Stress. It’s everywhere. But, you don’t have to put up with it. In fact, more and more professionals are finding that working less, and taking more frequent vacations, is improving their life as well as their professional career. Here are five great stress toys to help you chill out.

Cube Bot

Cube Bot is a, well, a cube that sits on your desk. Think of him as a transformer made out of wood or sponge material that can be folded, played with, and can interact with your desk and everything on it.

It’s a puzzle. It’s a toy. It’s a stress reliever. It’s inspired by Japanese puzzles, but it’s one of the coolest ways to zone out on your break or when you get home and need to unwind.

Legos

Ah Legos. You remember those, right? These toys aren’t just for kids. Many adults find solace in building trains, planes, cars, boats, and entire miniature universes out of plastic bricks. Little Lego men and women help populate your universe, and you can design pretty much whatever you want.

Let your imagination run free. This is one of those underrated and probably under-appreciated toys. While most toys, like stress balls and tennis balls, are not much to interact with – they’re mostly distractions in and of themselves, Legos are engaging.

And, there’s many ways to benefit from them. You can snap and unsnap the pieces to give yourself auditory distraction and relaxation. You can also build things with them and play a small game of “make-believe” (yes, it’s appropriate for adults). You could even just play with the little Lego man figurines.

Miniature Zen Garden

The miniature Zen Garden is like the real thing, only smaller. These toys usually come with a miniature rake, a small sandbox, and some small Bonsai trees. They can be very relaxing, especially if you’re playing music in the office.

The key with these things is to really just “zone out” and focus on the raking.

Yes, it might sound a little hokey, but this is stress reduction. It’s about clearing out all of the “junk” in your mind so that you can really settle down and clear your mind.

Some mini Zen gardens also come with a water feature and rocks.

The idea with these is to rake around them. It becomes sort of a game. You make lines in the sand – kind of like art – and then sit back and contemplate them. This is supposed to be a relaxing time, and you shouldn’t be working too hard at it.

Perplexus

Perplexus is a game that was initially designed for kids, but you’ll probably get a lot out of it too. It’s a clear ball with 100 different obstacles inside – almost like a 3D labyrinth. You guide your little ball through the maze. Once you get closer to the centre, things get pretty difficult.

And here is where the stress reduction comes into play. The game is just challenging enough to keep your mind distracted and focused on one single thing, and yet it’s not so challenging that it becomes its own source of stress.

One of the reasons why this works is because a major source of stress in peoples’ lives is multitasking. Most people erroneously believe that they can multitask, and that this is a normal part of like – that it can be learned.

Yet, according to recent research dating back to 2009, multitasking may not mean higher productivity. In fact, it may mean lower productivity. The brain works best, most efficiently, when it has one task to do, rather than multiple tasks.

More focus and concentration can be given to that one task. Consequently, when attention is divided among multiple tasks, accuracy and efficacy can drop dramatically.

So, in a way, toys like this get you back to “centre,” where you can focus on one thing, thus reducing stress.

iPod


This local Mercedes Benz dealer may be the spa of the future, given that new luxury models come with integration for high-priced toys like iPods and iPhones.

But, how can these electronic devices be relaxing? Well, they house music, apps like MyNoise and Headspace, and provide a way for your to escape your hectic lifestyle, surrounded by a familiar space – your car.

And, if that’s not working for you, you can always ride off into the sunset. Either way, Apple and Android have given us one of the coolest stress reducers known to man.

Mark Guberina is the Dealer Principal at G Brothers Motor Group. A busy executive, he likes to relax by blogging about his experiences online.