Time to take my cyclo-prozac

Woke up in a totally crappy mood this morning. No idea why. I found myself pacing around the house in circles while trying to simply put my clothes on. Some days are just like that. I looked outside. Beautiful sunny day. But I didn’t really care. All I thought was “gee… at least I won’t get rained on during my ride to work…”

Ride to work…Now there is something positive.

I have absolutely no question in my mind that the single greatest thing I can do for my mood is go for a bike ride. Yes – even better than that as far as mood enhancements. While other activities can improve my mood for a short period of time, something about the combination of intentionally-induced muscle fatigue and endorphins can improve my mood all day long, and often into the next as well.

I know this isn’t just me. There are tons of reports of studies that back this up.

As a type 1 diabetic, depression is something I have to be conscious of. It is a common and unfortunate side effect of abnormal blood sugar levels – which can directly impact brain chemistry. Add on to that the emotional challenges of dealing with a chronic, incurable disease and the stigmas and misinformation surrounding it and it is surprising that there aren’t more type 1’s suffering from depression. That makes cycling even more beneficial for me. Not only does it directly impact the feelings of depression, it also helps to alleviate the causes of it by stabilizing blood sugar levels. As they say in the suit-n-tie business world: win-win.

So back to my day today. I’ve now done my commute. Memories of the malaise of this morning are long gone. And that sunny day I noticed… it is a whole lot warmer and brighter now. Of course, it doesn’t hurt with your commute looks like this:

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