subject: Has Life Become Stress Fractured? [print this page] Has Life Become Stress Fractured? Has Life Become Stress Fractured?
Stress could become a national health crisis. In a 2010 survey by the American Psychological Association, nearly 75% of Americans said they were stressed to the max to levels that could put them at risk for chronic illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and depression. Seventy-six percent of the respondents were concerned about money, 70% about work and 65% about the economy. Although 33% of parents felt extreme stress, most didn't think it affected their teens and sub-teens. However, only 14% of their children said they were unaffected. Obviously, parents' stress causes "stress fractures" in family life.
Job strain is a form of job stress and it increases women's heart-attack risk. Researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed 10 years of medical data on more than 17,000 women, all in their 50's and early 60's when the study began. The women who experienced job strain who were required to work very hard or very fast with little say about day-to-day tasks were 88% likelier to have a heart attack. They were also 43% likelier to need heart surgery. According to the researchers, women are likelier than men to experience job strain. That's to say, women need more say in their jobs.
The stress of city living may negatively affect brain performance. According to the World Health Organization, dealing with competing stimuli crowds, honking horns, and flashing neon signs can be mentally exhausting. In a University of Michigan study, one group of undergraduates spent a day in the suburbs and another spent a day in the city. Overall, those in the city scored lower on attention tests and developed worse moods. However, spending a few minutes daily in a park relieves mental exhaustion. Considering more than half the world's population lives in cities, more city dwellers need to "go green".
Another study by the World Heath Organization found the stress of secondhand smoke kills more than 603,000 people a year that's 1 in 100 people and nearly two-thirds of them are children. The study based on 2004 data from 192 countries also found 40% of children, 35% of women and 33% of men are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke indoors. Based on this study scientists estimate secondhand smoke annually causes about 379,000 deaths from heart disease, 165,000 from lower respiratory disease, 36,900 from asthma and 21,400 from lung cancer that's 1% of the world's deaths lives that are needlessly going up in smoke.
