Dear Randy and colleagues
The world of public transport has been considering mental health and transit from another angle. See:
http://www.mhag.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Mental-Health-Transport-Summit-Report-1.pdf
Regards
Richard
Richard Armitage BSc FCILT
Director, Manchester Bike Hire
Manchester Bike Hire - Open 7 Days
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From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Andrew Saffrey <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Monday, 27 June 2016 at 16:26
To: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: cycling & mental health: anything new?
Hi Randy,
Your query immediately prompted my recollection of a study that found dense, transit-accessible environments (i.e. not sprawl, and hence very cycleable) lead to a lower rate of prescriptions for mental health: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/11/14898
A lot less academic, but real-world experience and analogues here:
http://www.cyclinguk.org/case-study/cycling-for-mental-health
http://www.derbyshiremind.org.uk/pdf/MHPublicTransportReport.pdf
http://www.hug.uk.net/reports_pdf/0911%20HUG%20Report%20Transport%20&%20Mental%20Health.pdf
Not all are directly related to or mention cycling, but there are parallels nonetheless that could be worth talking about.
I hope these are useful.
Kind regards,
From: Cycling and Society Research Group discussion list <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Alan Munro <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 27 June 2016 16:21:28
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: cycling & mental health: anything new?
Hello there,
Just something to think about - it may be that the whole 'sitting is the new smoking' is a mix of moral panic and cherry-picked research. I remember a quite interesting series of comments on an article about sitting and its dangers discussing the various issues one got with old, manual labour, 'standing' jobs. Now this was very anecdotal, but some cited some interesting historical work - I'm afraid I can't remember what. Although this was NOT an academic discussion through peer review it did suggest that maybe there's an over-reaction to this that may need some serious meta-analyses.
Re mental health- well, that field has come along way from simply focusing on the negative. People who used to look solely at depression and anxiety and how to prevent it have moved on to look at the converse - what is the meaningful, happy, and content life. You might look at flow, and at work in positive psychology. I'm sure you know that one element is both the exercise that cycling gives, and the feeling of 'flow' when cycling well. Mental health seems a very old term to be using in this current sphere - it still very much stinks of a medical model of psychology.
My tuppence worth.
alan munro
On 27 Jun 2016, at 16:00, Calvin Thigpen wrote:
Though its relevance depends on how broadly you define "mental health", Owen Waygood's research does touch on how active travel is more highly associated with increased social and community interaction than car travel. Hope that helps.
Calvin Thigpen
PhD candidate
Transportation Technology & Policy
University of California, Davis
On Mon, Jun 27, 2016 at 7:56 AM, Randy Rzewnicki <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
I was just asked if we have anything new or obscure on cycling and effects on mental health.
While the bad news seems to be focussed on Sitting as the new Smoking - I could tell them that sitting is fine, as long as it's on a bike, right?
But I'd like to know which article, journal or book I should poke around in looking for something more gratifying.
FYI: here's something new - for you
How to...
Look after your
mental health
using exercise
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/sites/default/files/How%20to...exercise.pdf
Thanks much, in advance
Randy
R Rzewnicki, PhD
Health Policy Officer
My working days are Monday & Tuesday.
European Cyclists' Federation asbl
Rue Franklin 28 • B-1000 Brussels
VAT BE 0460439895
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