WEBVTT - Cleaning is exercise

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that cleaning is exercise. Knowing that might help

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<v Speaker 1>you maximize the health benefits of doing this exercise, or

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<v Speaker 1>at least make you a little less resentful of time

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<v Speaker 1>devoted to chores. Long-time listeners know that I think housecleaning

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<v Speaker 1>is a great place to use the ignore, minimize, or

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<v Speaker 1>outsource philosophy. Housework, like email, can expand to fill all

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<v Speaker 1>available space. Especially if you live with other people, there

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<v Speaker 1>will never be a moment when you can set it

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<v Speaker 1>and forget it on cleaning. So if you can't relax

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<v Speaker 1>until your house is clean, unfortunately, you are never going

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<v Speaker 1>to relax. And that could be a problem. Best to

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<v Speaker 1>do things like set a timer for 90 minutes on

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<v Speaker 1>Saturday and maybe 15 to 20 minutes each night. Have

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<v Speaker 1>everyone participate and then declare yourself done after. If you

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<v Speaker 1>see a mess at some other point, there is a

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<v Speaker 1>time for dealing with that. Namely, during your 15 or

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<v Speaker 1>90 minute window. Now is not that time. All that said,

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<v Speaker 1>there is some benefit to the time spent on cleaning.

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<v Speaker 1>Cleaning is exercise. Knowing that can help you get more

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<v Speaker 1>benefits from this time. Now, some of this is obvious.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are carrying things up and down the stairs,

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<v Speaker 1>that is pretty similar to using a stairmaster. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are lifting a vacuum, well, that is not dissimilar to

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<v Speaker 1>lifting any other 15-pound weight. Some of this is also mindset.

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<v Speaker 1>You may have heard about a famous study of hotel housekeepers.

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<v Speaker 1>Through their jobs, the housekeepers were clearly satisfying the Surgeon

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<v Speaker 1>General's exercise recommendations. They were walking and scrubbing for eight

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<v Speaker 1>hours a day. The study found that learning that information

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<v Speaker 1>yielded health benefits for the housekeepers. Housekeepers who were told

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<v Speaker 1>that their work was exercise showed improvements in their weight,

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<v Speaker 1>blood pressure, BMI, and other measures. They weren't really exercising

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<v Speaker 1>that much more during all this, but they adopted a

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<v Speaker 1>mindset that the activity they were already doing was exercise,

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<v Speaker 1>which it was. Housekeepers who didn't receive information about how

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<v Speaker 1>their work was exercised didn't show similar improvements. Likewise, you

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<v Speaker 1>can recognize the cleaning and housework you do as exercise.

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<v Speaker 1>Because it is. I would suggest that yard work is

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<v Speaker 1>also exercise. A lot of child care is too. Running

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<v Speaker 1>around with a toddler, pushing a kid on a swing,

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<v Speaker 1>or carrying a kid all work your muscles and get

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<v Speaker 1>your heart rate up. So as you are thinking about

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<v Speaker 1>your health, sure, go to the gym, go for a run,

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<v Speaker 1>go cycle. But appreciate that your daily life may involve

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<v Speaker 1>exercise as well. I think there are some benefits to

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<v Speaker 1>knowing this. First, like the hotel housekeepers, you may improve

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<v Speaker 1>your health if you recognize your cleaning for the exercise

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<v Speaker 1>that it is. Now, I'm not quite sure how this happens,

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<v Speaker 1>but maybe people clean a little more vigorously when they

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<v Speaker 1>know it is exercise. And that would have the added

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<v Speaker 1>benefit of letting you get done faster. Second, you may

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<v Speaker 1>feel better about yourself if you realize you're getting more

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<v Speaker 1>exercise than you had assumed. Even if you didn't get

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<v Speaker 1>to the gym, the tally for the day may not

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<v Speaker 1>be zero. But finally, and perhaps most importantly, you may

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<v Speaker 1>be a little less resentful of cleaning and other physically

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<v Speaker 1>demanding chores because you recognize them as good for your body.

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<v Speaker 1>we can all probably use a bit more physical activity

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<v Speaker 1>in our lives. Now, don't get me wrong. I am

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<v Speaker 1>still a fan of hiring a cleaning service. But if

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<v Speaker 1>that is not happening in your life right now, you

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<v Speaker 1>may as well make the most of the situation. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening. And here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Thanks for listening

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<v Speaker 1>to Before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback,

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<v Speaker 1>you can reach me at laura at lauravandercam.com. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,

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