Last week, I had an interesting conversation with my fellow commuter, who looked terribly drained and in need of a break.

I thought her look of exhaustion was simply due to the oh-so- lovely London commute which drains everyone – packed trains, no seats, standing up for an hour, delays…it would drain even the sturdiest of people.

As our conversation developed it turned out that my fellow commuter had not had a proper break from work for three years. I was shocked. No wonder why she looked so exhausted! My jaw dropped in disbelief as I tried to diplomatically work out if she was exaggerating or not.

As her story unfolded I could see how she found herself in this predicament. Over the past three years she’d taken a long weekend here and the odd day off there, but had not taken a proper holiday. The days she did take off from work were spent not relaxing and enjoying the fruits of her labour but taking care of what she described as “life admin” – taking the kids to various activities, looking after an unwell member of the family, buying a house etc. etc.

Sadly, the demands of being a professional woman, mother and wife means there was no time for her to sit back, relax and take a break. I was truly amazed at her resilience; this is what we call the modern day superwoman -the woman many of us aspire to be because she has everything. But, when I looked at her there was a hint of sadness in every word and a lot of frustration.

As we parted company I was troubled. Is this what life has become for many of us? Yes, it has. Research has shown that my fellow commuter is not alone. A survey conducted by the Travel Supermarket in 2012 found that 25% of people in the UK do not take their full annual leave entitlement. Furthermore, the UK has the third highest working time in the EU with 11% of employees working more than 48 hours a week.

In this 24 hour, fast paced world that we now live in we are constantly on the go and never switch off. We move from meeting to meeting, stressful situation to stressful situation, project to project and work admin to life admin without pausing to take a break to recharge our battery and this constant state of agitation is not good for our physical and mental health.

In a study conducted by the European Working Conditions Observatory, sixty-nine percent of employees who work more than 48 hours a week stated that they felt tense and 55% said they felt worried or stressed by work. If we combine this with the pressures that may exist at home there will be a significant number of people who are under an enormous and constant amount of pressure with no outlet to relieve it.

We need to remember that stress is not just a feeling but a biological response that is supposed to help us cope with immediate danger. This response includes the release of hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) and an increase in blood pressure and pulse rate. When people are constantly under pressure these stress-induced biological changes can have a negative affect on their health and may increase their risk of, or worsen, a number of health conditions such as heart disease, obesity, diabetes, depression and asthma.

It is important that we minimise the amount of pressure we are under to make sure we aren’t forever running on adrenaline and jeopardising our health. We need to make a concerted effort to have some “me” time. If it’s not practical to have a one or two week break from work then there are a number of techniques that can be utilised to combat the stress that comes with a busy life style; running, walking, other forms of exercise, yoga and Thai Chi are great ways to deal with stress.

Ultimately, it all boils down to balance. Employers and employees need to work together to get the work/life balance right and when we are at home we have to get the life-admin/relaxation balance right too.

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If you’d like more information on managing stress please visit the Stress Management Association’s website.

And, let us know what you think. Are you running on adrenaline? When was the last time you had a proper break? Talk to us in the comments section below.