When I’m stressed, it feels like the world is turned up to 11.

Traffic rumbles outside the window like thunder, humid air sticks to my too-warm skin like cling film, and the screen I’ve been staring at for hours is so bright it ripples and laps at the edges like a pool of water.

When every sensation is a bit too much, I can’t think, let alone write – and as a writer, that’s far from ideal.

Unfortunately, I’m not a millionaire who lives in an air-conditioned bubble perfectly attuned to my picky senses — maybe one day.

But I’ve found making even a small investment has the power to stop stress in its tracks, or at least reduce it – a colour-changing lightbulb.

I first heard about them through my job as a tech journalist. I remember being at a conference where loads of gadgets were on show.