Updated 4/1/20.
Most of us are familiar with stress balls. Whether you have one sitting on your desk right now, or you have seen them used in a comical sense among stressed out office workers on TV, stress balls have become increasingly popular over the years—and for good reason.
Research shows that using a stress ball can actually enhance emotional stability and deliver significant physical benefits. Knowing this, make sure that you not only have stress balls in your workspace but that you provide them for your customers or prospects to help them improve their sense of positive energy.
Here are some commonly asked questions and our answers, along with favorite stress ball activities.
Do Stress Balls Work?
At first glance, it may seem like something so small and simple couldn’t be that effective. But, like the old saying says, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” These small-but-mighty stress relievers truly do work—and that’s based on research and science.
In an interview with the Huffington Post, David Posen, the author of Is Work Killing You?: A Doctor’s Prescription for Treating Workplace Stress, says,
“The benefit of squeezing is that it releases some kind of energy – it also induces you to relax.”
When we’re stressed, our muscles tend to clench, and squeezing a stress ball forces us to release and relax those muscles.
What Are Some Stress Ball Benefits?
So now that we know that they work, let’s highlight some of the stress ball benefits:
- Relieve arthritis pains
- Reduce anxiety and stress
- Promote better sleep
- Lower blood pressure
- Improve concentration and creativity
- Strengthen muscles
Not Sure How to Use a Stress Ball?
One reason stress balls are so widely used is how easy it is to use them. Here’s a basic and effective outline on how to use a stress ball:
- Squeeze the stress ball in your left hand for 30 seconds.
- Pulse it for 30 seconds.
- Repeat with the right hand.
This video also is a great visual guide on how to use a stress ball.
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Any Ideas for Stress Ball Activities?
Of course! These stress ball uses and activities will help you relax both your body and mind.
1. Tone Your Muscles
Even if you aren’t experiencing stress or anxiety, simply squeezing a stress ball firmly in the hands can help to strengthen the muscles of the forearm, wrists, and hands in no time at all. You can do this practically anywhere – while working, at home while watching TV, or even in the car.
2. Relax During Meetings
Many of us feel that our work weeks are nothing more than a series of meetings. If you find yourself getting tired, irritated, bored, or simply disinterested during one of your business meetings, consider using a stress ball to keep your hands occupied and your mind at peace.
3. Play Games with Your Kids
Use your stress ball to play catch with your kids at home, without fear of punching a hole in your window. Other ideas include learning how to juggle, batting practice, and a good old fashioned game of catch.
4. Massage Your Feet
Slip off your shoes and roll your feet on a couple of stress balls on the ground. This can stimulate acupressure points that provide calming benefits, as well as a boost to your creative thinking abilities.
5. Enhance Communication at Home
Ask your kids or spouse how their day was, and then sit back and listen quietly until it is your time to hold the stress ball. This helps to encourage communication while minimizing disruptions.
6. Do a Stress Ball Hunt
Take a break from working and get everyone in the house involved in a stress ball hunt (think of it as a riff on an Easter egg hunt). Choose someone to hide them, and the rest find them. Winner gets a stress ball.
7. Help Your Customers De-Stress
Custom stress balls are great to mail to your customers if you’re not able to see them face to face—check out these ideas for lumpy mail campaigns.
Now that you know the stress ball uses and benefits, check out these favorites:
Round Stress Reliever Ball
Your classic stress ball, in all the colors you could ever want.
Mood Stress Reliever Ball
The heat from your hand makes this stress ball change colors!
Happy Mood Dude Stress Reliever
How could you not smile when you look at this happy guy?
We hope these stress ball activities help you find some peace and relaxation. If you come up with more ideas, tell us on Facebook or Instagram!
Stress balls were originally intended to be used for remedying stress and tension but with their increasing popularity as a stress relief tool, it seems that squeezing it may have other health benefits. Studies show that when you squeeze a stress ball, your nerves and muscles stimulate and contract which makes them stronger. The strength improves the overall nervous system, which reduces essential hormones and can control your stress levels.
