The health and wellness benefits of housework
Many of us lead busy lifestyles and struggle to find time to go to the gym, let alone do the housework. But a bit of creative multi-tasking will not only have your house looking pristine, but can help you shed pounds and boost your mental wellbeing too.
It’s well documented that the physical, aerobic nature of housework can reap rewards for your figure, especially when you do it with the intention of trimming and toning. You may not be wearing exercise clothes when you do it, but activities like mopping, sweeping, and dusting can improve your cardio respiratory fitness level and overall health.
You may well be getting more exercise than you think. Here’s how your daily chores are helping you stay active and healthy.
Gardening
You don’t have to sign up for the gym in order to live an active lifestyle: Activities such as digging, carrying water or turning compost can burn up to 400 calories an hour and work all the major muscle groups.
There’s also evidence to suggest that gardening can boost your mental health. Researchers have found that pruning and pulling up weeds can increase brain activity and produce a general feeling of wellbeing. Even just looking at a garden can give you a positive boost. The evidence is so compelling that the practice has been given its own name – horticultural therapy – and is being used to treat hospital patients, and calm prisoners in jails.
Vacuuming
Vacuuming gives you the same level of activity as using a rowing machine at the gym. You can make this chore even more effective by consciously extending and stretching your muscles to dust-bust those hard-to-reach places. Or you can kick your cleaning routine up a notch by donning some headphones and vacuuming to a beat.
The forward and back motion of vacuuming is a great workout for your abdominal muscles. To work them a little harder, flex your muscles in turn, starting with your pelvis and moving into your upper and lower abs, and keep flexing and releasing for the duration of your vacuuming.
Cooking
Getting creative in the kitchen can whittle down the waistline. Peeling, chopping, stirring, whisking and beating all burn a lot more calories than heating up a ready-meal in the microwave.
If you want to work up more of a sweat, have a go at making your own bread – kneading the dough is hard work. And when making cakes and desserts, don’t cheat by using an electric mixer. Stirring the mixture by hand gives the arm muscles a great workout.
Mental health benefits
The lesser known benefits of housework are the invisible, ‘knock-on’ ones. When you view chores as a route to health and fitness, you begin to see housework in a whole new light.
Being on top of your domestic schedule can also provide a psychological boost. When we’re stressed, an untidy environment can make everything feel much worse. Doing something productive like housework can take the edge off stress, while giving you something else to focus your mind on.
Wealth and fitness
Exercising at home while doing your daily chores will save you a fortune in gym fees. And not only will you have more time on your hands, you could well have more funds to make the most of it.
By turning housework into your workout, you’ll no longer need to shoehorn exercise into your timetable, which will allow you more breathing space and time to do the important things in life, like enjoying a relaxing massage.
At Castle Thai Spa, we’re well placed to help you unwind after your workout. Contact us today to find out about our range of treatments.
