RUNNING ON EMPTY

Do you feel like you can't stop to take a break? It may be time to read this....

- Amber Bramble

Have you ever felt there H just aren't enough hours in the day? Between family commitments, career, household tasks and everything in between, there's some definite truth behind the saying that a woman's work is never done.

Biochemist Dr Libby Weaver coined the term Rushing Woman's Syndrome a decade ago to describe the physical effects that take place in our bodies as a result of always being on the go.

"What's unfolded for a lot of women is a frantic double shift of work day and night, with very little if any rest," she explains. "When women do paid work, and household work and childcare, it's really the equivalent of three jobs."

WHAT IS RUSHING WOMAN'S SYNDROME?

Most of us are familiar with the surge of adrenaline that comes when we suddenly feel alarmed or stressed. When this happens, we enter a state known as fight or flight mode, which is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system.

 

This effect is meant to be a temporary response that helps us to act fast when we're under threat. But Dr Libby says many of us are now spending too much time in fight or flight mode, thanks to the constant kind of stress that comes with modern life. "The stress response is switched on pretty constantly," she tells. "Our adrenaline is often driven by psychological stress and so for a lot of people, it never ends."

THE SCIENCE OF STRESS HORMONES