British city dubbed ‘one of the most stressful places to live’

When you think of stressful city life, the hustle and bustle of London is what commonly comes to mind. However, according to a new study by the research team at Deskup, the accolade of “most stressed town or city” was given to a northern city.

York has previously been given the award of “friendliest” and “most welcoming” city in the UK, but now it seems the Yorkshire city is also topping the list for less optimistic reasons.

The research team looked at various traits that might make a person feel stressed or relate to stress, with factors such as health issues, anxiety levels, percentage of physical inactivity, drug misuse and crime rates among others, all taken into consideration.

Based on these factors, the experts placed York at the top of their list with a “stress score” of 55.25.

“Citizens in the area face high unemployment levels and the second lowest disposable household income,” stated the report.

“These two factors combined help make the city the worst in the country for its socioeconomic environment. The city also ranked in sixth place for one of the worst physical health conditions.”

However, it wasn’t all bad news for York with the city being named as one of the safest when it comes to crime rates.

Despite the Deskup report findings, experts from restless.co.uk have previously described York as one of the “friendliest places to live in the UK“.

“With its fascinating history, winding medieval streets, and Gothic cathedrals, York has long been a popular destination with travellers,” the team said in their round-up.

“But, it’s just as popular with residents and has regularly been voted one of the friendliest cities in the UK, and even in the world.”

York was closely followed by Cambridge with a score of 53.78. While you might expect one of the UK’s smallest cities to be the calmest place to live, the experts said this “is not the case for Cambridge”.

The report noted that the city ranked as one of the “worst” for physical health conditions, as it “ranks second in the country for the most idle population” and fifth for the worst accessibility to green spaces.

A spokesperson from Deskup said: “Modern life has become fast-paced, expensive and often complicated, all of which contribute to added stressors that can negatively affect both our mental and physical well-being.

“Studies indicate that heightened stress levels often lead individuals to engage in unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking, and neglecting self-care. It is imperative to effectively address and manage stress to enhance our overall quality of life.

“The research shows a clear correlation of how location, job and personal health can impact mental and physical health. It’s crucial to have support systems in place.

“Local authorities, employers, and society need to keep on fostering open discussions about mental health to alleviate this burden.