Throughout our lifetime, we are bound to face many stressful situations. While some are simply a hurdle we must overcome, others are beneficial for us. Take physical activities like high-intensity interval training (HIIT), cold plunges, and intermittent fasting as examples. While these all put stress on our bodies, they can also strengthen us. In the right dose, stress acts as a signal telling our body to adapt, repair, and grow stronger.
At Novaalab, we know that putting your body under stress can lead to a bit of pain, but with the right recovery efforts, you will soon feel energized, accomplished, and even happier. To gain more insight into the good stress being experienced across the U.S., we surveyed residents in 40 major cities and asked how they push themselves both physically and mentally.
We then awarded points to responses that showed initiatives in good stress and calculated an average score on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the most happily stressed out. We then ranked all cities based on this good stress index. Read on to learn more about our findings.
Key Takeaways
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Phoenix, AZ, Washington, D.C., and Dallas, TX, residents are the most happily stressed out.
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Nearly 1 in 2 Americans intentionally engage in activities that challenge them physically at least once a week.
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66% of Americans intentionally engage in activities that challenge them mentally at least once a week.
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74% of Americans wish they did more "good stress" activities but just lack the motivation.
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81% of Americans have deliberately done something that scared them in the past year.
Cities Where Residents Experience the Most Good Stress
Stress doesn’t always have to be bad. In fact, experts share that it is actually part of our fundamental survival system. One key to stress being a positive piece of our life is when it’s short-term as opposed to long-term. When it comes to capitalizing on these benefits, we found it was Phoenix, AZ, residents who are most happily stressed out with a good stress score of 99.63 out of 100.
Overall, 92% of Phoenix, AZ, residents say they at times feel "happily stressed," meaning challenged but excited and engaged. Additionally, Phoenix residents are the most likely to actively look for uncomfortable challenges (22%).
Coming in second place with a good stress score of 98.51 out of 100, is Washington, D.C. When it comes to the national capitol, we found 82% of residents describe stress from a challenging activity as rewarding.
Up next is Dallas, TX, with a good stress score of 98.41 out of 100, as residents there are most likely to have recently deliberately pushed themselves to a physical or mental limit in a way that surprised them and felt rewarding. Following closely behind are San Francisco, CA, (97.36), Orlando, FL, (97.06), and San Diego, CA, (96.12), claiming fourth, fifth, and sixth place, respectively.
Overall, 1 in 2 Americans intentionally engage in activities that challenge them physically at least once a week. When asked about the impacts of stress from challenging tasks, we found that 71% of people describe the feeling as rewarding.
Top Good Stress Activities Among Americans
Good stress can come from both physical and mental challenges, so we wanted to gain more insight into which activities Americans are turning to most frequently for good stress. Up first with 62% of people reporting they’ve done it recently is learning a new skill. This can include anything from baking sourdough to learning a new language.
While a new skill can be an exciting journey, it is typically one filled with frustrating moments. Those difficulties faced, however, allow us to grow because we put our minds through brief moments of stress. After we push through those limits, we find ourselves slicing into beautifully baked bread or traveling to new parts of the world with the skills to communicate with locals with ease.
Coming in second place is high-intensity interval training as 57% of people say they’ve tried it recently. These short bursts of higher intensity aerobic exercise, like other forms of exercise, have multiple benefits like burning calories and improved heart health. They also put our body under brief periods of stress which is another form of good stress.
Up next is our first mental challenge claiming third place, having a difficult but important conversation (55%). From disciplining your child to apologizing after a fight with your partner, there are many conversations in our life that we would rather avoid. But when we allow ourselves to experience the uncomfortable moment and push through, we grow stronger and the stress we felt is gone before we know it.
Overall, we discovered that 74% of Americans wish they did more good stress activities but say they lack the motivation. On the other hand, 81% of people say they have deliberately done something that scared them in the past year, showing that many people may have more motivation than they give themselves credit for.
When pushing ourselves physically, it is important to have recovery methods to ensure we are strengthening our body in a positive way. That’s why in addition to the most common activities, we also asked respondents which methods they turn to when they're in need of a little TLC following a physical challenge.
Up first as the most common recovery method is stretching or mobility work as 61% of people report it. This is followed by the 1 in 2 people who say prioritizing 7 or more hours of sleep is their key to recovering after a difficult challenge.
Coming in third place is massage or using a foam roller, which nearly 1 in 4 people say they do. This is followed by breathwork (22%), sauna (13%), cold therapy (9%), red light therapy (6%), and compression therapy (6%).
Relieve Stress with Novaalab
When exposing yourself to stress, it is important to remember that adaptation only works if recovery keeps pace. Our bodies don’t just grow stronger through stress itself but through the entire process of challenge and then recovery.
If you are on a journey to strengthen your body, allow Novaalab to help aid in your recovery. Through our red light therapy devices, you can get relief anytime, anywhere. With targeted products like our Novaa Knee Ultra and the Novaa Light Boot, you can focus relief on the areas that need it most. Get started today and check out our full catalog so you can keep experiencing good stress.
Methodology
In this study, we set out to learn where Americans are most happily stressed out. To do this, we surveyed residents of 40 U.S. cities and asked various questions about the activities they do to challenge themselves, how they feel about these types of experiences, how often they seek these experiences out, and more. We then awarded points to responses that represented an attempt to challenge oneself and then calculated the average score by city. Finally, we adjusted this good stress score on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the most happily stressed.
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