Completing household chores may feel like a never-ending, exhausting, and even thankless task at times.
From shopping to washing dishes, it can leave parents with very little time or energy to always fit in time for themselves, be it for self-care or exercise.
However, there are some hidden benefits to these jobs, and research shows they can actually serve as a good workout.
New research by LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor reveals some of the surprising ways we are burning calories without realising it every day.
In fact, the MET scoring shows that these chores almost rival walking and can burn more calories than a pilates session if performed for an hour.
According to this data, making the bed and hoovering are the frontrunners of household chores when it comes to getting a good workout as women can burn up to 249 calories doing these tasks for an hour, while men can burn 295 calories.
For reference, if you were to spend 10 minutes making your bed every morning, you would burn just as many calories as if you were going for a quick 10-minute walk.
This is followed by mopping floors and carrying packages and groceries for the same length of time with women estimated to work off 188 calories completing these jobs for one hour and men burning 223 calories.
Dusting furniture and food shopping have the potential to use up 173 calories an hour for women, with men losing 206 calories.
Jobs such as cleaning the bathroom, doing laundry, and washing the car all are estimated to burn 151 calories in women and 179 calories in men if done for an hour.
Surprisingly, an hour of ironing or washing dishes has the ability to knock off 136 calories in women and 161 calories in men.
These jobs that we often tend to do on autopilot have more than just calorie-burning impacts, according to the research.
They can also be useful for combatting cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and feelings of anxiety.
These everyday chores may not always be the most enjoyable and may even feel mundane at times, but rest assured, they are all benefiting you in their own ways!
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