People who ride bikes could be happier than those who drive cars or take mass transit.
"We found that people are in the best mood while they are bicycling compared to any other mode of transportation," the study's lead author, Eric Morris, an assistant professor of city and regional planning at Clemson University in South Carolina, said. HealthDay reported.
"Bicyclists are generally younger and physically healthy, which are traits that happier people usually possess," said Morris in a university news release, HealthDay reported.
Researchers looked at how people's moods changed while traveling. They took into account emotions such as "happiness, pain, stress, fatigue and sadness," HealthDay reported.
The researchers found that most people who choose to ride bicycles do so because they enjoy riding, and not out of convenience.
Car passengers are believed to be the second-happiest travelers seen in the study with car drivers trailing right behind.
Bus and train riders were found to be the most miserable travelers. This finding could be linked to the fact that mass transit is usually taken to commute to-and-from work; morale can be especially low on these types of trips.
The travelers emotional experience is believed to be just as important as the speed and travel time when it comes to a trip
"Understanding the relationship between how we travel and how we feel offers insight into ways of improving existing transportation services, prioritizing investments and theorizing and modeling the costs and benefits of travel," Morris said.
The research was published in the journal Transportation.
People who ride bikes also tend to be healthier because the activity counts as aerobic activity.
Aerobic activity can help people: lose weight; have an easier time fighting off illness; strengthen their hearts; age better; have better overall health; and have a generally better mood, Mayo Clinic reported.
