I HAVE lost count of the number of times I have said, "I only popped into town to go to pay a bill..." as I struggle home with armfuls of carrier bags.

It's sad but I can't venture into any town centre without being drawn to the shops. It is as if an invisible force is willing me to look in the windows and go inside. It is as if a little voice inside my head is instructing me to remove items from the shelves and to carry them to the till. It feels as if my debit card really is burning a hole in my pocket and is there to be handed over to store assistants.

I am not alone. My female friends behave in exactly the same way.

For years, I have wondered why women do this. Why we become distracted when faced with a row of shops. Why, when we only need a loaf of bread, do we meander miles off course and spend precious hours wandering around homewear stores picking up cushions and candlesticks, or rifling through the sales rails in clothes shops.

Now I have the answer. Women, it seems, lose their common sense when they head for the high street. The part of the female brain responsible for rational thought almost totally shuts down, a scientific study has revealed. But the zones which govern emotional thought and send the body pleasant feelings go into overdrive. Because shopping is so enjoyable, it is a form of stress relief.

And the more expensive the items women buy, the research by a German university revealed, the more the brain switches off, resulting in an almost complete loss of sanity. Scientists believe it could explain why women lose their ability to think straight and often go out to buy one thing and come back with something totally different.

In my case, every word of this is true bar expenditure. I take after my late grandmother and am a charity shop girl through and through. I may end up with heaps of carriers, but I don't spend much. The more expensive the item the more I worry and the less likely I am to buy it.

This is not the case for most of my friends, however, who will regularly pop to town for a child's birthday present and end up with a little black dress and a mohair coat for their own wardrobe.

Compared with many women I'm a cheapskate, but you can still lose your mind on a low budget. My brain shuts down the instant I spot a bargain, and once I have bagged it, I'll be on a high for at least a week afterwards.

Men are the complete opposite - they never lose their heads when faced with a line of floor-to-ceiling window displays. When they truck into town for one item, they return with exactly that. And you hardly ever hear a man crowing about a great reduction or an amazing sale purchase.

These findings may reinforce the image of the scatty female, but so what if we leave our brains at home while out shopping? Better than doing it at work or while looking after the children. And for stress relief it is so satisfying - better than drugs or therapy.

With Christmas coming its a good time of year for men to try it - to have a good town centre browse. On second thoughts, I don't want my husband coming home laden with goods, sheepishly spluttering out the words: "I only went out for a torch battery..."

Updated: 08:55 Monday, November 17, 2003