Longfellow's 21st Century Lunch

By Michelle Castillo

(CBS News) What’s the recipe for a stress-filled life? According to new research, being young, a woman, having a low education level and/or having low income represent the most stressed individuals in the United States.

A new study, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology in the June 2012 issue, marks the first time scientists have been able to track the level of stress across the U.S. over time. Self-reported stress levels increased between 10 and 30 percent over all demographic categories between 1983 and 2009.

“We know that stress contributes to poorer health practices, increased risk for disease, accelerated disease progression and increased mortality,” study author Dr. Sheldon Cohen, the Robert E. Doherty Professor of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., said in the press release. “Differences in stress between demographics may be important markers of populations under increased risk for…