Next time you’re up to your elbows in dishes or tangled in the vacuum cord, think of it as therapy. A recent study of 20,000 men and women from University College London (UCL) found that a mere 20 minutes per week of any physical activity, including housework, gardening or sports, is enough to give you a mental boost. “One possible explanation is that this activity releases mood-boosting chemicals like endorphins,” explains study author Mark Hamer, PhD, senior research fellow in the department of epidemiology and public health at UCL. “Another is that it helps distract people from their worries.” Though sports gave study participants the biggest lift, lowering their risk of feeling distressed by 33 percent, housework lowered it by 20 percent and leisurely walking by 13 percent. So the next time you need a pick-me-up, just pick up the furniture polish and get to work.