Everyone experiences stress, and it’s something no one can avoid. But researchers have found that people function best if stress is irregular. A constant barrage of emails from the office, day and night, is enough to make anybody stressed. Via technology, we are often available 24 hours a day. This is a constant source of stress.

Research shows that just taking a break from your email will lower your stress levels. You need to cut yourself off from constant communication and switch off your devices sometimes. That might sound shocking. You might not even be able to imagine doing that. But how relaxed are you when you keep getting emails from work that get your mind working and stressing.

People often even get stressed thinking about emails that might arrive. The only way to break the cycle is to switch them off. So, give yourself blocks of time when you disconnect from technology. Make time for this because it is an important way of controlling stress and developing a calm state of mind. If you can’t disconnect on evenings during the working week, try disconnecting over the weekend.

You’ll be giving yourself a mental rest on a regular basis. The result will be a far less stressed you. When you first go offline, you might find yourself quite uncomfortable about not knowing what’s going on every minute. Thankfully, that feeling will probably disappear once you’re more used to being offline.

Then you can start increasing the time you take away from technology. What about reading a book instead? Or pursuing a hobby that you thought you never had time for? Use your imagination. Just switch if off, at least for a while.