Females Are the Tougher Sex

Labeling women the ?weaker? sex may no longer be warranted. New research indicates that women may be hardier after all. Researchers attribute it to estrogen. Jon-Kar Zubieta, MD, PhD, a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan who has published studies investigating the link between sex hormones and pain, explained that estrogen helps women cope with pain by increasing the availability of endorphins.

?That?s one reason why women can get through the pain of childbirth ?right before they give birth, their estrogen levels are soaring, so their ability to cope with pain is expanded,? Dr. Zubieta said.