HEALTH: Housework keeps mind and body healthy

Literally meaning the term, “physical work”, refers to any work done physically by the body. But practically, physical work is anything that ups your heart rate. This kind of work is involved in activities like digging, gardening or the thorough cleaning of the floors of ones house. With more machines to replace work done by hands and increases in means of transport making people walk less it is no surprise that amount of physical work done by human beings all over the world is greatly reduced. A lot of people now do not do any kind of physical work. But limbs were made to be moved. As a machine rusts if not used, similarly human limbs become fragile and stiff if neglected. This causes pain and stiffness of joints in old age causing much suffering. Increase in incidence of diabetes, hypertension and heart disease all over the world is partly because of a lack of physical activity. When one does a good amount of physical work, the body becomes supple and all the internal parts are exercised. Thus the activity of the internal parts is boosted ensuring good functioning of intestines, heart and the endocrine system. Immune system is boosted enhancing the body’s ability to fight diseases. The net result is a healthy body. The stamina of the body is also improved, making the person more efficient for working and also ensures that he can work very well for longer and until later in life. Physical work has an aesthetic aspect also. Sweating opens the pores of the skin and removes the grime settled there thus imparting a fresh glow to the skin. A beaming face tanned by labour and the sun outside looks much better than the sickly pale look of a person remaining indoors for long. Physical work provides thrill and satisfaction to the doer. One can concentrate more on studies or problems at hand with a fresh mind. It would be worthwhile encouraging youngsters to do some kind of physical work as part of their curriculum. Get them gardening, mopping or sweeping. If done properly, with sufficient vigour, it will boost their physical and mental health. When somebody does manual work, only then can he understand the amount of effort it involves and learn to respect the man doing it. Dignity is added to labour and removes the bias present in society between a rich and poor man. How goodwill it be for the society when the rich and poor both respect one another and appreciate the work done by other. Also when a rich man is seen cleaning or working in the fields it automatically encourages the labourer working there to work more hard. So, instead of getting bored in ones free time or wasting time in frivolous entertainment or malicious gossip, one should take up some physical task and complete it. Try it once you would also realise how fresh and light you feel after it. rachna212002@yahoo.co.uk