A HOST of minor irritations and frustrations affect us every day as we go about our lives. Small things like getting stuck in traffic,  sitting in an uncomfortable chair, being distracted by gossip, or trying to find things in a cluttered  disorganized office or home  all inject small doses of  stress in your day. Each small frustration either triggers a release of small amounts of stress hormones into our bodies or reduces our overall sense of happiness. This creates a background level of stress that is  aggravated by any  serious stressful incident  in  our lives. By managing the small stresses in our lives, we can reduce the effect of the major stresses when they occur.

Sources in the environment that lead to stress
We experience a variety of small environmental stresses every day. These range from the frustrations of commuting, to badly organized workspaces, poor ergonomics, untidiness and noise among others.

Noise
High levels of background noise can cause stress by severely impairing the ability to concentrate. Excessive, intermittent or unpredictable noise can raise blood pressure, and reduce performance at complex tasks. It can cause irritability, tension and headaches, in addition to a loss of concentration. It can also damage a team’s work, as people in a noisy environment tend to become more irritable and less willing to help one-another. In a home environment, unwanted noise can be even more stressful and irritating as it intrudes on private space.

Untidiness
An environment that is dirty, uncomfortable or neglected, can also cause stress. Similarly, if a living or working area is untidy and chaotic, then this can be distracting and make it more difficult to achieve goals.
Not only is a dirty, dingy working environment unpleasant to work in but it is also creates a bad image for the organizations/businesses and results in lower productivity.

Lighting
Bad lighting can cause a strain on eyes and increase fatigue, as can light that is too bright or light that shines directly into your eyes. The quality of light is also important and most people are happiest in bright daylight. In fact, this may trigger a release of chemicals in the body that brings a sense of emotional wellness. Normal artificial light does not seem to have the same effect on mood.
Many of these stresses can be controlled once people recognize and make the effort to reduce their sources.  By managing the background stress caused by the environment, we can reduce overall stress levels.

Managing our environment to reduce stress
Taking the time to arrange our surroundings so that it is comfortable will significantly reduce stress. Here are some simple things that could be done to reduce stress caused by the environment:
•    Ensure that your chair is properly adjusted and not causing pain or damage to your body.
•    Make sure that your monitor and keyboard are comfortably placed, and that you are well positioned when using both.
•    Take breaks periodically if your eyes get sore when looking at a monitor.
•    Install partitions to deaden sound.
•    Have a meeting room separate from the main work area.
•    Use a quiet room when concentration is needed.
•    Use earplugs when necessary.
•    Adopt a suitably assertive manner when dealing with noise from neighbours and people living in the same house.
•    Think about physical barriers that can be used to reduce noise from outside the home.
•    Maintain a reasonable standard in your surroundings – plants and pictures are not costly and go a far way in making the environment pleasant
•    Working by a window or using a desk lamp is likely to improve the quality of the working environment.
•    Establish smoke-free zones.
•    Open windows and make use of natural air, sunlight and scenery as much as possible.
•    Introduce plants where the air is too dry. Evaporation of  water from the plant pots or from the plants themselves will help to raise humidity. Not only do plants raise the amount of oxygen in the air and reduce stuffiness, they also help to absorb pollutants in the air.
•    You can share ideas and questions by sending your letters to: ‘Our Earth, Our Environment’, C/o EIT Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email eit.epaguyana@gmail.com