AUSTIN (KXAN) — Bikers who commute to work are less stressed when they arrive than co-workers who drive or take mass transit, that is according to a new study recently published by the International Journal of Workplace Health Management.

Researchers at Concordia University in Canada studied 123 people. They filled out a questionnaire at the beginning of their workday, rating their moods. They also told researchers their method of transportation in the morning. The professors also took into account that people who

The professors also took into account that people who exercise would be more apt to report better moods. They discovered that on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the most stress, averages for each group were 2.54 for drivers, 2.25 for public-transit users and 2.18 for cyclists. 

Researchers said people’s early-morning stress level can be an indicator for how the rest of their day goes.

Rachel Harif, 25, started biking to work out of necessity. “I got in a car accident. [I thought] maybe I’ll just ride my bike and see how it goes.”

Four months later, Harif says her eight-mile trek is terrific, so much so that she bought a semi-motorized e-bike.

“I feel really ready to go every day when I get to work. I’m not sleepy or groggy when I get to work, which I used to be when I would drive to work.”

Dr. Martha Pyron says biking raises your concentration level. “If you’re getting off the bus or the train, you haven’t changed your energy level at all.”WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:

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