7 Ways to Relieve Stress in Under an Hour

15 Minutes: Try a DIY Massage

The International Journal of Neuroscience reported that a 15-minute chair massage twice weekly can lower stress, likely by calming the sympathetic nervous system. The at-home approach is an effective alternative. "Simply rolling a tennis ball over muscles with the palm of your hand can trigger a similar response," says Tiffany Field, PhD, director of the Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine.