9 tricks to calm the work chaos

Most days of the week, you get up, get dressed, eat breakfast and head out into one of the unhealthiest places in the world. Work-related stress can lead to a variety of health issues, but there are many ways you can avoid it and stay calm amid the chaos.

1. Keep a vacation file on your desk. Fill it with brochures of places you'd like to visit. When you're feeling stressed, daydream your way through it. It will remind you of one reason you're working, and provide a little virtual vacation.

2. Read a poem out loud twice a day. The cadence, words and images will soothe your soul. Not into poetry? If you're religious, try reading a psalm or other sacred writings. If you love music, listen to a few of your favourite songs.

3. Take five minutes and draw when things feel as if they're falling apart all around you. Seriously. Grab a pencil and some blank paper and sketch the chaos around you, or something funny, something peaceful or a caricature of the office villain. Using another part of your brain and focusing on something outside the chaos will provide a much-needed break.

4. Listen to music in your office. A study found that listening to music in an office-based working environment led to workers having a more positive mood, which they believe improved their overall work performance. One thing: it was important that the workers were able to choose the music themselves.

5. Talk to your best friend at work. Studies find that social support at work is associated with lower blood pressure during the working day and smaller blood pressure surges even during work-related stressful moments.

6. Rub a drop of lavender oil on your inner wrist. The aroma of lavender (or cucumber oil) is a known relaxant. Close your eyes, hold your wrist up to your nose and sniff deeply, picturing as you do a field of lavender in Provence, the purple stalks waving in the breeze.

7. Leave the office for lunch every day. Getting out of the office, away from the stress and into a totally different environment, clears your mind and helps you to put some perspective on whatever hassles are dogging your day.

8. Build rewards into your working week. Having something to look forward to makes every difficult task more bearable. It might be a special dinner, a film, a game of tennis or a massage. Put it in your schedule wherever it will help the most and think of working hard in advance to get to that reward.

9. Eat a few Brazil nuts. They're an excellent source of selenium, a mineral that may help to prevent depression.