Engaging in household chores, often perceived as a burden, especially for working women, might actually offer numerous physical and mental benefits, including enhanced fitness and mood improvement. Housework
Laura Schweible, a German fitness coach, highlights that household chores entail considerable movement and physical effort. Activities like vacuuming, mopping, and organizing not only require strength and endurance but also contribute to one’s physical well-being.
Choosing Comfortable Cleaning Activities
Schweible emphasizes that the most comforting cleaning activity varies for each individual. She advises selecting tasks that quickly reduce stress and tension, emphasizing the importance of engaging in more vigorous movements for greater stress relief.
For instance, vacuuming for an hour can burn 200 calories, while window cleaning for the same duration burns approximately 180 calories. Bathroom cleaning can lead to a calorie burn of about 300 calories.
Outdoor household tasks, such as gardening and lawn mowing for an hour, can burn around 360 and 400 calories, respectively. Housework
Exercises During Household Tasks
The fitness coach suggests integrating exercises into routine chores such as dishwashing, bathroom cleaning, bed making, and window cleaning:
- Dishwashing with foot exercises: She recommends heel raises while standing at the sink, or rolling a foam or tennis ball underfoot.
- Floor mopping with scissor steps: When cleaning floors or bathrooms, using cleaning cloths under the feet and moving in a scissor-like motion, or employing them in hands while in a plank position, can be effective.
- Muscle-strengthening exercises during cleaning: Women can incorporate muscle-strengthening exercises, like lifting heavy objects, and repeat several times.
- Balance exercises while making beds: Trying to stand on one foot on the mattress before starting bed-making can be beneficial.
- Stretching exercises during window cleaning: Window cleaning offers an opportunity for various stretching exercises to relieve shoulder, arm, and chest muscle tension.
Ideas for Maximizing Daily Tasks
To maintain motivation, Schweible advises challenging oneself and making routine tasks more exciting by adding extra steps. This could include placing the laundry basket in another room before ironing or doing five squats each time something falls to the floor during cleaning.
She also suggests doing household chores with music, as potential dance exercises can burn more calories and improve mood.
Psychological Benefits
Household chores can also provide mental comfort alongside physical fitness. Austrian psychologist Brigitte Bozencopf asserts that cleanliness and organization aid in stress and tension reduction. The internal feeling towards cleaning, whether perceived as a relaxation factor or a burdensome necessity, significantly influences its impact on stress reduction.
Bozencopf points to the psychological benefits of positively engaging in household chores, such as distraction and meditation, a sense of accomplishment, relaxation, and improved sleep.
Bozencopf emphasizes immersing oneself in the activity with all senses and enjoying it as a key to achieving relaxation and tranquility.
This article, courtesy of dzwatch.net, reveals the unexpected benefits of household chores, encouraging women to view these tasks not only as necessities but as opportunities for physical and mental wellness. Housework.
