Stressed out? Many Hartford residents are, according to a recent report, which found the city to be the fifth most stressed-out in the nation.
In a recent health-risk assessment, online health and wellness platform Sharecare tested the stress levels of 250,000 people around the country to come with a list of the most- and least-stressed cities in the U.S.
Here’s what they found:
Most-Stressed Cities
- Greenville, S.C.
- Louisville, Ky.
- Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Indianapolis, Ind.
- Hartford, Conn.
- Nashville, Tenn.
- Salt Lake City, Mo.
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Greensboro, N.C.
- Las Vegas, Nev.
Least-Stressed Cities
- San Diego, Calif.
- Austin, Texas
- Kansas City, Mo.
- Sacramento, Calif.
- Phoenix, Ariz.
- San Francisco, Calif.
- Chicago, Ill.
- Minneapolis, Mo.
- Memphis, Tenn.
- Miami, Fla.
It's no secret that stress can be bad for your health.
“High levels of continuous stress can raise your blood pressure, harm your immune system and increase your risk of heart attack and stroke,” said Sharecare Chief Medical Officer Dr. Keith Roach, in a release. “It’s also important to keep in mind that moderate stress isn’t a bad thing, as our performance levels are higher with a little bit of stress than with no stress at all.”
So what can you do?
Sharecare recommends managing stress by maintaining regular exercise and sleep schedules, and trying meditation, breathing exercises and aromatherapy.
According to the company, reining in your stress level can add more than two years to your life if you’re a man and more than one year if you’re a woman.
Sharecare is an online health and wellness company designed to help people tackle their health issues and connect them to local health care providers.
More than 30 million people have taken Sharecare’s health-risk assessment since it was created in 1998, according to the company.
