It's beginning to feel a lot like stress! Christmas food shopping is as stressful as taking an exam or having a job interview, study finds
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While there's no doubt Christmas is a time for celebration and joy, it can also be a great source of stress. Now, a new study shows the festive grocery shop – an inevitable task for any festive household – is as stressful as sitting an exam or having a job interview.
![[Heart rates spiked by 44 per cent on average, reaching 115 beats per minute (bpm) when food shopping]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/09/15/92960801-14173977-image-a-11_1733756775502.jpg)
Scientists at Ocado teamed up with Charles Spence, professor of experimental psychology at Oxford University, to assess customers during the big Christmas grocery shop. They fitted 20 volunteers with electrical monitors to detect increases in heart rates – a classic sign of stress – while they pushed their trolley.
![[Scientists fitted 20 volunteers with heart monitors (pictured) to detect increases in their heart rates - a classic sign of stress]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/09/15/92960803-14173977-image-a-10_1733756771387.jpg)
Heart rates spiked by 44 per cent on average, reaching 115 beats per minute (bpm) when food shopping, they found. This is the same level of stress as sitting an exam (up to 115 beats per minute) or having a job interview (up to 115 bpm). It's also nearly as stressful as watching a horror film (110 bpm).
'Heart rates increase when we encounter stress, as adrenaline pumps through the body – and there's nothing like the chaos of Christmas shopping to get it going,' said Professor Spence. A new study shows the festive grocery shop - an inevitable task for any festive household - is as stressful as sitting an exam or having a job interview (file photo).
Heart rates spiked by 44 per cent on average, reaching 115 beats per minute (bpm) when food shopping. In contrast, heart rates of online shoppers' peaked at 82bpm, which was 29 per cent lower than the in-store experience. This is slightly lower than practicing yoga (80bpm) and stroking a cat (77bpm).
