Badly designed kitchens can lead to stress, according to a new study. The Kitchen Stress Test has found that cooking and working in dysfunctional kitchens without consideration of design and quality can be up to five times more stressful than in a well-designed ones. Fixtures and fittings manufacturer Blum teamed up with stress psychologist Lisa Walsh to carry out the Kitchen Stress Test which investigated how kitchen design and quality impacts upon stress levels. The study involved a comparison of the stress experienced by celebrity sisters and My Kitchen Rules 2011 winners Sammy and Bella Jakubiak, working in a typical Australian kitchen as opposed to a kitchen kitted out with functional Blum hardware to optimise efficiency. Sammy and Bella cooked one of their favourite meals under the same conditions in both kitchens. The sisters were allocated 30 minutes to complete the task and their psychological and physiological responses to stress were monitored using heart rate monitoring, observation and a self-report. Results were analysed by Lisa Walsh with the conclusion being that Sammy and Bella experienced far less stress in the Blum kitchen. Symptoms of increased stress identified in the Australian kitchen included a 10 percent higher heart rate, sweating and irritability. Walsh said the experiment indicated that a kitchens design and quality can have a direct impact on stress levels. While stress can be an inevitable part of modern life, it isnt always good for us. Coming home to a well-designed kitchen is one easy way to reduce your stress levels at home, she said. Blum Marketing Manager Kylie Peterson said that proper planning was key to good kitchen design. Australians spend a large amount of time in the kitchen, walking on average 96km per year in a typical Australian kitchen. As one of the most important rooms in our home, it is worth carefully considering how you use your kitchen day-to-day before investing in a new one, he said.