Valentine’s Day came a day early for me with the publishing of research about recognizing how active you really are. Here’s the synopsis:
People who think they're getting a good workout obtain more benefits than those who perform the exact same activities, but don't think what they are doing is exercise, according to the findings of a study by Harvard researchers.
These results support the idea that the benefits of exercise may involve a placebo effect.
Hotel cleaners who were told that their work of cleaning roughly 15 rooms each day was enough physical activity to maintain a healthy lifestyle were more trim and fit four weeks later than their peers who weren't given this message, Dr. Ellen Langer and her student Alia J. Crum report in the February issue of Psychological Science.
To investigate, the researchers recruited at 84 female housekeepers working at seven different hotels. Workers in four of the hotels were told that the exercise they got on the job met or exceeded the Surgeon General's activity recommendations for a healthy lifestyle, while those in the three other hotels were not told anything. Several measures of participants' fitness and health were taken at the beginning of the study and four weeks later.
Before the study started, about two-thirds of all participants said they didn't exercise regularly, while one-third said they didn't exercise at all. After four weeks, 79.7 percent of the women in the informed group said they exercised regularly. They also lost two pounds, on average; lowered their blood pressure by 10 percent; and showed reductions in percentage of body fat, body mass index, and the size of their waists in relation to their hips.
"These results support the hypothesis that exercise affects health in part or in whole via the placebo effect," Crum and Langer write. "Whether the change in physiological health was brought about directly or indirectly, it is clear that health is significantly affected by mind-set."
So all activity counts: cleaning your house, sweeping the driveway or walkway, washing the dishes. In fact, anything other than sitting in a chair is probably activity. While you’re in the house or outside, add some music by turning on the radio or wearing a music player. You’ll pick up your pace and have more fun at the same time. And give yourself a pat on the back for living an active life!
Yours in a Good Mood,
Dr. Susan Kleiner