer, but going out and doing what you really enjoy doing makes you more relaxed. Unless you are going to get into trouble for doing it ( like missing a wedding bacause you were surfing) I think that because you have asked this on amountain bike forum then the answer to 'Does mountain biking make you less strssed?' is going to be yes.
I windsurf alot and that has the same effect, 3 hours of blasting about in ,hopefully, bright sunshine leaves me pretty laid back , a feeling which can last for 2 days .
Not sure where i would be without either , in a dark place probably.
I am lucky enough to be able to see the sea from my front room , after a rubbish day just 10 mins with a cup of tea just sat watching the sea is very calming.
I also find riding to 'angry ' music makes me ride a little harder, and in a reverse way de -stresses me at the same time.

Well, it probably didn't help that firstly I was nearly taken out on a roundabout by some stupid female driver with an interesting lane choice. Bit of shouting and hand signals from me naturally 👿

With just about every bit of singletrack I managed to get my line wrong and climbing was a nightmare. Again my heart rate was getting scarily high, had to stop for a few minutes to get it down. Rode a bit more and it happened again.

All in all I have come back feeling more stressed than when I went out 😥

Upon reflection I reckon that Potdog's suggestion of sitting for a while somewhere nice can help.

Oh and mrsflash please please please don't try and talk me into getting a road bike! I do want one but can't afford it 🙄

Am looking forward to a happier day tomorrow 🙂

It may be anathema to one so fit and fast as yourself, but have you considered a singlespeed? I find that the lack of wrong gears and the simplicity of the things make them more calming than 27-geared full-sus wonderbikes. It's easier to justify taking it easy, and also to concentrate on the ride rather than the bike.
But I know what you mean about those days when it all goes wrong and you end up not having enjoyed yourslef.

Hello Moses! Love the flattery ... if only it were true 😆

Actually I was on the singlespeed today and I do agree with your comment on the simplicity. It's really quite therapeutic normally but today it all just went pear-shaped!

Hello singletrackmind! I've figured out who you are! You didn't seriously miss a wedding did you? You're lucky to be close to the sea.

road bikes come in Ti CG 😉

I find approaching a ride and not having any expectations of things going well helps when i'm stressed;ie just thinking about the act of going for a ride itself being a change from what i'm stressed about seems to help,rather than wanting a ride to go well so that i stop feeling stressed,which doesn't seem to work.

Exercise and greenery are both good for stress,so if i ride somewhere with fields i always feel better when i get back.

Friction thumbies are quite good for not having to cope with missed or wrong gears,you can always stay in gear without any barrel twiddling needed.

That's why I don't like the MTB when I'm stressed, if it's all going badly it just makes me feel worse - I've abandoned rides in the past where I've been riding like a bag of spanners and I just go home pissed off at my inability to ride things. Road is just...simpler.

Anyway, what's up C_G? A problem shared is a problem halved and all that...

Less MTB = more stress for me - mind is focused on the riding and I forget everything else. Always come back feeling good -(almost)-only exception is when I've been on the road bike too much and the off road skills have slipped.

Virtually gave up running when I moved to my current job - as all the problems of the day just went round in my brain like a fair

Oddly swimming is OK as well - tho definitely doesnt give the same buzz as a couple of hours on the local trails.

rocketdog - you calling me a Ti tart??!! Nah, road bike will be carbon 😉

Must say these comparisons between mtb and road make interesting reading - everyone's different. The point about greenery is a good one - there's been a distinct lack of picnic rides! Will do something about that - revisit some old haunts.

Tunes on and MTB, great for sending my stress/depression levels down. Just about time to head out on another government sponsored ride 8)

[i]Just about time to head out on another government sponsored ride[/i]

Early afternoon for mine. Off to a vocational training course now - it sounds better at the job centre to say I attended rather than spent the day destressing by riding! 😉

For me, like some of the previous posters, it's about switching my brain off. Other than fireroads where I might well get back onto what's stressing me out, once I get onto trails, it's all about where the bike is going. It's one of the big reasons why an early Saturday ride helps the overall tone of my weekend; helps me shake the office mindset.

