Is riding a scooter good for your mental health?

If you are a fan of electric scootering you will understand how riding a scooter can be said to be good for your mental health. Certainly comments on a recent post on Electric Scooter Guide Group on Facebook agree. People talk about the sense of freedom they get and many mention the mindfulness they notice. The presence of mind I experience when riding my scooter pushes away all other worries and cares for a time and I arrive feeling energised. I think this is part of the freedom people talk about. 

Of course a scooter lets you go pretty much anywhere; pedestrian on the footpath and road user on the road, a good scooter handles grass and hills too. Scootering reduces time spent waiting at red lights, eliminates traffic queues and parking hassles and generally frees riders from a number of the normal driving conventions such as traffic flow. I dare say that as more people adopt scootering this will change but right now in good ole Auckland NZ scooters are pretty much free range - to the vociferous disgust of many (Lol). 

Riding a scooter requires full engagement though. The presence of mind is complete. It is really quite difficult to give too much attention to anything else so other concerns get pushed to the back of the mind as it were. And this really meets the definition of mindfulness does it not. When I am riding I can feel the tension slip away, replaced by peacefulness and tranquility. By the end of a ride I even sometimes feel a bit smug that I can feel like this in the middle of chaotic Auckland on a work day. To take a scooter out to do chores turns those horrid jobs into a pleasure. So maybe, over and above the fresh air, moving quickly, being lightly active, maybe, a genuine study, rather than just a survey, would find that riding an electric scooter is good for mental health.