Hey, chill out! - Brief Article - Statistical Data Included

American Demographics, July, 2000

Will blurring the line between work and leisure mean relief from stress? For the sake of younger consumers, let's hope so. Inforum's 1999 Pulse Survey from The MEDSTAT Group found that adults aged 35 and younger were the most stressed out - nearly seven in 10 said they were somewhat to extremely stressed. That's in stark contrast to adults aged 65 and older: 31 percent of that age range said they had no stress in their lives whatsoever.

Apparently, when it comes to stress, experience counts. Older consumers believe that they're more effective at dealing with stress than younger adults. And getting a good night's rest probably helps: More than a third of adults under the age of 25 say that they don't get enough sleep most of the time or all of the time, whereas 39 percent of adults over the age of 65 say they never miss a good night's sleep.

Younger consumers may also be more stressed out because they aren't able to get away. More than half of adults aged 18 to 24 said that they didn't have time to take a vacation, according to the Travel Industry Association of America. When the youngsters do get out of town, they aren't gone for long: 42 percent of travelers who are away for just the weekend are aged 18 to 34 - the largest share of any group. [For more stats on stress, check out Toplines, p. 9]