Study reveals Lassen County has the highest stress inflation rate in the state
From longer work hours to increased demands at home, the COVID-19 pandemic exposed Americans to new levels of stress in almost every aspect of their lives. And now after two years of COVID-related health worries, Americans are faced with financial concerns as high inflation leads to a cost of living crisis for many.
MyBioSource.com, a biotechnical products distribution company, conducted a study of physical and mental distress data from County Health Rankings over the last 5 years (from 2017 to 2021) in counties across California. This data revealed overall, as a state, California has had an increased total stress inflation rate over the last 5 years.
Lassen County has the highest ‘stressflation’ over the last 5 years with an 8 percent increase. More specifically, citizens here had a 4 percent increase in physical stress as well as 4 percent increase in mental stress.
The county with the lowest stressflation, and comparatively Zen-like citizens, was San Francisco (1 percent), which had a 1 percent increase in rate of mental stress, however, a 0 percentr change in physical stress.
MyBioSource.com also broke down this data at a national/state level, which revealed the state with the highest stress inflation rate over the past 5 years was Maine (6 percent). On the other end of the ranking, New York had the lowest stress inflation rate in the country – in fact, The Empire State actually experienced a stress deflation rate of 2 percent.
Many people have become familiar with the feeling of being stressed, which is understandable given the pandemic-related events of the past few years, said a spokesperson for MyBioSource.com. Chronic stress can have seriously negative impacts on the body – both physically and mentally – and allowing it to build up may result in further detriment to your health over time. If you are unable to reduce your stress levels through relaxation techniques or exercise, see a health professional.