E-bikes are electric motor-assisted bicycles that have revolutionized the cycling experience for all. Sales have skyrocketed, especially in the pandemic years, owing to their multiple benefits and versatility of use. What’s more, Deloitte predicts that more people are looking forward to joining this trend, and they say that about 130 million e-bikes will be sold from 2020-2030.
Riding an e-bike regularly is a great way to maintain a healthy lifestyle, strengthen your cardiovascular system, muscles, bones, and joints, and reduce your risk of Type-2 Diabetes. Additionally, you can get better sleep, preserve your mental health, and relieve stress by riding an e-bike.
Today, I will share 9 health benefits of e-bikes that you could experience with an e-bike. Stop dreaming of the day when you might achieve your fitness and health goals and get two steps closer to achieving them, without overexerting yourself like you would on a traditional bicycle.
Top 9 Health Benefits of E-bike
When you have an e-bike, you’ll experience several health benefits you might not otherwise experience without it. Today, we’ll look at nine of the most common and beneficial health gains.
1. Strengthen Your Cardiovascular System with an E-bike
Aerobic exercise is a certified way to keep your heart in the best shape. When gyms were closed in early 2020, it meant more of us were missing out on this essential exercise, which is why I knew I needed an e-bike.
I also needed a ‘safe’ way to get outside my apartment, breathe fresh, and catch some much-needed Vitamin D.
Riding an E-bike, whether for fun or as a form of exercise, people who use e-bikes ride more than those with conventional bikes, which strengthens their core and provides a better cardio workout than walking. It decreases your chances of developing heart diseases, stroke, high blood pressure, and reduces cholesterol level, which is linked to cardiovascular health.
Here is a Youtube video expounding on this and other health benefits of cycling:
2. Boost Your Immune System with an E-bike
Cycling exposes you to different stimuli, both cold and warm, making your immune system stronger and resistant to certain weather extremities. Furthermore, it is an important way of increasing your white blood cell count, protecting you against different diseases. Cycling outside gives you time to soak in some vitamin D, which also strengthens your immune system. Forbes reports that people who cycle to work are at 41% lower risk of succumbing to common fatality causes of driving and taking public transport.
3. Lower Your Risk of Type-2 Diabetes with an E-bike
The best therapy for type 2 diabetes is exercise and a balanced diet, both of which promote glucose consumption in the muscles, which keeps blood sugar levels at an optimum level. Cycling is an approved sport for those with diabetes, as it is a constant and repetitive sport that boosts the cells’ ability to absorb glucose.
E-bike cycling is considered a moderate exercise that is more effective in reducing blood sugar levels than high-intensity exercises. Cycling also helps burn calories, which might result in weight loss. The Dove Medical Press journal published a study saying that an hour of moderate cycling reduces their blood sugar levels by half for the next 24 hours in overweight people.
4. Preserve Your Mind with an E-Bike
Being locked up during a pandemic had adverse effects on everybody’s mental health. It is more than not having a chance to socialize but also about being denied fresh air, nice views, and the opportunity to catch some much-needed sunsets.
For me, outdoor cycling proved to be an effective way of boosting mental wellness by increasing the blood flow of oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood to my brain.
At the same time, joining an electric cycling group is a great way to meet like-minded people who can bounce ideas off each other, explore together, and can share troubles, which leaves you a little less depressed. According to MensLine Australia, other mental health benefits of e-bike cycling include
- Improves your mood
- Boosts productivity and creativity
- Improves memory
- Combats depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, and stress
For older people, e-bike cycling can improve their cognitive abilities and boost their brain function due to the outdoor stimulation and physical activity it induces.
5. Get Better Sleep with an E-bike
According to the Sleep Foundation Organization, regular exercise can help relieve chronic insomnia by helping you drift to sleep up to 13 minutes faster and extend your sleep by up to 18 minutes. Additionally, cycling helps decompress your mind, which is the cognitive process that helps you transition to sleep slowly and naturally. A few reasons why cycling your e-bike can help you get some good shut-eye might include:
- Exercise regulates your core body temperature such that it increases when you are active and drops when you stop, which is similar to the kind we experience before sleep. Your brain receives the signal that it’s time to sleep with this drop.
- Exercise may realign your circadian rhythms, which, when misaligned, causes you to feel more tired than normal later in the night. It also boosts the serotonin hormone production that can adjust your sleep-wake cycle, helping you fall asleep earlier and wake up later.
6. Strengthening Muscles, Bones, and Joints with an E-bike
Cycling is a non-traumatic sport that has faster muscle recovery times. From my time on an e-bike, I can assure you that cycling with an e-bike doesn’t damage joints, which makes it perfect for people with joint problems because it works the joints gently and promotes the removal of toxins.
Because e-bikes are significantly heavier than traditional bikes, they provide strengthening exercise while you steer, pedal, and balance an electric bike, which promotes strong and healthy bones, muscles, and joints, as well as a strong core.
7. Building Confidence
Contrary to popular belief, e-bike cycling is not a walk in the park. From experience, my E-bike only gives me a pedal boost that results in less stress on my knees and thighs, but I still have put in some pedaling work.
The boost is substantial and allows me to pedal for longer than I would on a traditional bike. A bike from a reputable brand will help you maintain a correct posture.
If you haven’t ridden for years, an e-bike will make getting back on your two wheels more appealing as you are confident that no hill is too steep for you to climb with an e-bike.
8. Great for Stress Relief, Liver Health, and Belly Fat
Like many other adrenaline-inducing activities, cycling an e-bike releases endorphins (Source: Bicyling.com): happy hormones associated with relaxation and calm, which induces stress relief. Cortisol levels become balanced, which boosts liver health and decreases belly fat.
While riding, you work your core and burn calories as well as melt belly fat. Riding an e-bike promotes muscle growth throughout your legs. According to the Mayo Clinic, muscle allows your body to burn more calories than fat. By reducing your belly fat and increasing your legs’ muscle mass, you’ll improve your metabolism and fat-burning capabilities in the long run.
9. E-bikes Aren’t Just Replacing Conventional Bikes. They’re Replacing Cars
The benefits of e-bikes are not limited to health, as they extend to financial and environmental benefits. It’s more affordable than cars and motorcycles in terms of initial costs and maintenance costs.
E-bikes do not use renewable energy sources, like gas, which means there are fewer emissions being released into the atmosphere. Some e-bikes have been designed to further enhance sustainability by charging through solar power.
The disadvantages might include the fact that they must be charged before using, and that you must dispose of them correctly to avoid adverse environmental effects
