Have you felt frustrated, been biting your fingernails or been hiding behind the sofa while watching England at the Euros?
It’s been an anxious watch for a lot of fans over the last month seeing the men’s football team labour to the final of the Euro 2024 tournament, with last-gasp goals and a penalty shootout victory creating constant drama to agonise over.
Read more: Scottish pharmacy sponsors football club as Euro 24 fever takes hold
It’s been so nerve-wrecking that Superdrug has revealed it has seen a huge increase in sales of magnesium tablets across its UK and Republic of Ireland stores to help to "combat" stress.
The multiple yesterday (July 10) reported that it has seen a 209% sales increase of its own brand magnesium tablets in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of last year.
Read more: Superdrug reveals supercharged £112m profits in 2023 as it opens new branches
Magnesium is a mineral that helps to reduce anxiety, relax the body and can “support sleep, mood and stress”, it said.
Superdrug’s pharmacy superintendent Niamh McMillan suggested that the sales increase shows “customers are looking for natural ways to help alleviate stress and support their wellbeing during these hectic times”.
"Summer of stress"
Alongside the "Euros anxiety", Superdrug said that the UK general election and extreme fluctuations in summer weather has led to a “tumultuous few weeks” of tension and uncertainty for the public - adding that these events have contributed to a “summer of stress” in the UK.
Meanwhile, the health and beauty giant’s annual report released last week (July 7) showed that it raked in £1.5 billion in revenue and £112 million profits in 2023 as it opens new branches.
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Football fever took hold of many last month as independent pharmacy chain M & D Green signed a new deal with Scottish football club Queen’s Park FC to be one of its primary shirt sponsors for the 2024/25 season.
And high levels of stress have also been reported within the community pharmacy sector, with C+D's 2023 Salary Survey this year revealing that 59% of contractors considered their stress levels “very high” and a further 26% considered levels “high”.
A wellbeing survey from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) and sector charity Pharmacist Support also this year found that 93% of the community pharmacy workforce are at risk of burnout.