SHOCKING NEWS! London is not the most stressed out city in the UK.
A 2018 YouGov study found that 74% of the UK felt too overwhelmed or stressed to cope. Protectivity decided to look into this a little further to work out which cities, ages and professions are most affected by stress.
So who’s out-stressing us? (How dare they!)
Cardiff actually steals the top spot, with 55% of residents claiming they are extremely stressed on a daily basis. Edinburgh comes in second with 53%, followed by Manchester with 52%. Newcastle is at the bottom, with 70% of people saying they are only a little bit stressed, or not at all. Surprisingly, London is tenth (tenth!) with 44%. I think it’s pretty obvious that they didn’t ask me to take part in this survey.
As for who is stressed, it’s perhaps unsurprising that women came out on top with 19% of women saying that they feel very stressed on a daily basis. 35-44 year-olds are the most stressed age group, and a huge 50% of them list work as their main cause of stress. For 12-24 year olds, the main concerns are social media, personal appearance and relationships.
And which professions cause the most stress?
According to this study, work is the leading cause of stress for people in the UK, so it’s interesting to see which professions claim to be the most stressed. Those working in HR came out on top, with 78% of people working in this sector experiencing daily stress. The legal sector came in second with 63%, followed by retail, catering and leisure.
Okay, so how can we calm the hell down?
Protectivity‘s study also looked into what people do to de-stress, and results showed that we generally rely on entertainment to distract us — watching TV and films, or listening to music. Taking a hot bath was the third most popular de-stresser, which isn’t surprising as research shows that having a bath relieves stress in the same way that being in the sun does. Our skin actually releases endorphins as a result of soaking in hot water. (Studies also say that hot baths are better for you than exercise.) Other ways to relax included reading, interacting with pets and exercising.
Sean Walsh, Marketing Manager from Protectivity Insurance, says of the study: “Stress is something that affects us all at some point or another in our lives, but it’s surprising to discover just how stressed we are as a nation and the main causes of these feelings. It’s so important that we work out what our own stress busters are and that we take the time to ourselves to avoid becoming overwhelmed or burnt out.”