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Boost Your Mental Health With
Just 20 Minutes Of Housework
 You can boost your mental
health with just 20 minutes of weekly housework according to an April 10, 2008
article at Science Daily. According to a large study which will soon be printed
in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, just 20 minutes of housework or any
other type of physical activity, is enough to improve your mental health.
While it is common knowledge
that physical activity is good for both physical and mental health, there does
not seem to be any agreement as to how much and which type of activity may bring
about optimum results.
The findings in this study were
based upon a representative sample of approximately 20,000 men and women who
took a quiz about their state of mental health and their related level of
physical activity on a weekly basis. A validated scoring system was used to
conclude that over 3000 of the participants studied were believed to be
suffering from anxiety or stress.
After taking various factors
into consideration such as gender, age and the presence of any long-term health
conditions, it was concluded that any level of physical activity was associated
with lowering an individual’s risk level for distress. A whole range of
activities were included for consideration such as walking, gardening, sports
and even housework. The activity found to have the strongest influence on
reducing the risk of distress was seen for sports, which seemed to lower the
risk by 33%.
While the results found that it
took only 20 minutes of weekly activity to improve your mental health, the more
activity an individual participated in the lower the risk of psychological
distress.
Physical activity not only
reduces the risk of a range of serious illnesses such as cancer and heart
disease, but also improves various biological risk factors such as inflammation
and glucose intolerance, which have been frequently found to be linked with
depression and dementia among others, the authors of the study have concluded.
BMJ-British Medical Journal
(2008, April 10). Just 20 Minutes Of Weekly Housework Boosts Mental Health.
ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 15,
2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com /releases/2008/04/080409205840.htm
Additional
information and webpage by Paul Susic MA Licensed Psychologist Ph.D Candidate (Health
Psychology)
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