Cycle commute improves mental health, research shows

Commuters who cycle to work are less likely to be prescribed antidepressants, new research shows.

Analysis of almost 380,000 people living in Scotland suggests commuting by bike reduces the risk of mental ill health.

Commuting by bike led to greater reductions in mental health prescriptions in women than in men, according to research from the University of Edinburgh – although men were more likely to cycle.

Researchers combined data for 378,253 people aged 16-74 from the 2011 Scottish census with prescription records from Britain's National Health Service for the following five years.