The Living Conditions survey of 1,100 pupils asked if they felt tense about different aspects of their school lives. The responses revealed that students in general find tests and homework stressful, upper secondary school pupils are more likely to feel the pressure than younger students, and girls place higher demands on themselves than boys.

Only 25 percent of children in upper elementary and low secondary classes reported being fretful about their studies, while 75 percent of girls and 50 percent of boys in upper secondary schools said they felt anxious. An equal number of girls and boys also said pressure from teachers and parents added to the strain.

Demands students are placing on themselves were also found to be more common with older students, and girls especially. In upper secondary school, 60 percent of girls and 37 percent of boys said they pressured themselves to do well.

It is hoped that a few relaxed tunes will make journeys more pleasant for cardio-vascular patients, some of whom face trips of up to 20 minutes to suburban specialist centres. The attempt to mask some of the more traumatic transport noises is currently being undertaken by Aalborg Hospital in north Jutland.

The move comes after an increasing number of patients suffering from cardio-vascular conditions claimed their hearts were not helped by their journey to hospital, with clear links being drawn between transportation and increased stress levels. The hospital has therefore recommended that relaxing music is played in all its emergency vehicles.

Aalborg Hospital’s ICU and anaesthesia department has already undertaken a preliminary study, with Dr Per Thorgaard concluding that noises such as slamming doors, beeping equipment and ambulance sirens were counterproductive to patients’ wellbeing.

“Patients informed us that, in particular, wailing sirens, engine noise, rattling sounds and electronic noises from equipment are the worst ‘stressers’. On the other hand, sounds such as human interaction had the most calming effect,” said Thorgaard in a report by Copenhagen Post.

The Aalborg study was carried out by placing microphones into patients’ ears in order to record what sounds they were subjected to on the journey.

“Many noises in ambulances during transport – especially the sirens – cause maximum stress to cardio-vascular patients. And stress is toxic to these patients, so it’s crucial that we minimise the negative sounds in the ambulances,” said Thorgaard, who anticipates a nationwide rollout of the initiative if feedback is positive.

A mere 23 percent of the Scandinavian country’s business heads declared themselves to be under more stress in November 2009 than in the previous year. In contrast, 76 percent of bosses in mainland China said they were under greater pressure.

The survey, conducted last year, canvassed 7,400 privately-owned enterprises across 36 countries. The Chinese topped the table ahead of Mexico (74 percent), Turkey (72 percent), Vietnam (72 percent) and Greece (68 percent), although recent economic problems in the latter have no doubt increased stress rates there since. The report also found that GDP growth was related to tension levels, with developing countries reporting increased anxiety.

Mellow Nordics Denmark (25 percent) and Finland (33 percent) enjoyed lower stress levels, along with Australia (35 percent) and Canada (35 percent), all coming in well below the global average of 56 percent, reports The Local.
The survey also explored the main reasons for worry in the workplace, with the economic climate understandably topping the list with 38 percent of responses. Cash flow pressure (26 percent), competitor activity (21 percent) and heavy workload (19 percent) were the other major factors.

A lack of time off was also found to cause higher anxiety levels, with northern Europeans taking the largest number of holidays (22 – 24 days) per annum, as opposed to just seven days-a -year on average in third-placed Vietnam.

According to statistics released by Kela, the social research institute of Finland, only 643 people were issued with the Z-diagnosis in 2008 which represents a marked decline from 2004, when 2,511 cases were reported. However, the numbers of cases of mental and psychological illness have seen a large increase as reported by news source YLE.

The internationally recognised Z-diagnosis is employed by doctors who deem that certain patients should be afforded time off from work despite having no definite medical illness.

Kela has claimed that it has undertaken a major education program with Finnish physicians to recognise the signs of exhaustion and to understand that it can often be prompted by a psychological condition which necessitates time away from the workplace.

The move is designed to better appreciate the personal conditions that contribute to exhaustion which often include fears on the part of employees that time off may be seen as a sign of weakness and many who are overwhelmed by their job are reluctant to take leave for fears that the workload will increase in their absence. Unfortunately the changes now mean that those previously afforded the Z-diagnosis will now have a medical record of anxiety or depression.

Hanna Jarvinen, the Chief Physician for Kela, claimed: “Earlier, the use of the Z-code has been a problem. And we’ve been trying to educate our doctors”. Jarvinen added that: “Many of those have now shifted to diagnoses of psychological illness. I think that’s good. Often a real illness has been masked by the Z – it was just given the wrong code.”