Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

Report Reveals A Nation Needing Escape

HOLIDAY FEELING EVAPORATES IN HOURS
Report Reveals A Nation Needing Escape But Pre-Holiday Stress Levels Return In Minutes

We work all year long for our much needed holiday but 60% of us feel the benefit disappears in less than a day and a frazzled 40% in just hours (24%) or minutes (16%).

A report from Adnams Brewery investigates our “need to escape” and reveals that the British 43 hour working week is having a big impact on our mental outlook with nearly 66% of British people feeling they are stuck in a rut and a slave to the daily grind. The majority of the UK (66%) have at least one serious wish to escape a month and a stressed out one in ten (13%) feel that way every single day.

Perhaps in reaction to this negativity, careers are sinking down our priority lists with nearly one in three of us preferring to focus on our health and more than one in five (22%) wishing to concentrate on relationships or money (20%). Time to relax was the main priority for 20% of us compared to under one in ten who thought work was key.

Where do we feel we escape the daily grind best? UK citizens adore the sea – with 70% of us desiring a coastal view from a British break over city breaks (just one in ten). However, the allure of the seaside resort holds appeal for just one in ten of us compared with the idea of a quaint coastal town (59%).

Psychotherapist and lifecoach Christine Webber, says:

“We lead frenetic lives. According to the TUC, the average worker in this country does almost an extra day’s work each week in overtime. Worse than that, over a fifth of us never take a break for lunch, while more than 50% of British people take less than the legal minimum of half an hour - and only about 20% of us actually leave our work environment in the middle of the day.”

“On top of our long weekday hours, one in three families has a parent who regularly works at the weekends. So it is no wonder that we have such trapped, negative feelings about our everyday lives. This is worrying. It is important that we don’t simply rely on a break once a year to relieve our stress, but that we build in regular ‘escape moments’. “

Steve Curzon, Marketing Director at Adnams Brewery comments:

“There is a desire to flee the daily routine in all of us and this study shows just how key allowing yourself a regular moment of escape is. At Adnams we try to ensure, through our beer from the coast images, that our customers get that coastal escape in our pubs and our hotels even if it just to take a moment to enjoy a really good quality beer or glass of wine.”

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For further info please contact Jo, Ane or Eileen at the Adnams press office on 020 7684 6969 or e-mail adnams@cowpr.com

NOTES TO EDITORS:
Christine Webber’s hints and tips:
“Helpful everyday escape plans
· Get out at lunchtime - and walk. We have wonderful parks even in our busiest urban areas. There are 17 in London alone – and this doesn’t include all the grassy squares scattered throughout the city. These places offer birdsong, comparative quietness and cleaner air. They appeal to our souls, but they also help our bodies. Trees generate oxygen and soak up carbon dioxide – so we quickly feel re-energised and healthier when we visit a leafy environment.
· The sea has a powerful effect on us. Perhaps this is because scientists have discovered that life came from the sea and that the mineral composition of modern human beings is similar to ancient organisms which originated in the oceans. And of course prior to the huge population shift that took place during the Industrial Revolution, we as a nation mostly lived in small rural communities situated on rivers or at the coast. No one in the UK is more than 70 miles from the sea. We are an island race and the sea is in our blood. Most of us find that the constantly-changing moods of the ocean help put everyday problems into perspective. Also, coastal air is much less polluted than urban air. (For those days when you long to be at the coast, but you can’t get there, invest in a CD of the sound of the sea – you’ll find it very tranquillising. ‘
· Meet more friends. Busy people find it hard to keep up with the individuals they most want to see. An evening with good mates – just having a couple of beers or sipping a glass of wine – can feel as good for us as a holiday.
· Try to notice five happy moments every day. So often when we are busy and stressed we feel that nothing nice happens. In fact, we have many moments during most days when something occurs to make us laugh or to remind us of our good fortune. If we get into the habit of noticing when we are happy, we become happier, calmer people.
· Instead of exercising at the gym, get out and walk with your family, or kick a ball around with some friends. Exercise tones our bodies and encourages feel-good chemicals in our brains. But if we exercise outdoors instead of indoors, we get the benefit of less polluted air and fewer germs. Also, sport with others is entertaining, compared with the grind of exercising alone.