Note to Wives: Put Your Husband in the Hot Tub At The First Sign of An Argument!

November 3, 2010
Man and woman in a heated argument.

An article in the October 24 Sunday Parade magazine on “Men, Women & Stress” by Emily Listfield caught my eye.  She wrote:  “Note to frustrated wives everywhere: if your husband tunes out when you quarrel, don’t blame him, blame his wiring.”

New research suggests that when men are tense (and they certainly are when in the middle of an argument), the part of their brains that reads facial expressions and emotions shuts down, which may cause them to withdraw. WOW! Who knew?

“For men under stress, the regions of the brain used for social understanding become less coordinated with other regions especially when looking at angry faces, ” says researcher Mara Mather of the University of Southern California. “For women, those regions were more coordinated. When looking at someone showing emotion, women put themselves in the other person’s shoes.”  She suspects a hormonal explanation: Under stress, the higher the testosterone level, the less activity in the brain’s facial expression regions.

The upshot? “If a man and a woman are in a stressful situation (translation: having an argument),” says Mather, “they may want to change their strategies for how they relate to each other.”

If there was ever a time to jump in the hot tub, it’s before an argument mushrooms into a full-fledged fight! Every try to argue in the hot tub when you’re naked, nude, unclothed? It’s almost impossible!  The hot water is so soothing and the hormonal changes are so profound when soaking that quarrels melt away. Avoid the harsh words that can ruin your day, hot tub soaking is the way to make peace and find a solution to whatever started any argument.

Have you had success with this strategy?  Please write and share your story.

SANUM PER AQUA. Latin for health through water.

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