It's Official: Housework lowers cortisol, reduces stupidity

by Actual News Geezer | September 22, 2006 at 06:40 am

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An important scientific report today confirmd what every couple instinctively understands, even if they've never even heard of cortisol.

Unfortunately, you'll have to read the article yourself because this contributor can't understand a word of it.

Source: Psychosomatic Medicine

Hierarchical linear models showed that each hour an individual allocated to market, as well as household work, increased his or her total cortisol concentrationâ¦. Unexpectedly, the time the spouse allocated to paid work also raised an individualâs total cortisol concentrationâ¦. In line with our expectations, there was a tendency for the time the spouse allocated to household work to decrease the individualâs cortisol concentrationâ¦.

FYI - About.com says Cortisol has been implicated in:

Impaired cognitive performance
Suppressed thyroid function
Blood sugar imbalances such as hyperglycemia
Decreased bone density
Decrease in muscle tissue
Higher blood pressure
Lowered immunity and inflammatory responses in the body, as well as other health consequences
Increased abdominal fat, which is associated with a greater amount
of health problems than fat deposited in other areas of the body. Some
of the health problems associated with increased stomach fat are heart attacks, strokes, the development of ,
higher levels of âbadâ cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of âgoodâ
cholesterol (HDL), which can lead to other health problems!