Average American Has 60 'Bad' Days Per Year, Survey Says
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you thought about how many bad days you have each year, what would that number be? A new survey says the average American has about 60 bad days a year, or roughly one-sixth of the entire year.
According to the poll, sponsored by fitness and nutrition app Freeletics, working Americans spend about 60 days a year stressed out, upset or just cranky. About 80 percent of the 2,000 people polled said that their misery was at least partly caused by work-related stress, while 67 percent said that the biggest reason for their bad day was not sleeping enough the night before.
Feeling sick was also found to be a key ingredient for having a bad day, as was worrying about money, canceled plans and even a person's favorite sports team losing. One quarter of the people in the Freeletics survey said that frustration over a "bad hair day" added their stress.
The fitness app's solution to all of these days of misery isn't to grab a carton of your favorite ice cream; Freeletics wants people to hit the gym. "Any form of exercise can help to relieve stress and frustration: it leads to an increased level of some hormones, dopamine, serotonin and endorphins in the body," training specialist John-Francis Kennedy said, via the New York Post. "These, in turn, contribute to the feeling of happiness and a reduced level of the stress hormone cortisol."
Ninety-five percent of the people surveyed agreed that time in the gym helped get them through a bad day. Nearly half of the group said that working out made them feel more motivated. Not everyone is benefiting from a bad day workout, however, as only one in five respondents actually had a gym membership. The biggest obstacle in getting to a gym was found to be the cost.