Modern women are generally more stressed than men, a new study has revealed. A study carried out among 1,000 males and 1,000 females found the typical woman endures two stressful days a week, compared to men who only suffer through one.
The main causes for women’s stress emerged as heavy workloads, family life or money or relationship issues.
The study also found four in ten women regularly have days where they are stressed from the moment they wake up until they go to sleep at night.
The Holland and Barrett Good Life study, of 2,000 adults, also found that women are more likely to struggle under the strain as one in five admit they find it hard to handle stress.
But worryingly, 55% of women said they feel this amount of stress has had a negative impact on their health, compared to just 39% of men.
Lysa Hardy, Chief Marketing Officer for Holland and Barrett, which commissioned The Good Life research, said:
“Everyone can suffer from stress from time to time, whether it’s little moments or over longer periods of time, but it seems women are feeling under more pressure than men, and you can see why.
“While both men and women counted work, money and health among their everyday stress triggers, women also named keeping the house tidy and looking after the children as something that leaves them strained.
“Men might have their own share of stress over those things, but women are far more likely to feel tension when they think about the jobs they have left to do at home, or how they are going to juggle the children’s schedules around their own job.
“However, with the results showing that women also find it harder to deal with the stress, that will only add to the pressure they feel and make it seem worse than it really is.
“It’s important for everyone to learn to deal with the stress they are put under, regardless of how much or how often it happens.”
The study also found 78% of women admit they are a stressed person, with more than one in twenty rating their stress level as ‘very high’.
By comparison, just 63% of men consider themselves to be anxious, with 22% claiming to have little or no stress – more than double the 10% of women who said the same thing.
It also emerged one in four women even claim they often take on their partner’s stress on top of their own worries.
Additionally, almost three quarters of women also admit they often stress about the little things that shouldn’t really matter – under seven in ten men who said the same.
The results also showed how stress can affect a woman’s health with 18-24 and 45-54 year olds feeling most impacted.
Around half of women who took part in the study said stomach problems and headaches are a problem, while nearly a third suffered from depression and exhaustion as a result of stress.
Despite this, half have never taken anything to help them cope with the symptoms of stress, although 46% have turned to natural remedies such as lavender, valerian and 5-HTP.
Only 14% have needed to resort to anti-depression medication.
The study found that money and trying to save cash was named the biggest modern day stress trigger for women, followed by tiredness and exhaustion, work and keeping the house tidy.
Their health, looking after their family, their children’s wellbeing and simply having no time to relax also feature highly.
Attempting to lose weight and fears about their job security complete the top ten stresses.
Others include paying back debt and meeting mortgage payments, their relationship and even dealing with the weekly food shop.
But four in ten women admitted that high stress levels can sometimes be a good thing as they get more done when they are under pressure.
For men, only 32% feel the same way.
Alex Thompson, Holland & Barrett’s nutritionist added:
“With the fast-paced lifestyles many of us lead, it is easy to see how the pressures facing both women and men can have a significant impact on our health and wellbeing.
“With so much to do, making our health a priority can be hard, but there are plenty of natural and alternative therapies available to help treat the symptoms and relieve stress when times are tough.
“Diet and nutrition also plays an important role in reducing stress levels, limiting caffeine drinks and opting for more natural foods rather than processed quick fixes in our diet will have a significant impact.”
TOP TWENTY MODERN STRESS TRIGGERS (WOMEN)
1. Saving Money
2. Tiredness/exhaustion
3. My work
4. Keeping the house tidy
5. My health
6. Looking after the family
7. Children
8. No time to relax
9. Trying to lose weight
10. Job security
11. Paying back debt
12. Paying a mortgage
13. Buying a house
14. My relationship
15. Unemployment
16. Weekly food shop
17. Commuting
18. Seeing relatives
19. Looking for love
20. Looking after pets
TOP TWENTY MODERN STRESS TRIGGERS (MEN)
1. Saving money
2. My work
3. My health
4. Tiredness/Exhaustion
5. Job security
6. Children
7. My relationship
8. Looking after the family
9. Buying a house
10. Paying a mortgage
11. No time to relax
12. Unemployment
13. Paying back debt
14. Keeping the house tidy
15. Trying to lose weight
16. Commuting
17. Looking for love
18. Weekly food shop
19. Seeing relatives
20. Looking after pets