Some of the benefits:
- Relieve arthritis pains
- Enhance emotional stability
- Reduce anxiety and stress
- Lower blood pressure
- Improve concentration and creativity
- Strengthen muscles
- Increased positive energy
- Improve sleep
Stress Balls May Improve Blood Circulation
Many doctors recommend using stress balls for improving blood circulation. Studies show that squeezing a ball can raise your heart rate and increase the oxygen levels in your brain. As a result, your heart will pump harder and thus provide better blood circulation. The better your circulation, the lower the risk for stroke, heart attack and high blood pressure. Stress balls also help prevent the development of hypertension and possible heart disease.
More Benefits
Stress balls are small enough to fit in your pocket, and they are also fairly inexpensive. If you use your stress ball on a regular basis, you may even begin to notice a decrease in your tension. When you have an anxiety attack, your brain starts to get hyperventilating. This causes your body to release adrenaline, which causes your heart rate to increase. By using and squeezing a stress ball, you can relax your mind and take a moment to think about happy thoughts.
Ways to Use Stress Balls
By simply squeezing stress balls regularly you can tone your muscles. Regular exercise will help to strengthen the muscles of your hands and wrists. Many individuals keep one of these balls at their work. Regardless of your profession, if you feel tired, bored or irritated you can use one of these balls to keep your hands occupied and your mind at rest.
- One of the main ways to use a stress ball is to place it on a surface and roll the ball by curling your fingers towards your palm, hold for a few seconds and release your fingers.
- Another popular way is to place a ball between your hands while keeping your arms in a vertical position. Then press for 5 seconds and relax.
- The full grip method is our favourite. If you feel extra stressed out, hold and squeeze a ball as hard as you can for up to 5 seconds, then relax.
Final Thoughts
While stress balls can help with anxiety, stress, blood circulations and more, it is important to remember the results are temporary. In order to find the right balance and improve your overall health, there are many other things that you have to consider. Owning and using a stress ball can not prevent illnesses, diseases or depression, but it can improve those conditions. It is one of the most powerful mindfulness products that can help individuals deal with their condition.
Stress is a chronic problem which all of us are bound to experience. After fidget spinners and bracelets, stress balls are the new favourite gadget people like to use to fight stress, reduce tension and also, in some ways, help in anger management. Just about big enough to fit in your palm, stress balls are easily available and can be used by anyone. In fact, you can even make them yourself!
Apart from stress, these squishy balls can also come in handy in your day-to-day routine to improve your health and help you stay in the best of shape. Here are some benefits you should know about:
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Maybe you’re trying to palm a basketball or grip a football more securely. Perhaps you want to spread your fingers a little wider across a piano keyboard or guitar frets. Or maybe you’ve just always wished your hands were a little bigger.
But can you increase the size of your hands, or is that like hoping you can stretch enough to be a little taller?
The truth is, the actual size of your hands is limited by the size of your hand bones. No amount of stretching, squeezing, or strength training can make your bones any longer or wider.
That said, the hand is powered by about 30 muscles, and they can grow stronger and more flexible with a variety of exercises.
And increasing the strength and reach of your fingers and thumbs, even just a little, may help you no matter what sport or instrument you play.
How to make your hands more muscular
To bolster your grip on a basketball, football, or a stubborn jar of salsa, you can do several simple exercises.
These exercises will not only increase the strength and thickness of certain hand muscles, but they may make your hands appear a bit bigger.
As with any exercise, a good warmup is helpful in preventing injury and discomfort. Before performing these strengthening exercises, soak your hands for a few minutes in warm water or wrap them in a heated towel.
These treatments can also help to relieve hand pain or stiffness caused by arthritis or other musculoskeletal conditions.
The following exercises can be done two or three times per week, but be sure to wait 2 days in between exercises to allow your hand muscles to recover.
Squeezing a soft ball
- Hold a soft stress ball in your palm.
- Squeeze it as hard as you can (without causing any pain).
- Hold the ball tightly for 3 to 5 seconds, and then release.
