Are women more stressed than men?

MOVING house, planning a wedding and preparing for your first child are among life’s most stressful times.

But women struggle to cope with stressful events far more, according to research.

In fact, women worry more than men about major life events putting themselves at risk of insomnia, increased blood pressure and even depression.

The British Physiological Society’s survey of 2,000 British adults found women worry more than men about issues, real and imagined including their partner dying, losing their job, or their house flooding. It seems they cope worse when internalising feelings instead of letting them out.

Dr Lucy Donaldson of The Physiological Society said: “Men deal with stress with a fight or flight response but women tend to adopt a “tend and befriend” strategy as they don’t have that outlet, they potentially hold onto things, over-analyse and keep them inside. In response to stress, women’s brains tend to be active in the limbic, emotional areas when stressed, whereas men activate their pre-frontal cortex.” The survey, conducted by YouGov, found the biggest gender gap in stress over fears of a terror attack. Men and women feel similar levels of panic about becoming parents but women showed higher anxiety levels over a range of 18 different life events, including fears of going to prison, falling victim to identity theft and becoming seriously ill. Studies show men have higher levels of stress hormones than women but women release the ‘cuddle-hormone’ oxytocin. This means they tend to others rather than rid themselves of their stress through a ‘fight or flight’ response. While stress can be good in making the brain alert and producing pain-killing adrenaline, too much can affect bodily processes.

Dr Donaldson said: “While people are aware of the effect of stress on mental wellbeing, it is important to consider its impact on the body. The brain, nervous and hormonal systems react to stress and affect your heart, immune system and gastro-intestinal system. When stress is prolonged, effects on the whole body can result in illnesses such as ulcers or an increased risk of heart attack.”