A recent study by research institution Social Weather Stations found that praying is the top activity for adult Filipinos when experiencing stress.
A non-commissioned face-to-face survey conducted the week of September 24 to 1,500 Filipino adults nationwide were asked the following question with a single answer: “Paano po Ninyo nilalabanan ang stress [What do you do to cope with stress]?”
Three hundred people each were surveyed in Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao and 600 from the rest of Luzon, resulting in ±3% for national percentages, ±4% for Balance Luzon and ±6% each for Metro Manila, Visayas, and Mindanao.
The top answer nationwide was praying or engaging in spiritual activities at 16% closely, followed by sleeping or resting at 14% and going out or taking a leisure trip at 11%.
Ways Filipinos cope with stress – SWS Third Quarter 2025
Survey period: Sept 24-30, 2025
Most common coping mechanisms (percent)
Praying
16%
Resting / sleeping
14%
Going out
11%
Thinking positively
7%
Focusing on school / work
6%
Ignoring the problem
6%
Spending time with family
5%
Exercising / going for a walk
5%
Playing sports / e-games
4%
Doing household chores
4%
Showing top 10 responses. Values taken from SWS Third Quarter 2025 national survey.
Other responses (4% or less) include: talking with friends/neighbors; watching TV/movies; eating; singing/listening to music; browsing social media; drinking alcohol; gardening/farming; smoking; crying; seeking medical help. | Philstar.com chart
Thinking positively was another popular answer for 7% of respondents while focusing on work or school and ignoring the problem were both answered 6% of the time.
When broken down by gender, praying is more common among women (20%) than men (12%), where more of the latter would rather sleep or go out (14% and 13% respectively). 14% of women cope with stress by sleeping while 7% do so by thinking positively.
One notable comparison across gender lines was that 8% of men cope with stress by playing sports or online games, response gained from only 1% of female respondents.
Praying was also the top answer for all of Luzon, including Metro Manila (combined 35%) while respondents from Visayas (15%) and Mindanao (19%) answered sleeping more.
Additionally, in Metro Manila, sleeping tied with ignoring the problem as the next most popular response (both 10%) followed by another tie, going out and watching television or movies (both 8%).