World Car-Free Day
I’ve inherited my Dad’s Brompton – he was an avid cyclist all his life – another thing he passed on to me.
But, just like Dad, lots of older adults stop cycling, feeling too wobbly on their feet to take the risk.
And yet, paradoxically, cycling is the best exercise you can do to improve your balance when you do get off and walk – Physical activity, balance, and bicycling in older adults.
Getting on your bike regularly can even reduce your risk of falls as it keeps your reactions sharp and your muscles strong – Daily Outdoor Cycling by Older Adults Preserves Reactive Balance Behavior: A Case-Control Study.
Fear of falling is a reasonable concern, given that adults who do have an accident are at greater risk of serious injury compared to their younger peers. But this large-scale study found that the over-70s are just as likely to fall from other factors as they were from being on a bike – An Epidemiological Study of the Risk Factors of Bicycle-Related Falls Among Japanese Older Adults.
Visual impairment can be another barrier to cycling in older age, with reduced reaction times and difficulty with distance vision. But this study found that people with good vision had the same concerns as those with poorer eyesight- lack of visibility of other road users, crossing junctions without traffic lights and moving from light to dark zones – pedalling through an underpass, for example – Cycling difficulties of visually impaired people.
An exercise bike indoors is one solution – but paradoxically, you’re likely to feel as though it’s harder work than pedaling outside – Laboratory versus Outdoor Cycling Conditions: Differences in Pedaling Biomechanics.
Another reason to cycle outside is that you get more daylight, with a knock-on effect on mental and physical health, improved sleep and better bone health too – Chronobiology and Chronotherapy of Osteoporosis, The impact of outdoor physical activity on psychological resilience in older adults: The role of perceived health in active ageing.
The physical environment, including the availability of street lighting, can make us more likely to walk and cycle – The neighbourhood physical environment and active travel in older adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
But for older adults who may be out of practice, have already given away their bike, and are afraid of getting out of breath, there are a growing number of ways to get that fresh-air free-wheeling feeling without investing in another piece of kit (although I’d love one of these!) – Bikes for older ladies.
Organisations like the wonderful Wheels for Wellbeing and Cycling without Age are on a mission to get more of us out and about.
WCS Care is already ahead of the game – they’ve introduced side-by-side tandem bikes – known as ‘companion bikes’ – and cycle tracks at Drovers House in Rugby and Castle Brook in Kenilworth.
Designing for the purple pound
The ’purple pound’ or the spending power of households with at least one disabled person is worth around £274 million per year in the UK.
While one study found that over half of senior managers rarely or never discuss disability on their leadership agenda, the smart money is investing in making sure that everyone can thrive – Disability absent from leadership strategy in majority of global businesses.
A major report by Accenture found that companies that actively champion inclusion enjoyed higher revenue, margins and profit margins, while shareholder returns for companies that actively improved their inclusion of people with disabilities outperformed their peers by 53% – GETTING TO EQUAL: THE DISABILITY INCLUSION ADVANTAGE.
The opportunity to work alongside someone with a disability is good for productivity and can improve staff retention by 30%.
But what does it take to design a workplace where people with disabilities can thrive?
Come along to the Darc Thoughts Stage at Light25 to find out!
I’ll be hosting a panel on the 19th of November to learn from key members of the team who created the award-winning RNIB Grimaldi Building refurbishment:
Tricia Smikle (RNIB Project Lead); Alex Hoste (RNIB Design Lead); Rob Burrell (Associate, Buro Happold).
We’ll also be joined by Roy Imeson, Inclusive Employment Advisor at the RNIB.
See you then!
“If you think good design is expensive, you should look at the cost of bad design.”
— Dr. Ralf Speth, Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Land Rover
Surprising visual impact of a smile in the mind
‘Always look on the bright side of life’ is a familar phrase, but it turns out to have a basis in biology.
Being in a positive frame of mind changes the way you focus, essentially widening and softening the gaze with more attentional resources committed to external stimuli and peripheral vision, while feeling anxious or depressed tends to narrow and internalise our focus – Happy heart, smiling eyes: A systematic review of positive mood effects on broadening of visuospatial attention.
A positive, relaxed state of mind can improve visual acuity, visual memory and even relieve painful dry eye syndrome – Perceived stress, mood, lighting influence vision, Mental relaxation improves long-term incidental visual memory, Surprising Links Between Stress and the Eyes.
When I’m struggling to see the wood for the trees, on a damp Friday afternoon, I I reach for Mel Robbin’s ‘find a heart’ exercise – looking for heart shapes as a quick and easy way turn that smile upside down – The Mel Robbins Heart Practice That Will Change How You See the World.