Actually, this thread got me seriously bugging about something I’d written eleven years ago or so. I’d not long finished university and I was waiting to hit the airport for two months’ worth of riding in the US (between San Fran and Santa Fe). It wasn’t really written for anyone or anything – I was just trying to convey, uhh, something. Needless to say, I loved the writing in [i]Bike[/i] magazine – but unfortunately, I could only manage cringe-worthy platitudes and a sort of woeful romanticism… reproduced exactly for your reading displeasure: 😈
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[i]“Deprive a man of his life lie and you rob him of his happiness”[/i]
Ibsen

Going for a ride. Try to articulate the importance of what it means – try to put it into words – and already it’s drifting beyond reach. Woodsmoke on the trail. Something to remember and hold close in times of need – or think about in the bath (or the bar) afterwards… And then enter Ibsen, like a literary smart bomb, zeroing in on the sheer, silly fragility of what it means to be human. All clinging to the arbitrary flotsam and jetsam that we hope signifies something special. Vital things, forged by passion and necessity: to depend upon and believe in. Not for a moment do the largely hairless apes want to contemplate the possibility that happiness is a house built of straw, just waiting for the big bad existential wolf to come blow it down. But sometimes, and often in the wake of inexplicable punctures, the doubt creeps in…

However, there are some things which even great playwrights cannot argue with. Noble things, in other words, which possess a certain kind of truth. Like a battered pair of Deore XT thumbshifters (n.b. mine have been stolen), for example, or the A-Team, or finishing a book so good you don’t want it to actually finish (hello [i]Cold Mountain[/i]) or (if you get it right) falling in love. And, even if you don’t quite get it right, going for a ride.

Because, above all else, the Trail will never lie. It is honest and sometimes brutally so. People, political parties, kitchen appliances – at some point, all of these will let you down. But if you leave blood on the wet roots, the fault is entirely your own. The Trail just is - you get back what you put in (that’s riding and building, both). Within the generally fluid discourse that is rider and dirt, some commentators inevitably attempt to bust hip new post-modern moves. Catching ill-judged philosophical air, they make critical (but ultimately futile) claims that no single truth is to be found. For even the ever-changing variables of geology, climate and season cannot disguise the underlining certainty of the Trail. It may – and probably will – hurt you, but it will always listen. On days when pedal strokes are fuelled by anger and pain, there is always the promise of wheels going somewhere (anywhere) other than here. Round a corner, a new way of looking at a problem. Other days, too, when all you can do is smile, and know – really know – that this is something close to as good as it gets.

And somewhere in there, running like a sacred thread through the endless trail lore, the mythology and secret knowledge that builds up ride upon ride, [i]is[/i] the singular truth: you may haul the climbs, rail the downs, but the Trail remains something far larger. It might (almost) be called a cosmological belief - singletrack for the soul. Archaeology and riding bikes (two driving passions of this particular fool since childhood, activities as separate as turning pedals and painstaking work with trowels should be), out on favourite trails, these pursuits somehow converge. Falling over themselves with enthusiasm, they collide like they are on some kind of super-crazed blind date. The profound spookiness (I get goosebumps) of knowing that Other People Were Once Here In This Place becomes juxtaposed with a far more personal sense of history. On the hills and in the woods, trails hold memories. And riding them again evokes the strange sadness of formative things now lost – gooseneck stems, lycra helmet covers and ill-fitting, hastily appropriated clothing.

And just maybe, as a dim-witted citizen of a world that is too big and fast and convenient, I am a little more aware of the wisdom of those who have always valued an intimate connection with their surroundings. For trails surely call for songlines: a eulogy for every rock and tree, each slick root and drifting corner. And lost in sublime rapture somewhere on the hill, racing the last embers of the setting sun, I wonder how anybody could possibly call this feeling a lie.
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Feel free to slate me hard for such pretentious waffle (I was young, after all), but I believed it then - and I still believe it now! 😀

An excellent bit of writing! 10/10

[i]"mountain biking to think about nothing; road riding to think about everything".[/i]...that is so true.
Sometimes I get too stressed to enjoy proper mountainbiking, those are the times to grab the roadbike, or do a bit of ambient off-road bimbling. Time and space to think things over.
Keep your heart rate well in the the aerobic zone and you'll be fine...

I have been v stressed lately. We've just got through a round of redundancies at work, and right now I'm working like a dog.

I was trying to get fit enough to give road racing a go this year, but everything has conspired against me getting any of the fitness I might need. It got me really stressed and really down.

So, sometimes riding a bike only makes matters worse.

Then, I forced a change of mindset on myself - sack off the first half of the season and concentrate on a couple of big sportives: get fit for those, and maybe I'll have something to enable me to then get fit enough for the late season. Sure, it isn't ideal, but is better than hating it (which I did).

