This Illinois town was just named "Best American City for Mental Wellness." Sorry, Chicago.

Mental health supports include many factors, including greenspaceEmma Simpson on Unsplash

Mental health is a topic on everyone's mind in these trying times. With its fast-paced hustle culture, American life can wreak havoc on our well-being.

Fortunately, a new study on the Best City for Mental Wellness indicates that an Illinois town is the most equipped to support happy and healthy residents.

The study meticulously examined 200 American cities on five key measures supporting mental health outcomes. Within each of these measures were a number of considerations.

• Mental Wellness and Access: this category included the number of stated mental health issues per 100K residents and ease of access to mental health resources.
• Physical Wellness: this category studied health indicators like overall health measures, sleep habits, work hours, use of alcohol and drugs, and access to physical health resources (like bike trails).
• Mindfulness and Social Wellness: looked at lifestyle indicators like divorce rate, pet rate, and access to meditation centers.
• Financial Wellness, examined factors such as housing affordability, food insecurity, and the poverty rate.
• Environment, including access to greenspace, crime rate, and the likelihood of sunshine, among other things.

So, which city is the winner? Sadly, Chicago sunk to number 86 in the rankings, brought down, like other major cities New York and Los Angeles, by high levels of drinking and drugs, and long work hours.

The winner is...

Chicago suburb Naperville, Illinois was the winner, beating all other 199 entries. According to the results, "a small share of adults with poor mental health and low divorce rates brought this city to the top."

In fact, Naperville's mental health and wellness rank was an impressive 8th place out of 200 entries. Comparatively, its rank in physical health is a little lower, at 34.

Napervillians have access to the supports needed to maintain mental wellness. The city placed fourth in terms of the number of therapists per 100K residents. It's also ranked third in terms of the number of residents with health insurance. The study claims that the city, as well as the other top-placed contenders, are "full of therapists, as well as healthy, financially stable, and well-rested adults."

Congratulations to the residents of Naperville, Illinois. An abundance of resources supporting mental health and wellness is something to boast about, indeed.

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