Not tonight Dear, I've Got a Headache
1 January 2005
...And that's just Britain's men
44% of males "too stressed" for passion
Research commissioned by Anadin* shows that the strain of modern day life is proving increasingly detrimental to the sex life of UK males®. The research proves that British men have now overtaken women in the stress stakes, with 44% admitting they are simply too stressed for passion at the end of their working day, compared to just a third of women.
Three quarters of men in the UK felt that their life was more stressful than five years ago, and 63% said that they were suffering frequent headaches at bedtime as a direct result. The 'bedtime headache' has until now been considered primarily a female affliction, and the butt of many a male joke about their partner's lack of libido.
Anadin commissioned Dr Aric Sigman, a specialist on the effects of stress, to assess the gender differences in coping with the modern pressures, which lead to pain. The research saw 55% of men admitting that they were taking on their partner's worries as their own, so increasing their stress load still further.
The growing phenomenon of the 'bedtime headache' in Britain mirrors the situation across the Atlantic, where scientist Professor David Haas recently shown that 80% of sufferers were men - all of whom were run down and under pressure.
Dr Sigman commented; "Men act as 'stress sponges', bottling up their daily problems so that by bedtime they have completely lost their libido, shunning passion for a cup of cocoa and an early night".
According to Dr Sigman; "For a man, a problem shared can be a problem doubled. After a stressful day, a woman's natural instinct is to go home and offload her stress onto her partner and it's this act of sharing which can make her feel better. But a man will just take his partner's issues on board and add them to his own. By viewing them as yet another goal-orientated project which needs solving he is simply compounding his stress."
Here's a five-point plan developed by Dr Aric Sigman to help men "let out" their stress:
- Budget your energy and adrenaline - if you're always 'ON' you'll burn out - so, like your computer, put yourself in a sleep/standby mode whenever possible. Be more of a tortoise than a hare. Remember top boxers and marathon runners don't just go for it non-stop with flurries of combination punches or constant sprinting - they cleverly pace themselves
- Watch what you eat and drink as it will affect your mood. Eat regularly as skipping breakfast or lunch may make you sluggish and more stressed. Healthy snacking between meals keeps blood sugar levels up which helps to keep you calmer. Limit your caffeine to no more than 2 cups of coffee or 3 cups of tea a day (unless they're decaff)
- Engage in at least three types of stress relieving activities a week. Exercise is probably the best stress reliever, but a hot bath, massage or a day out with friends will help too
- If you and your partner have both had a stressful day, try to delay the conversation about your problems until you've both had a chance to relax. If it's not possible to talk things through with your partner, don't bottle things up or stew on your problems - talk them through with a friend.
- Try and get eight hours of sleep a night. This is the only time your body gets to
recharge its batteries
* Trade Mark
® Source: Quantitative: ICM (April 2002). 1001 adults aged 18+
