You think work stressed you out? Maybe, but it's your home life that's actually driving you bonkers, not your office. At least according to a new study in the journal
Social Science and Medicine.
Using saliva samples to track 122 participants, researchers found that people's stress levels -- signified by a spike in the hormone cortisol -- were significantly higher while at home than when they were at their offices. That finding was consistent among people who were low-income earners, and people who had no children. And it countered self-reported information from participants who said they felt more stressed on workdays than on non-workdays.
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What does it mean? Well, in part, it says something about the way that we value, and feel valued, at home and at our jobs. Researchers believe that our work lives don't stress us out as much because we derive a sense of satisfaction from doing things that are ascribed value in our culture. In other words, where working outside the home has a definite financial and professional value, working and doing tasks in the home doesn't. And that may be part of what stresses us out so much.
Whatever the reason, it's important to keep your stress levels down -- whether at work
or at home. [
Prevention]