As we approach the third and final presidential debate of our election season, feeling a bit of stress seems normal to me. I’ve talked to many who are concerned about the debate tonight, after stories since the last debate have surfaced and amidst talk about what could possibly come up tonight. This goes for both sides: both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have some sort of controversy surrounding their campaigns.

But is the stress significant? I guess one’s definition of significant can vary, but here’s one actual definition: sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy.

Early this week we asked U.S. Adults: Is the current U.S. presidential election a significant source of stress in your life?

And what did we get? About an even split.

48% percent of US Adults are stressed out about the election.

Weighted by U.S. census figures for gender and age, 18 and older: 48% Say Yes, while 52% say No.

Stressed Out–who are the 48%?

Ideology: Environmental charity donors are more likely to answer Yes.

People who volunteer at least once a week are more likely to answer Yes.

Gender: Women are more likely to answer Yes.

Finance: People who follow economic trends are more likely to answer Yes.

Technology usage: Digital device addicts are more likely to answer Yes.

Education: College graduates are more likely to answer Yes.

Entertainment: TV news fans are more likely to answer Yes.

Age: 34-54-year-olds are more likely to answer Yes.

Not Mad About it

Those who aren’t stressing are less likely to be into TV news, are more likely to be men, and are less likely to be influenced by social media.

Political Ideology

Interestingly, Republicans and Democrats are equally as likely to answer that they consider the election to be a source of stress (or not), while independents are much more likely to not be stressed at all. 

You Are What You Watch

Following politics closely may be what causes the stress. As you’ll see in the compare table below, those who answered Yes are nearly twice as likely to follow politics very closely than those who answered No. We are sometimes our own worst enemy.

Those who follow politics very closely are more likely to be stressed out by the election.

Wherever you stand on the candidates, competition of any kind can create a stressful situation. Maybe once all this election stuff is over, we’ll go back to stressing about Brangelina.