The habit of doing household chores protects against age-related degradation

0

The habit of spending time every day on household chores, maintained throughout adulthood, protects against physical and cognitive degradation that is characteristic of aging.

Scientists state: the habit of doing household chores with one's own hands is associated with sharper mental abilities and improved physical capabilities in old age. The results of a recent study show that “two hours of housework helps to preserve memory better, reducing the risk of age-related decline in brain activity, and also provides greater protection against falls in the elderly.”

Specialists conventionally divide household chores into “easy” and “difficult”. They include washing dishes, dusting, making the bed, laundry, cooking, and cleaning. To the heavy – washing windows, changing furniture and furnishings, washing the floor, painting and other repair work.

Scientists concluded that the regular performance of light housework is associated with sharper mental abilities and improved physical capabilities. in elderly people. As for difficult tasks, their periodic performance is associated with the improvement of short-term and delayed memory.

Speaking of the fact that the habit of doing household chores protects people from age-related degradation, representatives of science explain: this kind of tasks require the activity of the hippocampus (an area of ​​the brain associated with learning and memories) and the prefrontal cortex (a part of the brain that regulates decision-making and concentration).

Stimulating these areas of the brain provides a protective effect. Reduction of these zones due to inactivity leads to the loss of synaptic connections between neurons, one of the triggering mechanisms of age-related neurodegenerative diseases.