stress Archives

6 ways tech can solve life's little annoyances

Minor tech annoyances can seem small at the moment. But in the grand scheme of things, they can cause stress and wasted time. If you don’t want tech issues to have a significant impact, cut them off with these tech life hacks.

They can even help you when you’re away from your computer. Read on for a few easy ways to make your life easier.

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1. Stop missing important emails

Most email providers let you turn on alerts. This way, you know immediately whenever an email comes in. You may read this and think, “I get too many emails. If I turned on alerts, my phone would constantly blow up!”

Hold on a second. You can turn on alerts for specific email addresses. This way, you’ll never miss an email from an important contact.

Using Gmail as an example, here’s how to use this feature:

Follow these steps on your iPhone, iPad or Android:

First, open the Gmail app.
Tap Menu > Settings.
Select your account.
Then, tap Email notifications > High priority only.

2. Stop forgetting what you need at the store

Always forgetting that one thing at the store? Have your phone remind you to pick it up when you walk through the door. Make a shopping list in the notes section of the Reminders app on your iPhone. Here’s how:

For iPhone:

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Headed back to the office? Best way to keep an eye on your home from anywhere

You know the stress of being a parent. When the kids were young, you jumped at every sneeze, cough and wobbly step.

Now that they’re young adults or teenagers, there are different stresses. Are they driving while distracted by texts and social media messages? At home, are they safe? Are they being responsible for getting home on time from school, not raiding your liquor cabinet and staying out of trouble?

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Self-care for your lazy Sunday

👉 Here’s your permission slip to treat yourself.

💆‍♀️ Knead a break? A personal neck and shoulder massager (25% off) is less pricey than a spa appointment.

🕯️ Scent the mood: This candle warmer (39% off) melts away stress. Totally gift-worthy (even if the gift is for you).

😌 Your glow-up kit: Soothe your face with a jade roller & gua sha set (5% off). 4.5 stars and 40,000+ reviews.

👀 See what eye did here: Grace & stella’s under-eye masks (42% off) are the kind of bags you want down there.

💧 Heel, yeah: Slip on these moisturizing socks (35% off) for your dry feet or cracked heels.

❤️ Share the love: I’ve rounded up even more feel-good faves on my Amazon storefront to explore.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Minimize your stress: Pressing Windows key + M on a PC or Cmd + Option + H + M on a Mac minimizes all your windows so you don’t have to do it one by one. To minimize all but the one you’re using, use Windows key + Home on a PC or Cmd + Option + H on a Mac.

🌌 You are glowing: Turns out your cells are out there throwing microscopic raves 24/7. Humans emit ultraweak photon emissions — basically cellular sparkle dust — until we die. It’s metabolic, not magic. You just can’t see it unless you’re in a lab with fancy cameras. But yes, you are technically glowing with stress and slowly fading like a bio glow stick.

1 second

That’s all it takes for your body to freeze under stress and start making smarter decisions. In a wild twist on the panic playbook, Dutch professor Karin Roelofs says freezing under stress is your nervous system’s version of going into “emergency focus mode.” Not stuck, strategizing. Less deer in headlights, more sniper on a mission.

🔋 Don’t let your phone battery die: Letting it hit 0% too often can hurt performance and shorten its lifespan. Experts say it’s best to keep it between 30% and 80% to avoid unnecessary stress. My advice? Always carry a portable charger with you. Here’s one with multiple cables that’s 21% off.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Can your phone help you de-stress? It can with this app

StackCommerce

We don’t care what your daily routine is. Whether you work from home or in a bustling office, you’re dealing with cranky children or a badly-timed car breakdown, stress has a way of finding you.

Conversely, you’ve got to actively look for peace and quiet. You can find a little zen in a sudden rainbow, a setting sun or the sound of waves. And sometimes, you can find it in some pretty surprising places, too. But the most surprising place to find serenity might be your smartphone.

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From dough to done

🍕 Hungry to take your kitchen up a notch? I got you covered.

Bake like a pro with a sifter (7% off) for flour, sugar and coffee.
Tired hands? Just push the button on this can opener (38% off).
Stick a pantry organizer (15% off) over your door for instant shelves.
These pizza containers ($25) are perfectly triangular-shaped.
Don’t whine, a glass chiller ($50) keeps your wine nice and cool.

🧤 No mess or stress: Snag a pack of, yep, 600 disposable gloves (33% off) for food prep. They’re BPA and latex-free.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

🙃 Take a people detox: Humans need each other. But sometimes you just want everyone to disappear. That’s not misanthropy, that’s “aloneliness”: the emotional ache of not getting enough alone time. New research shows even 15 minutes of solitude lowers stress, boosts creativity and dials down cortisol. So give yourself some me time today.

🦷 May the floss be with you: I never thought this would be something. Tufts made a smart dental floss that detects cortisol (your stress hormone) by poking around spit and sends the drama readings straight to your phone. Coming next: trauma-reading mouthwash.

🌙 Need a bedtime story for the kids? It’s tough to get creative at 8 p.m. when your brain’s fried from a long day. No worries, just use a chatbot to tell the tale. I like to include the child’s age, interests and a theme. For example: “Can you make up a bedtime story for a 5-year-old boy about a brave knight?” Voilà, no stress to impress.

😓 To-do list stress? Goblin.tools uses AI to estimate how long tasks take and breaks them into easy steps. Type in your to-do (like spring-cleaning the house) and hit Add (+). Rate how detailed you want the steps by clicking the 🌶 icon. Yup, it’s free.

25%

Americans feel burned out before they turn 30. Many Gen Z and millennials say they’ve hit “peak stress” at 25. That’s way younger than the average of 42 years old when most folks start having a midlife crisis.

🙏 A nurse says her Oura Ring saved her life: Nikki had been dealing with night sweats and fatigue but brushed it off — until her Oura app kept warning her that her body was under stress. That push made her see a doctor, where she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer with the same symptoms. The Oura Ring is FSA or HSA eligible, btw.

We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.

Last laugh: Trolls helped Amy Schumer figure out she has Cushing’s syndrome. The condition makes your body produce too much cortisol (the stress hormone), causing facial swelling known as “moon face.” Guess online haters are good for something.