Doing the dishes and folding your laundry may not be the highlight of your day.
But simple activities like these may help prolong your life, according new research.
A US study of older women who carried out even ‘light’ activities were found to have a significantly lower risk of dying.
Those who carried out 30 minutes a day of chores such as sweeping the floor or washing the windows had a 12 percent reduced mortality.
And those who were able to do a half-hour of ‘moderate to vigorous’ activity daily had a 39 percent lower chance.
These included brisk walking or bicycling at a leisurely pace.
The findings add to a body of published papers suggesting that when it comes to exercise, ‘every little helps’.
‘Doing something is better than nothing’ – even below recommended levels, experts from the study have urged (stock image)
‘Doing something is better than nothing, even when at lower-than-guideline recommended levels of physical activity,’ said the study’s lead author Professor Michael LaMonte from the University at Buffalo’s School of Public Health and Health Professions in New York.
Key findings
The study involved more than 6,000 white, African-American and Hispanic women ages 63 to 99 whose activity levels were measured by a dynamic sensor they wore.
The ‘light’ activities were at levels only slightly higher than what is defined as being ‘sedentary’, said the researchers.
Activities like these account for more than 55 percent of how older people spend their daily activity, according to the paper, which was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
‘This is remarkable because current public health guidelines require that physical activity be of at least moderate or higher intensity to confer health benefits,’ said Professor LaMonte.
‘Our study shows, for the first time in older women, that health is benefited even at physical activity levels below the guideline recommendations.’
The mortality benefit was similar for women under and over 80 and across racial/ethnic backgrounds, and among obese and non-obese women.
‘Perhaps most importntly for this population, the mortality benefit was similar among women with high and low functional ability,’ said principal investigator Professor Andrea LaCroix from the University of California.
While the study focused on older women, researchers say their findings send a powerful message to younger women and men – that it’s important to develop healthy habits around physical activity while you are young so that you are more likely to maintain them when you get older.