Naimur Rahman Afid :
Cycling may be considered as sports, exercise or a recreational thing. But in this present pandemic situation, it can be considered as a safe way to commute. Because there’s no need to buy fuel, no buying passes at toll booths and no cash transactions while commuting via bicycles.
At the present situation, it is the smartest way of commuting to maintain social distancingbecause while riding you are transporting yourself in an isolated manner. As the passenger capacity of public transport has been reduced to half, people are opting to travel in their own vehicle. Besides, the cost of commuting has increased about 60 to 70 percent. So bicycle would be a cost effective option for commuting. It is ecofriendly too.
Besides,being a better option of commute, it also strengthens the immune system. Immune system is body’s natural defense system against infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, parasites and even tumor and cancer cells. It’s even involved in our body’s response to injury and trauma. It does this by producing white blood cells and other chemicals that attack and destroy the foreign substance that’s made it past our body’s defenses.
Our immune system can recognize millions of different antigens and deploy the appropriate tactics to eradicate nearly all of them. The immune system declines by about 2 to 3% every year starting in our 20s, hence why we are more susceptible to infections as we get older. This is because of one of the organs of the immune system called thymus and is where immune cells called T cells mature – begins to shrink when we’re young adults.
Hopefully,a recent study conducted by Aging Cell found that the long-distance older cyclists were producing the same level of T-cells as adults in their 20s, compared to a group of inactive adults who were producing very few.
Moreover, cycling has some other health benefits too. Such as:
n Cycling improves the cardiovascular system. It increases blood circulation which in turn increases the heart rate and pump output at the same time. The blood volume of the heart is also increased. It also reduces cholesterol which prevents hardening of the arteries.
n It improves respiratory function. The lungs continually receive fresh oxygen and the increased breathing rate strengthens the surrounding muscles.
n It is helpful in weight loss. It can be undertaken as aerobic, intensive and interval training.
n Cycling increases blood flow to the brain which leads to improved branching of nerve cells.
n Only 30 minutes of cycling helps produce a significant number of endorphins which is also known as happiness hormone. Thus it helps to decrease depression.
People who need to go to work in this pandemic situation and wanted to maintain social distance, cycling would be the smartest choice. It ensures both transport and exercise which improves body’s immune system. Thus it provides a slightly better protection from Covid-19. Getting on a cycle for a beautiful morning ride is far more enjoyable than queuing in clinics for some cold or flu treatment.
Cycling may be considered as sports, exercise or a recreational thing. But in this present pandemic situation, it can be considered as a safe way to commute. Because there’s no need to buy fuel, no buying passes at toll booths and no cash transactions while commuting via bicycles.
At the present situation, it is the smartest way of commuting to maintain social distancingbecause while riding you are transporting yourself in an isolated manner. As the passenger capacity of public transport has been reduced to half, people are opting to travel in their own vehicle. Besides, the cost of commuting has increased about 60 to 70 percent. So bicycle would be a cost effective option for commuting. It is ecofriendly too.
Besides,being a better option of commute, it also strengthens the immune system. Immune system is body’s natural defense system against infectious agents such as viruses, bacteria, parasites and even tumor and cancer cells. It’s even involved in our body’s response to injury and trauma. It does this by producing white blood cells and other chemicals that attack and destroy the foreign substance that’s made it past our body’s defenses.
Our immune system can recognize millions of different antigens and deploy the appropriate tactics to eradicate nearly all of them. The immune system declines by about 2 to 3% every year starting in our 20s, hence why we are more susceptible to infections as we get older. This is because of one of the organs of the immune system called thymus and is where immune cells called T cells mature – begins to shrink when we’re young adults.
Hopefully,a recent study conducted by Aging Cell found that the long-distance older cyclists were producing the same level of T-cells as adults in their 20s, compared to a group of inactive adults who were producing very few.
Moreover, cycling has some other health benefits too. Such as:
n Cycling improves the cardiovascular system. It increases blood circulation which in turn increases the heart rate and pump output at the same time. The blood volume of the heart is also increased. It also reduces cholesterol which prevents hardening of the arteries.
n It improves respiratory function. The lungs continually receive fresh oxygen and the increased breathing rate strengthens the surrounding muscles.
n It is helpful in weight loss. It can be undertaken as aerobic, intensive and interval training.
n Cycling increases blood flow to the brain which leads to improved branching of nerve cells.
n Only 30 minutes of cycling helps produce a significant number of endorphins which is also known as happiness hormone. Thus it helps to decrease depression.
People who need to go to work in this pandemic situation and wanted to maintain social distance, cycling would be the smartest choice. It ensures both transport and exercise which improves body’s immune system. Thus it provides a slightly better protection from Covid-19. Getting on a cycle for a beautiful morning ride is far more enjoyable than queuing in clinics for some cold or flu treatment.
(Naimur Rahman Afid is a B. Pharm Student at Department of Pharmacy, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University.
E-mail: [email protected])
