The problem with our high-tech lives? “Each ding announcing a new email or every ring of the cell phone triggers an increase in the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline,” says Dr. Meyer. As a result, people who experience these interruptions often report higher stress, anxiety and frustration, more lapses in memory and attention, and increased mental effort to reorient to the interrupted work, according to Dr. Mark.

Manage techno intrusions healthfully with these three tips from personal productivity expert Laura Stack, MBA, author of The Exhaustion Cure (Broadway Books, 2008):

Keep email reminders on silent: Microsoft researchers found that email alerts lure workers off track by an average of 15 minutes each time they sound! Check your inbox at designated times devoted to reading and answering emails. During non-email times, create an auto-reply that lets senders know you’ll get back to them shortly.

Set cell phone rules with your family: Ask your family to stick to a fixed time, such as lunch hour, for non-emergency cell phone calls to you during work. This prevents the extremely high stress and difficulty in focusing that University of Wisconsin researchers found among women who took personal mobile phone calls at work because they were forced to take on conflicting roles—mom, daughter, wife, employee—simultaneously.

Power down an hour before bed: Stop surfing the Internet and shut down your computer at least one hour before bed. Going online at night robs us of next-day energy (no matter how much we sleep), according to a study from Japan’s Osaka University. That’s because web surfing increases adrenaline production, and when the resulting revving-up happens just before bedtime, it reduces the amount of restful REM sleep one gets.

Because we tend to imagine the future as ideal—for example, we think meetings will run on time—most of us believe we will have more time a month from now than we do today, according to a Duke University study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. And that often prompts us to take on more than we can handle.

Dodge the trap by only taking on the things you truly care about, advises John Lynch Jr., PhD, professor of consumer psychology at Duke. When someone asks you to do something a month or so in advance, ask yourself, “Would I say yes if they needed it done today or tomorrow?” If so, then ask, “A year from now, is this something I’ll be happy I did?” For example, helping to plan a friend’s baby shower may be a yes, while taking on yet another PTA task may be a no.


Women have an internal de-stressing mechanism we can tap into that men don’t have. The feel-good, social attachment hormone called oxytocin (most well known as the hormone that allows a mother to bond with her baby during breastfeeding or a couple to bond during sex) has been found to lower stress and revive energy in women—but not in men, says Dr. Goldberg.

• Admire your engagement ring.
• Gaze at a photo of your kids or grandkids.
• Stroke your pet’s fur.
• Cuddle with your significant other.
• Say a silent prayer.
• Give a co-worker a compliment.
• Sing or dance in the shower.
• Have your lunch outdoors.
• Wear your “fancy” shoes on a regular day.