These 6 desktop gadgets can help reduce stress
- apr
- 17
What are the best gadgets and gizmos to ease anxiety and fight off stress?
Anxious from long, tedious days at the office? Stressed a bit more than you normally are? Find yourself looking for a way to simply… Relax? Unwind? Chill the eff out?
If you're someone who has a hard time de-stressing and mellowing out at work or at your home office, it can be difficult to find something that actually works to take away your tension & anxiety. Luckily for you, there are quite a number of gadgets and gizmos out there that you can plug in, play with, or squeeze to reduce your stress level!
- Fidget Cube
- Thinking Putty
- InnoGear Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser
- Fidgetty Spinner
- Moon Ball
- Silicone Sponge
Fidget Cube
If you're looking to de-stress at your desk with something that can fit in the palm of your hand, and if you're someone who fidgets and fumbles with knick-knacks to distract yourself, then the Fidget Cube might be your perfect stress reducing desktop gadget!
Amanda Kooser, CNET:
The Fidget Cube went from a modest $15,000 funding goal to topping $2 million (£1.5 million, AU$2.6 million) in pledges… What's so special about this vinyl cube? It's a fidgeter's dream. The box is stuffed full of tactile toys.
The Fidget Cube comes with six different sides, and each side features something you can play and fidget with. There's the Click side, which eliminates the need to click your pen, the Glide side, which simulates the gliding action of a joystick, the Flip side, which is similar to flipping a light switch on and off, the Breathe side, which mimics a traditional worry stone for soothing rubbing, the Roll side which is outfitted with gears and a ball to deliver different types of rolling movements, and the Spin side, which provides users with a circular fidget.
The Fidget Cube comes in 10 different color schemes, including dice, graphite, midnight, aqua, sunset, berry, fresh, retro, Kickstarter edition, and backer designed, which is a color scheme/layout that's been voted on by the Fidget family! Just pick out your perfect color cube and start fidgeting!
Fidget Cube Kickstarter:
We believe that the way we look at fidgeting needs to change. This behavior isn't one that should continue to be stigmatized and mocked as unbecoming or inappropriate. We are passionate about the idea that fidgeting is a process that, with the right tools and outlet, can have positive and real-life applications.
Thinking Putty
Remember when you were younger and had the chance to open a fresh, soft new pot of Play-Doh for all your rainbow spaghetti needs? Remember cracking open a new putty egg and playing and stretching that stuff until it was covered in dirt and bit and pieces had broken off?
If you're someone who likes to squish, squeeze, and sink their hands into a less-stressful life, then Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty from Putty World has your back!
Made in the USA and delivered in a sharp, eye catching tin, this special stress putty is designed to be molded and played with directly at your desk. Depending on your level of stress and the type of putty you want to squish, you can either pick up soft or firm putty – you can even pick some up with 24 karat gold if you work a high-class office job.
You can pick up your Thinking Putty in almost any color or finish imaginable: if you're a fan of bright, bold pigment, then you might want to check out their hypercolors, but if you prefer some Thinking Putty that has a lil' magnetic attraction action built in (for more fun possibilities at your desk!) then check out their super magnetics putty.
@hellorousseau @iMore @thethinket, Fidget Cube from @antsylabs, @ThinkingPutty, and a Moonball.
— John Mason (@jhnmason) April 14, 2017
InnoGear Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser
Certain scents and smells can actually soothe and relax you, and if you're not someone who likes to fidget their stress away or do deep-meditation at your desk, then opting for an essential oil diffuser might be a simple solution to save your sanity.
The InnoGear Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser works by adding a little bit of water to the diffuser and then a few drops of your favorite calming essential oils. Smells like lavender, rose, vetiver, ylang ylang, bergamot, chamomile, and frankincense can all be incredibly calming to breathe in.
This particular infuser is designed with a natural wood grain, so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb in most office spaces. You can even adjust time your infuser runs for: 1 hour, 3 hours, or 6 hours, and set the infuser to display different mood lighting like a calming blue or soothing, deep purple.
If you work in an office environment that has strict scent policies and are worried about people complaining about a constant stream of steam rising from your desk, don't worry, because the InnoGear Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser can be set to a strong stream or a weak stream setting!
Fidgetty Spinner
Spin away your stress and ease your tensions at your desk with the Fidgetty Spinner aka "the desk toy that you never knew you needed".
Potentially the simplest gizmo on our list, the Fidgetty Spinner works by you pinching the peculiar little triangle in between your thumb and forefinger and flicking it to spin it. You can train your fingers to spin it back in fourth, or flick it to spin it rapidly like a propeller!
The best part is is that the Fidgetty Spinner is so small, you can easily take it from your desk to a Skype call with your boss, to the kitchen to grab water, and so much more without drawing any obvious attention to yourself.
The Fidgetty Spinner comes in a couple of different colors to match your personal style, including red, black, blue, white, and bright yellow.
Moon Ball
Neil Armstrong:
That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.
… While Neil was talking about the actual moon-moon in that famous quote, it's not a stretch to apply the same logic to the Moon Ball. Afterall, it is a giant leap– er, I mean bounce, for mankind's stress level!
This little ball has all the bounce and squish you can ask for in a stress toy, with 'gravity-defying' features that make it great for tossing against a wall or on the floor for those tense moments, and a squishy, flexible frame that makes it great for grabbing and gripping.
Fair warning, though, if you're in an office that has some close corridors, be careful with the Moon Ball: this little desktop buddy can bounce up to 30 meters (or 100 feet) high, so if you lose control of it after an aggressive bounce, you're going to probably have some explaining to do to your coworkers and boss.
Silicone Sponge
Before you stop me and go "HEY! What gives, Cella?! This is a makeup tool, not a de-stress tool!" hear me out – Silicone Sponges are incredible to squish in times of stress, are super duper inexpensive online, are easy to clean, come in a ton of fun colors, and don't draw any attention to you as you're squeezing it and de-stressing!
While these Silicone Spongers first made their debut on the Instagram beauty community back in the fall of 2016, they actually function insanely well as a stress toy.
Their small, compact, sanitary design makes it the perfect tool to fiddle and play with throughout the day and store at your desk when you're done, and while some stress balls are porous, absorb bacteria, and become discolored over time, the Silicone Sponge can get clean from simply running it under warm water with some soap.
If you're someone who likes to add a little pop of color to your workspace, you can pick up your Silicone Sponge in bright colors like hot pink, baby blue, and purple, or you could stick to the clear or black models.
How do you de-stress at your desk?
Are you someone who's a firm believer in stress balls, or do you prefer glancing at some therapeutic light to calm you down at work?
Let us know how you manage your stress and get rid of your tension at the office in the comments below!