A new study has revealed the number one cause of stress for Americans and it’s money. According to a survey that was done on more than 3,000 Americans, all adults, by the American Psychological Association, the number one cause of stress is money. The number two cause of stress for Americans is work, the study revealed.
According to the study, the majority of American rate their levels of stress at 4.9 out of 10, one being little or no stress and 10 being very much stress. While these numbers are improving when compared to when the recession was at its highest, it is still quite higher than 3.7, a number that is considered healthy. Also, it appears that fewer than one in five Americans say that their stress levels have decreased in the past year and one in three is saying that their stress levels have increased.
The study also revealed what the number one cause of stress for Americans is and it is money. It appears that one in three Americans, or 64% say that money is a very significant source of their daily stress. In addition to that 72% of Americans say that at least sometimes they feel stressed about money and 22% say that they have extreme stress because of money.
So what about money is stressing the American people? Apparently it’s paying for unexpected expenses (54% of Americans), paying for essentials (44%) and saving for retirement (44%).
According to the study, it appears that some groups of people are likely to become stress more than others. The most stressed three groups of people in America are women, parents and millennials (people born in the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s).
The study shows that women are far more stressed than men are and that the gender gap between men and women is unfortunately widening. 51% of women have admitted to staying awake in bed unable to sleep in the past month because of stress, whereas just 32% of men have done this.
People who are parents are also significantly more stressed than those who are not (5.7 versus 4.7) and millennials report a level of stress of 5.5 compared to 4.5 for baby boomers and Generation X kids.
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