FOR WHEN EVERYTHING ADDS UP.

Did you know that they are eight different types of mental load? At any given time, we’re juggling varying levels of intensity of them all.

Learn more

(Yep, that’s why you’re tired)

The Life Organization Load

The who, what and where of life. A constant stream of things you can’t forget.

The emotional support Load

Supporting others, managing moods, smoothing over conflicts, and carrying the feelings no one else sees.

The relationship hygiene Load

Maintaining strong social connections old and new to make sure our social lives are humming along.

THe magic making load

Creating sparkle, fun and adventure to ensure life feels special and traditions are continued.

the dream building load

The who, what and where of life. A constant stream of things you can’t forget.

The individual upkeep load

Remembering to floss, hit the gym and book doctors’ appointments. The list goes on and on to keep fit and feel healthy.

the safety load

Our spidey-sense about safety or protecting our loved ones from danger, even when you aren’t there.

the meta care load

Thinking about whether or not we are living within our values to create a better world.

Not sure what’s taking up your brain space?

Find out your unique balance of mental load by taking our assessment.

Mental Load Assessment

lighten lab is here to help.

Who we are

Lighten Lab was established to create a world where everyone lives in mental load surplus, having enough mental load energy to achieve their wildest dreams.

What we realized was that very few of us have the language or the tools to properly identify or adjust our mental load. Backed by global data from thousands upon thousands of people (not bots!) and decades of research, we translate proven research into simple practices make everyday feel lighter. We believe our work should lighten your mental load - not add to it.

Meet Leah

VIEW UNIVERSITY PROFILE

Dr Leah Ruppanner is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Melbourne and a Visiting Professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. She is a leading voice on gender, work, and modern family life. As Founding Director of the Future of Work Lab, she shines a light on how the mental load, domestic labour, and outdated systems hold women back — and what we can do to change it.

Her research, books, and public writing translate complex data into clear, evidence-backed insights that inspire action. Through her work, she empowers people to reclaim their time, redesign work, and build lives with more ease, capacity, and joy.

Leah was awarded the top in field for Gender Studies (2022 and 2023) and Sociology (2023) for all of Australia. Professor Ruppanner is a leading expert on COVID-19 and its impact on gender inequality in US and Australia. Her current book, Drained offers a new way to understand the mental load and is forthcoming in 2026 (Penguin Random House USA, Allen and Unwin Australia, Atlantic Books, UK). Her previous book, Motherlands: How States Push Mothers out of Employment (2020) provides a typology of childcare and gender policies and their relationship to mothers' employment varies across US states. This has led to a range of high impact publications showing women have divergent experiences based on their state of residence.
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Finally, she is leading a project on gender bias in hiring algorithms to understand how gender bias limits women's access to employment. Ruppanner's research is published in Demography, Journal of Marriage and Family, Sociological Methods and Research, European Sociological Review and Social Science Research. She also has expansive media coverage in the New York Times, Washington Post and the Guardian and external grant success including the ARC Future Fellowship on the mental load, DECRA on gender responsive policies, Discovery on sleep and an ARC Linkage on women in local government.

real results

make everyday life feel lighter.

“This was a powerful exercise. Tying the mental load to my priorities was a really good way to look at things.”

sandy

Working mom

“Going through this process has made me sit and think about my mental load more clearly. It has made me assess my mental load and realise there are ways for me to be able to lighten the weight off my shoulders. It has helped to show me how I can share the mental load with others and become more proactive in doing so.”  

jackson

single dad

“Thank you for this. It was really insightful and made me think about things in a way that I haven’t before. I didn’t expect it to shift my perspective but it really has. Thank you!”

lin

uni student