Dr. Shripal Shrishrimal

Pennsylvania ranks the 22nd most stressed state, according to a WalletHub study published at the end of March.

Contributing to this percentage are average hours worked per week and the share of adults getting adequate sleep, where the state ranks 28th and seventh respectively, as well as ninth in the category of work-related stress and 23rd in health and safety-related stress.

Dr. Shripal Shrishrimal, the medical director for pulmonary medicine, sleep medicine and respiratory therapy at the Butler Health System, said that the most important part of managing stress is to find out the stressors.

“Stress plays an important role in sleep, sleep hygiene and your biological clock,” Shrishrimal said. “You don't want to stray too much from it. When someone is stressed, it affects your hormonal levels.”

In order to determine the most and least stressed states, WalletHub used four main topics: work-related stress, money-related stress, family-related stress and health and safety-related stress.

However, since the pandemic, the percentage of adults that have become more stressed because of work has increased. Receiving less than the suggested 6 to 8 hours of sleep has been shown to affect efficiency and work.

“The likelihood that people may miss things and the likelihood of them being able to give 100% at work is less,” Shrishrimal said.

A portion of this story is shared with you as a digital media exclusive. To read the full story and support our local, independent newsroom, please subscribe online.