Routine caregiver duties create overload

BLACKSBURG, Va., Sept. 26 (UPI) -- Using diaries of baby boomers, U.S. researchers conclude that helping a parent results in a downward trajectory of health and well-being for the child.

Jyoti Savla of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and colleagues systematically studied diaries that examined the stresses of daily life in conjunction with helping an older parent about two or more days each week.

"The accumulation of small and large daily stressors such as work deadlines, PTA meetings, supporting family and friends as well as providing routine assistance to a parent living outside one's house can build up," Savla said in a statement. "Sooner or later, they can spill over into other areas of life with negative mental and physical consequences. Days when help is provided to parents are more stressful than days when it is not."

Most individuals who provided help to parents were also juggling multiple roles each day, which could lead to conflicts between the roles, or feeling overloaded.

The study, published in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, found that in addition to helping parents, most people spent nearly five hours on work-related activities and two hours on work in their own household, with about 10 hours for sleep, leisure and exercise.