Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK
Healthy Heart Tip: Get your spring clean on!
Spring is the season of fresh starts. This week, we wanted to shine a light on good old-fashioned spring cleaning and the potential health benefits it offers.
Cleaning counts towards our daily movement goals, lighter tasks like dusting can burn around 160 calories an hour, and more heavy-duty tasks like washing windows or scrubbing can burn around 350 calories an hour!
In addition, having a clean and tidy home can improve our mental health, and making sure our kitchen is clean and organised can have a positive impact on our motivation to eat healthy foods and cook from scratch.
Get prepared
To ensure you have a successful and stress-free spring clean make sure you have everything you need before starting.
Set up a ‘cleaning station’ at a central point in your house with all the things you will need and only take one thing at a time. Doing it this way rather than using a cleaning caddy or bucket to carry things from room to room means you will end up moving more which will get your heart pumping.
Turn up the volume
Whether its jazz, pop, hip hop or rock, having upbeat music playing while cleaning can improve our mood, energy, and motivation.
You could take the time to listen to a podcast or audiobook on a subject you want to learn more about, or enjoy the silence, anything that helps make the task more enjoyable.
Declutter
Set aside some time to declutter your house too, donating or selling things you no longer need or use. Having less clutter makes it easier to keep your house and possessions clean and organised.
Spring is also a good time to think about your mental health and assess things like your work-life balance and how much time you spend doing the things you enjoy. Embrace this season of new beginnings by starting a new activity or hobby and saying goodbye to habits that no longer serve you.
To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/.