How housework can improve our mental and physical health

How housework can improve our mental and physical health

Older adults who continue to perform household chores have better cognition, attention span, and physical strength compared to those who no longer do their own home keeping chores.

Housework in older adults was also linked to a decreased risk of falls.

Below is an exploration of the science behind these statistics.



Housework is linked to sharper memory, attention span, and better leg strength, and by extension, greater protection against falls, in older adults, finds research published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

The findings were independent of other regular recreational and workplace physical activities, and active commuting.

Regular physical activity is good for maintaining optimal physical and mental health. And among older adults, it curbs the risks of long term conditions, falls, immobility, dependency and death.

Yet global monitoring data indicate that in 2016, physical activity was well below recommended weekly levels and had budged little in a decade, with people in high income countries more than twice as likely to be couch potatoes as those in low income countries.

Given that housework involves physical activity and is an indicator of the ability to live independently, the researchers wanted to explore whether doing the household chores might contribute to healthy aging