Are you ready?
We asked 2,000 UK adults how ready they actually feel. The answer is a nation running well under capacity — and not believing it can train its way back up.
What we found
2,000 UK adults · OnePoll · Nationally representative · 27 August – 2 September 2026
The UK is running at two-thirds of itself.
On average, people rate their own capacity at just 66% on any given day. 1 in 9 couldn't even put a number on it.
76% think energy levels aren't trainable.
47% of Britons feel low on energy three or more days a week. Only 24% think they can improve it with training.
We'd rather avoid stress than build for it.
Only 22% of people said they'd rather build their ability to cope with stress. 36% would rather avoid it.
The dread is worse than the doing.
50% expect to feel anxious before going out of their comfort zone. Only 5% come out of a comfort-zone challenge feeling less confident.
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Why now?
Anxiety is building. Readiness isn't.
Anxiety is now the most common mental health condition on the planet. The World Health Organization puts the number at 470 million people worldwide — around 5.8% of the global population, with only one in four ever getting treatment. In the UK alone, the Health and Safety Executive puts the cost at 22.1 million working days lost in 2025 to stress, depression or anxiety.
The response is almost entirely about calming down. Breathwork. Meditation. Sleep tech. Even the watch on your wrist now has a number telling you to take it easy today. All good. All soothing. None of it rehearses anything.
It's no surprise readiness has come to the fore: the Global Wellness Summit's 2026 trend report says "ready is the new well," and Apple has just put a readiness score on its watch. A readiness score on your wrist is useful — but as an overnight reading of your heart-rate variability, it tells you about your night, not whether you could get better at meeting whatever the day throws at you.
Sources: WHO Anxiety Disorders Factsheet · Global Wellness Summit
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