Overwhelmed? 5 Ways to Find Peace in Less Than 5 Minutes

The oil in your wok has started to smoke, your dog is barking to go out, the vegetables you were planning to stir-fry are too old to be edible—and Brian Williams has nothing but bad news. It's important to stay on top of current events, but you're not helping anyone by catching up during one of the most frantic times of your day—least of all, yourself. Exposure to media coverage of upsetting events can not only spike stress levels, but it can also make you feel worse physically, found a 2012 Israeli study that assessed 55 chronic-pain patients before and after a local three-week missile attack. Participants who watched more television reports of the attack said that their stress was more acute and their pain felt more intense. Your best bet: DVR the news to watch when the kitchen's closed for the night and every last fork is in the dishwasher.