With the help of outside backers, Lew worked to highlight the psychological benefits of taking a breather at work and the importance of breaks on happiness, productivity and creativity - versus the risk of stress and burning out.

The School of Visual Arts student eventually developed the Nutshell into a dark, opaque pod with a headphone helmet for relaxing music and an accompanying app teaching people how to take productive and calming breaks.

While the idea has yet to see the light of day (it was created for the purposes of a seven-week college project), it certainly gave us food for thought.

Many forward-thinking employers such as Google already use high-tech nap pods for their employees to wind down in.

But we can't really imagine snapping open a pod from the comfort of our desks whenever we fancy five minutes out - however tempting the prospect may be.

Click here to find out about 10 rather less dramatic solutions for immediately lifting stress or come read about the five work rules every productive person lives by.

Is work stress getting the better of you? Try retreating into a wearable "Nutshell" pod