Doing more housework keeps stress levels higher at the end of the day for both married women and men, increasing health risk, US researchers suggest.
美國研究人員發現，已婚男女下班後，家務做得越多，壓力水準就越高，健康風險也由此增加。
Researchers Darby Saxbe and Rena Graesch of the University of California and colleagues tracked 30 dual-earner couples around their homes for three days, using video cameras, interviews and surveys. They required the study participants to provide four saliva samples every day to measure the stress hormone cortisol, which is usually high in the morning -- and during stressful situations - and tends to recover later in the day.
加利福尼亞大學研究員黛比薩克斯比、熱那格萊斯奇和同事一起用三天時間通過攝像機、採訪以及問卷追蹤調查了30對雙收入家庭。被調查者需每日提供四份唾液樣本以檢測他們的壓力激素皮質。該激素皮質水準在早晨和在壓力較大的情況下較高，，然後會在一天內其他時間回落。
Saxbe says a steeper drop in the hormone is considered healthy. Cortisol levels can affect sleep, weight gain, burnout and weakened immune resistance.
薩克斯比稱如若該激素皮質水準在早晨以後的時間內迅速下降，便可斷定其主人是健康的。皮質水準可影響睡眠、體重的增長，修復被破壞或弱化了的免疫力。
On average, wives spent more of their time at home doing housework, followed by communication and leisure, while husbands had more leisure time, followed by communication and housework.
一般而言，妻子會花更多的時間做家務，隨後進行社交或休閒活動，而丈夫有更多的休閒時間，其次是社交活動和家務勞動。
The study, published in the Journal of Family Psychology, found both wives and husbands who devoted more time to housework had higher levels of evening cortisol and weaker afternoon-to-evening recovery.
這份刊載于《家庭心理學》的研究發現，無論是妻子還是丈夫，只要花更多時間做家務，他們的皮質水準在晚間便會升高，下午到晚上精力恢復得也較慢。
However, husbands who apportioned more time to leisure, and whose wives apportioned less time to leisure, showed stronger after-work recovery, the study says.
然而，該研究還稱，那些自己休閒時間較多而妻子休閒時間較少的丈夫們，在工作後恢復得更快。
The findings suggest how the division of labor within couples is structured can implicate health, the researchers say.
研究人員稱這些發現揭示出，夫妻間勞動分工模式可影響健康。