Stress baking helped during U.S. election

The 2020 U.S. presidential election was a stressful event for many people. A poll conducted by the marketing research company OnePoll found that the election was a main cause of stress in 49 per cent of people. Only COVID-19 caused greater stress. The poll found that 55 per cent of the 2,000 adults in the survey believed that November the 3rd, 2020 would be the tensest day yet this year. In addition, 59 per cent said they couldn't imagine being more stressed than they already were. Furthermore, 67 per cent wanted 2020 to be over. Naomi Hirabayashi, cofounder of the self-care app Shine, said: "It's not just the election anxiety - this year has been a marathon of stress. These are not normal times."

The months of non-stop news coverage caused many people to get stressed out. One thing many people did to relieve stress was to bake. Stress baking rose in popularity in 2020. More cakes and bread have been going into ovens in the run-up to the election. Stress baking is now in the top five most effective self-care practices of 2020. The poll found that 27 per cent of people used baking as a stress reliever. Unfortunately, 41 per cent of people said the stress of 2020 caused them to gain weight. One American woman said stress baking reduced her election stress. She said: "I'm prepared and have a post-election plan. In reality, we probably won't have a clear winner for weeks after election day."