Adults feel ‘on top form’ for less than one-third of year, survey claims

Tiredness, heavy workloads and lack of exercise led many to feel in poor condition

Tiredness, heavy workloads and a lack of exercise meant less than one-third of the year was spent feeling in tip top condition, both mentally and physically, according to a new poll.

Instead respondents had three days a week where they felt tired or lacking in energy, and two occasions where they spent the day in a bad mood.

More than one-third had whole months go by where they did not have a single day of feeling “on top form”.

“At this time of year, it can be rare to have a day where you feel wide awake, in a great mood and ready for whatever life throws at you," said a spokesperson for Vitabiotics’ Wellwoman and Wellman vitamin range said. “But it’s staggering to see just how few days we have where we feel great.

“Simply feeling a little bit tired, or overloaded at work, can leave us feeling out of sorts... Sometimes, just making small lifestyle changes, like improving your diet or doing a little bit of exercise, can make a huge difference to how you feel, hopefully boosting the time you spend feeling on top form.”

The study also found 47 per cent of respondents admitted they were more likely to have days where they feel tired or are in a bad mood than feel completely perfect and 54 per cent said it was rare for them to wake up and feel like they were raring to go as soon as they got out of bed.

On average respondents had less than four hours a day where they felt full of energy. A bad night’s sleep was most likely to leave feeling anything less than tip top, along with stress, going to bed too late and having an early wake up call.

A bad or busy day at work, a poor diet and an argument with someone were also among the most common reasons for having days where they felt a little lousy.

A total of 46 per cent even said they had fallen out with someone as a result of not feeling completely perfect, with many respondents admitting to being snappier than usual when they were tired.

Researchers also found 29 per cent of those polled had pulled a sickie at work because they did not feel in the mood to go in, and almost one in five had pretended to have an appointment to get out of having to go in first thing.

More than half had even cancelled a night out with friends because they did not feel up to it and 22 per cent had pulled out of a date.

SWNS