// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Why more women carry the 'mental load' - and how couples can share it
"My head's always full," says mum-of-three Stacie Matthias. "I go to sleep with a mental to-do list."
She's talking about the concept of the "mental load" - the burden of planning, organising, remembering and anticipating tasks that keep a household running.
These tasks include: remembering school trips, checking for updates in parents' WhatsApp groups, noticing which parts of the house need cleaning, monitoring how much sleep children get, scheduling doctors' appointments and buying school uniforms.
According to academics, this is work that in heterosexual couples disproportionately falls to women - particularly mothers - alongside the bulk of physical household labour.
All relationships and households are different, of course, but studies suggest clear patterns.
Children in the UK have just gone back to school from the summer holidays, and Stacie, 37, from Stockport, says her mind often feels especially busy in September.
"It's that feeling of always having something to remember, organise or worry about that makes this time of year particularly full-on," she says.
For Stacie this list of responsibilities leaves her mind feeling like a washing-up bowl that's being filled up throughout the day.
"If someone's not helping you remove those pots and pans, your water's overflowing by the end of the day," she says, "and you're at tipping point."
Stacie says she always has something to "remember, organise or worry about"