There can be no doubt about the positive changes that have taken place in the last hundred yeas. In Western countries we eat more nutritiously, we are wealthier, we are healthier and there are more opportunities. But then, why, in the midst of so much excitement and opportunity, has life satisfaction declined so much? Why is depression the most common illness in the Western world? And why, when most infectious diseases have been conquered and rates of heart attacks and stokes have been reduced, do so many people report that they are feeling ill? It is argued that "functional illnesses" such as constant tiredness, the inability to sleep and anxiety that makes you ill, are caused by the body's failure to adapt to social change. Modern life is exhausting because we are often compelled to live by its standards, even though technically we have a choice to live otherwise. Everybody thought we would benefit from the invention of machines to carry out the more dull tasks in our life, leaving us many more opportunities for leisure and relaxation. And yet the opposite has happened. Only recently a lifestyle survey found that for 42% of its 5,000 interviewees, lack of sleep was their principal health concern, followed by 34% worrying about general exhaustion. A quarter acknowledged experiencing stress and depression. Working long hours in companies with a restricted social life is threatening our health and people feel unable to cope. The new technological age that claims freedom by allowing us greater flexibility is, in fact, slowly working to destroy us. Jobs for the whole life are an old story. If people take time out to recover, somebody else will come along to fill their position. Who, in this current every-man-for-himself climate, wants their employer to think they cannot cope, especially when there are mortgages  and families at stake? According to the recent lifestyle survey, which of the following was true?
The greatest problem was anxiety over health issues. Roughly a third of interviewees were concerned about overall tiredness. Feeling unhappy was the second most mentioned concern More than half of the interviewees mentioned oversleeping.