by J Lu · 2023 · Cited by 11 — Housework activity level had a significant effect on psychosocial stress (0.20). In addition, indoor environment satisfaction had an relatively weak impact on
The British Journal of Sports Medicine reported that only twenty minutes of physical activity was enough to decrease stress levels! Over 3,000 people surveyed reported that regular housework was enough to decrease anxiety and stress levels. While cleaning isn’t a cure-all, that percentage can really help boost your energy and calm your nerves. [...] Many of us try to do our best to keep up with household chores and cleaning. But, no matter how hard we try, it seems like clutter always finds a way to creep back in our lives. Between work, after-school activities, playdates and everything in between, it’s easy to understand how clutter can sneak back in so easily. [...] If you dread cleaning, there’s actually a bright side according to psychological research. A recent study discovered that cleaning up messes actually can have a positive impact on your mental health and happiness. So, if you want to destress, pick up your broom! Here’s why… ### Spring Cleaning For Your Mind
educational or social activities that could foster better mental health outcomes. Second, we found that time spent in housework is positively related to anxiety symptoms for both adolescent boys and girls, and the association is stronger for boys. This suggests that housework could be particularly stigmatizing for boys. Furthermore, although boys have a higher number of depressive symptoms compared to girls, time spent in housework does not explain this association. It could be that specific [...] more limited mobility and time outside of the domestic sphere for girls compared to their male counterparts. OLS regression results for the two mental health measures are reported in Table 2 for girls and boys separately. A positive coefficient indicates increased reported anxiety and depressive symptoms (poorer mental health). Results reveal that housework time is significantly associated with adolescent mental health. Housework minutes are associated with heightened anxiety symptoms for boys [...] symptoms for boys and girls, and the gender difference is marginally significant in a pooled interacted model (stronger association for boys, not shown). A one-standard deviation change in housework minutes increased the anxiety symptoms scale by 1 point for boys and 0.9 points for girls. Housework minutes were associated with heightened depressive symptoms among girls only. A one-standard deviation change in housework minutes increased the depressive symptoms scale by 0.9 points. There was no
Nov 19, 2024 — Our findings reveal a positive association between the duration of housework (DHT) and adolescent depression. indicating heightened depression
compared to higher SES individuals (Gallo & Matthews, 2003). So, after a long day, household chores serve as another stressor added to the list of accumulating stressors already experienced by individuals of lower SES. [...] Time spent conducting housework is often referred to as a “second shift” (Hochschild, 1989). Returning home from work only to conduct more work (household chores), may lead to mental and physical exhaustion due to a lack of recovery from that day. In line with this idea, Saxbe, Repetti, and Graesch (2011) found that failure to recover after a work day due to involvement in household chores lead to elevated nighttime cortisol levels, which has been associated with poor physical health outcomes [...] Firstly, analyses revealed that SES moderated the relationship between household chores hours and perceived fairness (model 1 [b = 0.002, t = 2.72, p = .007], 95% CI [0.0005, 0.0029]; model 2 [b = 0.002, t = 2.85, p = .004], 95% CI [0.0005, 0.0029]) (see Figure 2). After adjusting for covariates, simple slopes indicated that household chores hours were negatively associated to perceived fairness in individuals of low SES (−1 SD; 95% CI [−0.0169, −0.0082]), but not for those of high SES (+1 SD;
Our research found that this cognitive dimension of housework, often called the “mental load,” is divided even more unevenly within couples than the physical dimension – and it seems to take a particular mental health toll on women. According to the study we published in the Archives of Women’s Mental Health, mothers who take on a more disproportionate share of cognitive household labor report higher levels of depression, stress, relationship dissatisfaction and burnout. [...] Additional studies indicate that women experience more negative effects from child care and housework compared with men, such as higher depression rates, partly due to the heavier cognitive load they carry. toddler bent over, parent from the waist down, vacuuming Someone has to clean up – and keep track of when cleaning supplies are running low. Guido Mieth/DigitalVision via Getty Images ## What still isn’t known [...] Our study is one of the first to investigate the cognitive dimension of household labor and its effects on maternal mental health. Cognitive labor may be particularly taxing for women because it often runs behind the scenes and goes unacknowledged or unappreciated by others. It also pulls mental energy away from other priorities.
Our new research found that this cognitive dimension of housework, often called the “mental load,” is divided even more unevenly within couples than the physical dimension — and it seems to take a particular mental health toll on women. According to the study we published in the Archives of Women’s Mental Health, mothers who take on a more disproportionate share of cognitive household labor report higher levels of depression, stress, relationship dissatisfaction and burnout. [...] Additional studies indicate that women experience more negative effects from child care and housework compared with men, such as higher depression rates, partly due to the heavier cognitive load they carry. ## What still isn’t known [...] Our study is one of the first to investigate the cognitive dimension of household labor and its effects on maternal mental health. Cognitive labor may be particularly taxing for women because it often runs behind the scenes and goes unacknowledged or unappreciated by others. It also pulls mental energy away from other priorities.
Do household chores help with depression, or do they make it worse?