- Repeat, working your way up to 10 to 12 repetitions with each hand.
For a variation, hold a stress ball between the fingers and thumb of one hand and hold for 30 to 60 seconds.
You may also improve your grip strength by regularly using other exercise implements that require squeezing.
Making a fist and releasing
- Make a fist, wrapping your thumb across the outside of your fingers.
- Hold this position for 1 minute, and then open your hand.
- Spread your fingers as wide as you can for 10 seconds.
- Repeat 3 to 5 times with each hand.
Working with clay
Form a ball with some modeling clay and then role it out. Manipulating clay will strengthen your hands, while creating sculptures with detailed features will also improve your fine motor skills.
Practicing wrist curls and reverse wrist curls
- Sit straight up with your feet flat on the floor.
- Hold a light dumbbell (2 to 5 pounds to start) in one hand.
- Rest that hand, palm up, on your leg so that it’s extending just off the edge of your knee.
- Flex your wrist up so that you bring the weight just above the knee.
- Slowly bend the wrist back down to the starting position.
- Do 10 repetitions, and then switch hands.
- Do 2 to 3 sets of 10 repetitions with each hand.
For reverse wrist curls, do the same thing only have your palms facing down.
How to increase the flexibility of your hand muscles
Stretching your hand muscles can increase their flexibility and range of motion.
The following exercises can be done daily. Just be careful not to overextend your fingers so that you strain any of the muscles or tendons.
Thumb stretch
Hand span is measured across the back of the hand. It’s always a topic of conversation around the NFL draft, where having a longer hand span is seen as a plus for quarterbacks.
But the ability to grip and throw a football well has more to do with strength, flexibility, and technique.
To help widen your hand span — the maximum distance from your thumb to your little finger — follows these steps:
- Gently pull your thumb away from the other fingers with the thumb of your opposite hand. You should feel a slight stretch.
- Hold for 30 seconds, and then relax.
- Repeat with your other hand.
Flat stretch
- Rest one hand, palm down, on a table or other firm surface.
- Slowly straighten all your fingers so that your hand is as flat against the surface as possible.
- Hold for 30 seconds, and then switch hands.
- Repeat 3 to 4 times with each hand.
Finger lift
The finger lift takes a little more time, but it’s helpful in increasing range of motion.
- Start with your hand palm down and flat on a firm surface.
- Gently lift each finger, one at a time, off the table high enough so that you feel a stretch along the top of your finger.
- After you have stretched each finger, repeat the exercise 8 to 10 times.
- Then repeat with your other hand.
What determines the size of your hands?
Like feet, ears, eyes, and every other part of your body, the shape and size of your hands are unique to you.
But you can check out the average measurements for adults and children, if you’re curious to see how your mitts measure up.
Hand size is usually measured in three different ways:
- Length is measured from the tip of your longest finger down to the crease just below the palm.
- Breadth is measured across the widest part of the hand, where the fingers meet the palm.
- Circumference is measured around the palm of your dominant hand and below the knuckles, not including the thumb.
Here are the average adult hand sizes for men and women, according to a comprehensive study by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):
GenderLengthBreadthCircumferencemale7.6 in (19.3 cm)3.5 in (8.9 cm)8.6 in (21.8 cm)female6.8 in (17.3 cm)3.1 in (7.9 cm)7.0 in (17.8 cm)
Besides the more than two dozen muscles, a hand contains 26 bones.
The length and width of those bones are determined by genetics. A parent or grandparent with small or large hands can pass those traits down to you.
For women, bone growth usually stops by the mid-teens, and for men, it’s a few years later. Muscle size, however, can be increased much later.
Hand strengthening exercises can make the muscles larger or thicker, if not longer.
A broken hand or other trauma can also affect the shape and size of the hand.
Key takeaways
While you can’t make your fingers any longer or your palm any larger, a few easy exercises can make your hands stronger and increase your fingers’ flexibility.
These exercises can give you a firmer grip and a slightly wider hand span. Just be sure to perform them carefully so as not to injure the hands that you rely on for so much, regardless of their size.
