Excessive stress damages your immune system, contributes to heart problems, reduces your enjoyment of life and harms your relationships. There is only one person who can stop the stress in your life, and that is you.

A good method of stress reduction is to create your very own stress free zone. This will be a very individual thing and can either be a room or an area of a room. You'll often hear about people having "their chair" in a room. This is not necessarily just because they want to be in a particular chair, but also because the chair is associated with relaxation and being stress free.

Whatever it is you have in the environment is entirely up to you, but make sure it relaxes you and allows you to let go of the stresses of the day.

Firstly, make sure you are comfortable. Make sure whatever you are sitting or lying on is comfortable and feels good for you. It could be a chair, a sofa, or even cushions. Just make sure it is something that you can sink into and relax completely.

Make sure the lighting is not too harsh. Soft lighting makes the atmosphere more relaxed. If possibly, find yourself natural daylight light bulbs as these will give you the full spectrum of light and help you relax even more.

If you can, and you like them, have some real plants around you. These help improve the air quality and have a nice feeling about them.

I can also recommend using an ionizer to remove negative ions from the air. These help make a fresher and more energizing environment. The best you can find are natural ionizers such as salt lamps, which you can find in many gift shops these days. As the natural salt is heated by the bulb it gives of positive ions.

Use sound and smell to make your environment more relaxing. Use music and air fresheners or incense, depending on what you prefer. Sound and smell are very strong senses and if you use good smells and relaxing sounds you can very quickly reduce your stress levels. Again, these are highly individual, so whatever you decide is right is right for you.

And finally, unplug the phone. A ringing phone in itself can cause stress, so if you unplug it whilst you are having your relaxation time it will help you relax even more.

Of course, this can apply just as much to your office space, though your boss may not be so happy about the phone being unplugged.

Create your very own stress free zone both at work and at home and it will help you to relax and rejuvenate yourself