BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- From temper tantrums to messy rooms, children's behavior often stresses out their tired parents but over the long haul, raising kids may be good for you, new research has found.

Scientists at Brigham Young University had 200 married men and women wear blood pressure monitors for 24 hours.

Results showed that the couples with children had lower blood pressure readings than those without kids. The finding was particularly strong for women -- mothers had the lowest blood pressure of all the groups, while childless women had the highest readings.

Researchers suggested that hormonal changes from pregnancy and childbirth may explain the differences.

It did not matter how many children a couple had or how old the kids were -- even babies with their crying and late-night habits were linked to lower blood pressure.

Researchers said that parents consistently rate having children as personally fulfilling and say kids add more enrichment to their lives than jobs, hobbies, or friends -- all of which may help keep parental blood pressures low, even through the daily grind of child rearing.