While the holiday season is a time to make merry, many men find it to be one of the most stressful times of the year. Because of this, we at MenScience have focused our most recent online survey on the topic of holiday-related stress. We asked visitors what stresses them the most about the season, how it affects them physically and what they do to combat this problem. Here are just a few of the interesting results we collected:

44% of men use exercise to deal with holiday problems, as opposed to 2% that talk with family and friends.

Four times as many men suffer from holiday stress-related acne breakouts or rashes than indigestion or heartburn.

While most men recognize how holiday stress affects their bodies and minds, 54% do not change their exercise or skincare routines at all to handle or avoid them!*

* From a MenScience.com survey of over 100 visitors

Participate in next month's survey by visiting http://www.menscience.com/mayCst.htm and you'll be automatically entered to win a MenScience prize.

DG

Although every guy should be concerned about sun care for their skin, new studies suggest that marathon runners are one of the groups at a higher risk of contracting skin cancer and other serious illnesses. From a recent article in the November issue of Archives of Dermatology (JAMA):

During training and competition, marathon runners are exposed to high levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, the most important environmental risk factor for the skin cancer melanoma. Endurance exercise also may suppress the immune system and increase the risk for malignant melanoma.

Add to that the fact that most men wear short or no sleeves shirts and shorts while running...clothing that leaves a lot of skin exposed to the sun's rays. While research is still being conducted on this hot topic, the article authors recommend, "(Marathon runners) should be advised to reduce UV exposure during exercising by choosing training and competition schedules with low sun exposure, wearing adequate clothing and regularly using water-resistant sunscreens." (We recommend MenScience TiO2 Sunblock SPF 30).

DG

Here's an interesting article posted on the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge website about two female professors who studied the concept of masculinity in the workplace....as it occurs on deep-water oil platforms (considered one of the most hazardous jobs out there).

While previous studies had pointed towards the fact that men often feel they must display a macho attitude (as typified by taking risks or having less regard for their own well-being) the more dangerous their workplace is, Professor Robin Ely found that oil platform workers tended to strive more for reliability and safety, even at the risk of seeming "not as masculine." From the article:

Rather than seeking to prove how tough, proficient, and cool-headed they were, as was typical of men in other dangerous workplaces, platform workers purposefully made themselves vulnerable in order to perform their jobs more safely and effectively: They readily acknowledged their physical limitations, publicly admitted their mistakes so they could learn from them, and openly attended to their own and others' feelings.

The article provides a great insight on how gender is influenced (and influences) the workplace, and how this could relate to women as well as less dangerous, office-type jobs.

Could the stereotype of the big, burly, "manly" construction worker finally be going the way of the "pretty, young secretary" image? More research is definitely called for....

DG