What I'm trying to say is this: whether you're road riding or MTBing, don't try to force it. Enjoy the bits you do, and don't make the rest of it like purgatory. That way, any riding will definitely have the benefit of allowing you a bit of breathing space to deal with life's issues.

As a wider point, though, I'm generally a *lot* happier the more I ride and the more time I have to ride.

I get very moody and sulky when i cant ride, even just spining into work and back helps!

Just gives 20 minutes every mornign/afternoon of complete and utter "me time", a bit like sleeping in the bath 🙂

I should also add that commuting by bike seems to add to my stress - it's not far, but it's the repetition of the route, coupled with the fact it's all in traffic, seem to add to the stress levels on occasion.

Later this year I'm going to acquire a road fixed and see if that makes life a little better.

Rather contrarily, though, I don't feel any less stressed travelling to work by any other means.....

Oh, I dunno.

The moment i get one the bike any stress is gone, all i think about is the riding, if i stop sometimes i can dwell on the issue, so i tend not to stop.

If i ride like a tool it's because i'm having a moment, never do i blame stress.

As regards the point re, if you;re stressed, will creating the same symptoms by riding (eg raised heartrate, sweating etc) be harmful, I would say no. The reason that 'ordinary' stress is bad for us is that when stressed, our bodies pump out hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol which are supposed to cause a 'fight or flight' physical response. When a physical response is not available to us these hormones are harmful. I would theorise (don't know if it is the case, but makes sense to me) that if you undertake some physical activity, it would 'use up' the hormones in some more constructive way and lead to less harmful consequences.

Feel free to correct me if this is b*llocks, but from the limited knowledge I have about the physiology of stress, it would make sense.

access to green space is scientifically proven to reduce stress.

therefore MTB is good and road biking is bad.

A crap days riding is always better than a 'good' day a work!!

Unless you can road-bike in green spaces,watching sheeps soemtimes helps me if i'm stressed,i think they remind me to try and think more simply.

Fairly stressed at work at the moment with a big piece of work that really isn't going well. I took most of today off (was meant to be all but had a couple of things I had to do) and went down to Glentress for a spin this afternoon. Possibly shouldn't have taken the time out but feel loads better for it - gained a lot of perspective on the project I'm working on and priorities seem clearer now, so will be far more productive for the rest of the week.

I really like commuting by bike, gives a similar thinking space between work and home, and I have a huge variety of routes I can do depending on how I feel, or perhaps I can tell how I feel depending on route choice. Been doing the taxi racing way quite a bit recently which probably isn't a good thing, but means the stress stays at work...hopefully when this assignment ends I can settle back into the offroad route and enjoy the coming of spring.

It's probably coming soon to a Howies t-shirt, if it's not been there already, but cycling is my Prozac 🙂

A mate of mine came down from Bradford last week, to see family and try and deal with his tenant, who hazzunt pad the rent this month. This could have an impact on his work situation, and his living up North, as if the tenant does not in any way pay the rent, then he'll have to move back down here to work and pay the mortgage. And his wife will have to come down too (not such an issue for her as she's a freelance writer). But definitely a dent in their plans to relocate to Yorkshire. So he's a bit stressed (tenant has gone AWOL).

I lent him a spare bike, and we went for a riverside pootle. Down to Greenwich, then up through Deptford, Rotherhithe and Bermondsey. Only a little one.

Then across Tower Bridge, and up to Taayabs, for a couple of samosa and a cup of tea.

He'd managed to lose the stress, somewhere in South London. Was so much more relaxed about stuff. Was asking how much I'd want for the bike! He had one down here, but it got trashed just before he moved back up North.

Biking can be such a good way of getting away from stuff for a bit. Gives you a different focus, and you get to see stuff along the way.

I find swimming to be my 'yoga'. I just get in the zone, and pound up and down. Afterwards, I feel so much more relaxed.

It's not so much the thing itself, but the fun you have while doing it.

I find 90% of the time it helps as I can just forget about the issues. Mind you I have had an almighty stack at Cwm Carn when instead of forgetting about stuff I left my mind wander back to it and just lost concentration on the important stuff, like staying on the track! Therefore, if its a really big deal I tend not to use the bike as a means of forgetting.

Split up with the gf last night, off out for a ride in a bit. Bikes and friends, the best things for me.