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By Sharon Jayson

USA Today

You may have felt it, but now a scientific analysis of stress over time offers some proof that there is more stress in peoples lives today than 25 years ago.

Stress increased 18% for women and 24% for men from 1983 to 2009, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, who analyzed data from more than 6,300 people. It is considered the first ever historical comparison of stress levels across the U.S.

"The data suggest there has been an increase in stress over that time," says psychologist and lead author Sheldon Cohen, director of Carnegie Mellons Laboratory for the Study of Stress, Immunity and Disease. The analysis is published online in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

In research done in 1983, 2006 and 2009, those with higher stress were women, people with lower incomes and those with less education. Findings also show that as people age, stress decreases.

"Thirty year olds have less stress than 20 year olds, and 40 year olds have less stress than 30 year olds," says Cohen, who has studied the relationship between stress and disease for 35 years.

All three surveys used the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), a measure Cohen and others created in 1983 to assess the degree to which situations in life are perceived as stressful. Each survey respondent answered a series of questions designed to evaluate their stress levels; researchers used the scale to analyze responses and calculate an overall score. Higher scores indicate greater psychological stress.

Results show increases in stress in almost every demographic category from 1983 to 2009, ranging from 10%-30%.

"Cohen is a good investigator," says psychiatrist David Spiegel, director of the Center on Stress and Health at Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif. "He iss using a measure of subjective stress."

White, middle aged men with college degrees and full time jobs were the group most affected by the economic downturn, the study found. Cohen says that groups increase was almost double that of any other demographic group.

Physician Paul Rosch, president of the non-profit American Institute of Stress, based in Yonkers, N.Y., says this study is more credible than most stress surveys because of its scientific methodology.

And the results make sense, experts say. When you compare the early 1980s to today, "economic pressures are greater, and it is harder to turn off information, and it is harder to buffer ourselves from the world," Spiegel says.

Comment from Dr. Tammy:
With stress levels at an all time high, finding ways to cope with stress is more important than ever.  Chiropractic care and Neurofeeback training makes your brain more flexible so you are more ready to perform physically and mentally when you want to but also more able to relax and heal when that is appropriate.  Chiropractic care makes you a more healthy version of who you want to be.