Medical fact of the night :
Cyclists have such an effective cardiovascular system that their resting heartrate is lower than the average human ( Marco Pantani, famous hillclimber had a resting heart rate of 34 beats per minute )

This meant that during their sleep, a cyclists’ heartrate can drop so slow that their lives become in danger. Some of them even had to wake up in the middle of the night to ride a stationary bike in order to raise their heartrate back to a safe level

To understand this first we should mention that the resting heartrate depends mainly on two factors :
1- how much oxygen do the various organs need at any given moment
2- how much resistance does the heart face while pumping blood, mainly blood viscosity

in case of a professional cyclists they possess some of the most extreme physiology in human species

Now using a simple analogy we can explain how their heartrate drop so much
Let’s consider the whole human body as one simple organ

And let’s also assume that this organ needs about 1000 molecules of oxygen each minute
To get the oxygen from air to the organ, it has to go through the lungs first and then the red blood cells which will diligently carry it to the other cells

Now both the average human being and a professional cyclist share around the same resting metabolic needs, so they both need the 1000 molecules of oxygen a minute

But the cyclists’ bodies are so adapted to extreme conditions that this task becomes easy, almost too easy

Their lungs can effortlessly get massive amount of oxygen from the air, and they’ve got a higher count of blood cells in their blood ( a higher hematocrite )

And we know that the cardiovascular system is a lazy one, it never works harder than it has to

So that translates to a lower heartrate in what a cyclist’s body considers subnormal conditions ( which is actually resting conditions for average human beings )

That is why their heartrate are lower than average ( which is between 60 to 100 in adults )

But these athletic abilities poses serious threat to their health. It even lead to many professional cyclists dying during their sleep

The higher hematocrite meant they’ve got alot more redblood cells to carry oxygen, but it also meant that blood becomes much more viscous

Meaning that during their sleep, their blood was almost like honey

Neil Armstrong admitte in an interview with Oprah that he injected his bodly with EPO ( Erythropoietin ) which is the hormone that controls redblood cells count in the body

That is why most elite athletes, especially in endurance sports suffer from cardiac diseases once they’re past their glory days

Their bodies are pushed so much to the limit, that when it’s time for them to retire and rest their extreme physiology becomes a liability

End of thread, great to see you’ve reached the end. Have a cake or a biscuit, you’ve deserved it