We're sorry to say it to you, but doing that vacuuming is pretty good for your health.
In what sounds to us like one of the biggest studies ever performed, over 130,000 people were tested from 17 countries to get these results.
Performed by the McMaster University in Canada (and published here via
ScienceDaily.com), it was found that if you keep yourself physically active by doing household chores for 30 minutes a day - or 150 minutes per week, cos we all need those weekends off - then it reduced your risk of mortality by nearly 30%.
Up from that, if you stay active for 750 minutes per week - or an hour and a half for five days a week - then your risk of mortality dropped even further, by nearly 40%.
The research covered folk between the age of 30 and 70 across seven years, and they discovered that of the 130,000 people who were prescribed 150 minutes of activity per week, only 3.8% developed any kind of cardiovascular disease.
Doctor Scott Lear, the leader of the study at the college, had the following to say:
"By including low and middle-income countries in this study, we were able to determine the benefit of activities such as active commuting, having an active job or even doing housework."
Yep, even having a tough time getting to work can help towards keeping you alive for longer!
The World Health Organization recommends that adults aged 18 to 64 get 150 minutes of aerobic exercise throughout the week, as well as doing strength training twice a week.
So the next time you don't feel doing the washing or changing the sheets and raking the leaves, remember that it is actually MAKING YOU LIVE LONGER.
