Just 20 minutes of housework a week boosts moods while regular exercise in middle age can slow down ageing, according to research.

Two studies published earlier this year have now added to the weight of evidence on the benefits of taking exercise. The first showed how just 20 minutes of housework or gardening a week can reduce feelings of psychological distress. Those who managed to do even more exercise each week or who took part in sports had their spirits lifted even further, it showed. Although exercise is known to boost people’s mental health, researchers from University College London (UCL) wanted to find out how long people should exercise for and what type was best. They asked 19,842 men and women taking part in the Scottish Health Survey how much exercise, and what kind of activities, they did every week. People were also quizzed about their state of mind, with 3,200 members of the group found to be suffering stress or anxiety according to a commonly-used mental health scale.

 

The study found that any form of daily physical activity was linked to lower levels of distress even when factors like age and long-term health problems were taken into account. The range of activities shown to improve mood included housework, gardening, walking and sports.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 1st, 2008 at 2:20 am and is filed under Exercise, Stress. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.