Most people don’t exactly like doing household chores, but doing them could be good for your brain.

Rotman Research Institute researchers looked at people ages 66 and up and found those who reported spending more time doing household chores such as tidying, dusting, meal preparation and clean up, shopping, heavy housework, home repairs and caregiving had greater brain volume, regardless of how much exercise they did.

The scientists say this could be because household chores have a similar effect on the heart and blood vessels as low-intensity aerobic exercise, or because planning and organizing involving household chores may promote the formation of new neural connections over time, or even because those who engaged in more household chores spent less time being sedentary, which has been associated with negative health outcomes, including poor brain health.