Chilling out at the end of the day is harder for some Americans than others. According to a Gallup poll, 18.9 percent of Americans use a mood-altering drug almost every day to relax. Residents of West Virginia top the list at 28.1 percent followed by people living in Rhode Island. at 25.9 percent.
According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, the rate was more than 20 percent for residents of Kentucky, Alabama, Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Missouri, Indiana, and Oregon. The state with the lowest drug rate was Alaska with only 13.5 percent of residents admitting they used drugs to relax. Alaska was followed by Wyoming and California.
At least 450 residents of each state were asked if they used drugs that "affect your mood or help you relax." The interpretation of "drug" could include alcohol, nicotine, prescription drugs, or recreational drugs.
The majority of Americans (62.2 percent) say they never use mood-altering substances.
Those that did were also found to score significantly lower on the Well-Being Index score (56.3 percent), than those who never used drugs or alcohol to relax (63.6 percent).
To read the entire Gallup story, go
here.
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