Zen State? Massachusetts among Top 10 ‘most relaxed’ states in U.S., study says

BOSTON — Bay State residents may not be so stressed after all.

Massachusetts is ranked in the Top 10 of the “most relaxed” states, according to a new study.

The study, conducted by CBD oil products company CBDfx, explored data from the United Health Foundation’s American Health Rankings to see which states had the lowest rates of people reporting stress.

South Dakota came out on top, with Hawaii and Maryland taking second and third spots, respectively.

Massachusetts ranked No. 9 on the list. The state’s data reports that 12.9% of Massachusetts citizens suffer from frequent mental distress, and 7.7% of citizens suffer from frequent physical distress, with the latter percentage actually lower than the most relaxed state, the study found. Combining these statistics, the Bay State scores 83.84 out of 100 on the relaxation score.

The study found that the midwestern state of South Dakota has the lowest stress rate, thus being the most relaxed state. The data reports that only 9.4% of citizens there suffer from frequent mental distress, the lowest in the top 10. Only 7.9% of citizens suffer from frequent physical distress, the study found. Combining these statistics, it scores 96.20 out of 100 on the relaxation score.

Hawaii came in second place, with the state having a relaxation score of 93.93 out of 100. Hawaii also had the lowest physical distress percentage of any state in the top 10.

Coming in third place is Illinois, followed by Alaska and Maryland, the study found.

North Dakota ranked No. 6, followed by Nebraska, and New Jersey. Minnesota ranked No. 10 among the most relaxed states.

Using the same methodology, West Virginia is the ‘most stressed’ of any state, with 17.5% of citizens reporting frequent mental distress and 15.8% reporting suffering from frequent physical distress.

Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson from CBDfx said, “It’s clear that there are many reasons that stress can come about nowadays, whether it is job issues, financial worries or relationship problems. However, there are also many ways of dealing with stress, so it’s interesting to see the massive gap between the country’s most stressed and most relaxed states.”

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