(English) Who invented stress balls?

Millions of women suffer from stress every day and easy stress management and control becoming really necessary. Stress balls could be considered as easy effective stress relief method and stress balls could be recommended to many women – they could be used easily any time any anywhere (while on the phone, during meetings, while reading, during relaxation). The goal of any form of stress management (including stress balls) is to shift the mind away from stressful thoughts, allowing the body and mind to calm down.

Chinese Stress Balls

Stress balls are coming from Chinese culture during the Ming Dynasty. The earliest form of modern stress balls was small balls of iron made by a blacksmith in the town of Baoding – this is why in nowadays stress balls could be called « iron balls » in Boading, China.

First stress ball originated in Heibei, China during the Ming Dynasty in 1368 A.D.   At that time people already observe that stress can be managed by use of hands (keeping hand busy). First stress balls were known as Baoding Balls (or Chinese Health Balls) – these balls were made of solid metal but today they are made of chrome with tiny chimes inside. The use of heavy stress balls were meant to flow and rotate and create a weighted pressure in the palm of the hand relieving tension by weighing on the pressure points in the hand. The theories behind using Chinese stress balls were to increase circulation throughout the body. All ten fingers are connected to the cranial nerves and other nerves throughout the human body.

Chinese Medicine & Stress Balls

According to Chinese medicine stress balls stimulating hand acupressure points which are creating positive effects on whole body. Chinese stress balls or so called “Baoding balls” are hard and meant to be rotated in the palm of the hand while keeping even and constant contact between them.

The Chinese stress balls are used to reduce stress by rotating them in one hand, usually in pairs, which is believed to stimulate acupressure points in the nervous system. In their flexible contemporary forms, stress balls are squeezed for a few seconds, held closed and released to relieve muscle tension.