By Bunmi Sofola

On the average, we spend five years of our life worrying. That’s one hour and 46 minutes every day! But what is it that keeps us tossing and turning in our beds all night? A recent survey by advice website: Really worried.com found that men and women worry about different things. Women spend more time fretting over money and their partner cheating while men worry more about sex. But youngsters worry most of all.

The research revealed that teenagers are more likely to spend time fretting than their parents or grand-parents. One in ten, 16-19 year-olds admitted to worrying for up to 12 hours a day. Surprisingly, they say they are more concerned about getting on the property ladder than about body image or sex.

Whatever you fret about, it can affect your well-being. Over half of those who took part in the survey said worry caused them sleepless nights. Many people said that worrying about things made them smoke and drink more. Really worried.com founder, Richard Rubin, is a chronic worrier. That’s one of the reasons he set up the website.

He says: “A problem shared is a problem halved. Really worried. corn allows people to share their nuggets of wisdom with one another.” But what is it that makes some of us fret more than others?

According to the British health service provider, BUPA, some psychologists think excessive worrying is linked to personality type. Others think it can be traced back to negative childhood experiences. And, serious anxiety disorders can be the result of chemical imbalances in the brain. Dr. Gillian Butter is a clinical psychologist who has written about worrying. She says she isn’t surprised that younger people fret the most. “The essence of sorry is ‘what if’? You worry less if you’re certain

about things. When you’re young, there are lots of uncertainties—so that adds up to a lot of worries.”

How can we learn to worry less? Break a problem into a list of parts, sequenced in order of priority. Work out a solution for each stage and plan a reward for achieving each goal. Borrow relaxation self-help books or tapes. Make time for regular exercise.

Avoid a high caffeine and alcohol intake as both can increase anxiety and worsen worrying. Dr. Butler adds: “Becoming confident is a way of getting rid of worry. Another is by using curiosity rather than catastrophe. For example, you should think: “I wonder if I will find the man of my dreams rather than: I’m never going to find the man of my dream.”