Women use exercise to relieve stress

French consumer tech firm Withings questioned 3,400 working women living in the US, France and Germany about stress, work and well-being and found that physical activity was the most frequently used method to relieve stress, although time is tight with their busy schedules.

Representatives from Withings report that an earlier study found women significantly more stressed on the job than men, and also less satisfied.

For the latest study, the respondents, whose average age was 30, were assessed using data gathered by means of questionnaires and with the customers’ Withings activity trackers.

In this survey, 79 per cent of respondents reported experiencing significant levels of stress, with 9 per cent feeling extremely stressed and 54 per cent reporting having experienced burnout. Only 12 per cent said they had little to no stress.

Workload was the number one source of stress, reported as being so by 65 per cent of participants, followed by pressure at work — reported by 62 per cent — and 34 per cent cited work-family balance as a source of stress.

Thirty-four per cent said money was at the root of their stress, followed by relationship problems at 29 per cent, health problems at 26 per cent and children at 15 per cent.

Irritability was the top stress symptom, reported as so by 67 per cent of participants, followed by fatigue at 66 per cent, while physical symptoms such as headaches were reported by 54 per cent.

Forty-five per cent reported not being able to concentrate as a result of stress, 40 per cent said their stress put a wedge between them and their close friends and family, 35 per cent said it led to depression and 32 per cent reported losing interest in work.

The team from Withings also sought to gauge the relationship between happiness and stress, and found that stress had a definite impact on their sense of happiness and well-being.

As for reducing stress, exercise was the top choice, with 69 per cent of the sample choosing it, followed by taking days off from work at 41 per cent, food at 38 per cent, and spending time with friends at 35 per cent.

Thirty-four per cent said they use relaxation and breathing exercises for stress reduction while 30 per cent reported shopping to reduce stress and 23 per cent said drinking alcohol relieved their stress.

Just 58 per cent of the women said they talk about their stress, and 67 per cent of them said their significant other was the go-to-person for that, while 64 per cent reported talking to friends and 47 per cent to a family member. Thirty per cent spoke to colleagues about their stress, while 24 per cent spoke to doctors and psychologists

Meanwhile, the survey also found that women who weren’t stressed sleep for an average of seven hours and 33 minutes compared to six hours and 58 minutes for those who were stressed. Furthermore the women who reported feeling less stressed were also most physically active in terms of steps taken.