A survey of 2,000 UK adults by Belgian Brewers Hoegaarden shows that while 30
per cent of us admit to being seriously stressed on a daily basis, 84 per cent
believe that just a short walk in a park or the sight of the sea is guaranteed
to lower stress instantly. As you might expect, only 19 per cent of those who
live or work in rural locations say they feel stressed on a daily basis.
Britons increasingly cluster together in urban societies, which explains why
one out of every 10 people in the UK haven't seen a sheep or cow for over six
months and Londoners are almost as likely to have seen a mouse or rat in the
last month (22 per cent), as they are a sheep (28 per cent) or a cow (28 per
cent).
On average city dwellers can expect to endure 73 days before they can enjoy
more than five minutes of silence, while those who live in rural areas go only
14-24 days. Shockingly, almost a quarter (22 per cent) of all Londoners haven't
experienced silence for over six months.
Co-author of the Urban Oasis report Christine Webber says ‘In February
of this year (2005), the TUC reported that the average UK employee does almost
an extra day's work each week in overtime. Although the consequences of this
work pattern are long recognised - increased sickness absences, work-place stress,
low morale and serious health and safety implications - this new research reveals
that our removal from natural elements also has a role in our stress levels
as a nation. For the majority of us, our lives have been spent in an urban environment.
With little time off, we're missing out on both the physical benefits of experiencing
the great outdoors - such as exercise and fresh air, - and on the psychological
benefits of sensory response to nature.'
If you're a stressed city-dweller, Hoegaarden has teamed up with the Office
for Subversive Architecture to launch the Urban Oasis project - a natural pub
that grows out of a turf carpet, and highlights the importance of having nature
in our lives on a daily basis.
HOEGAARDEN URBAN OASIS
London – the Arena, Broadgate Circle (next to Liverpool Street Station), EC2M 2QS. 20 July 05 - 26 July 05
Manchester: Piccadilly Basin, Dale Street, Northern Quarter, M1 2HG. 3 August
05 – 10 August 05