RESEARCH ARTICLE m

insomnia are all common reasons for sick-leave absence from work [1,2] and stress-related illnesses have been studied in workplace settings [3-5]. Stress-related symp-toms found amongst many employees include fatigue, burnout syndrome and gastric complaints [6] Stress, which is the most common reason for sick-leave absence [2,3], may increase the number of days in sick-leave [4,5], reduce productivity [5], and increase the risk of psychiatric disorders [7]. work-related psychological illnesses and research show that insufficient opportunities to recover from work fa-tigue contribute to stress-related illnesses [4]. One way of recovering from and/or preventing stress-related ill-nesses could be through health promoting programs at work places [4,5] where relaxation techniques are used as a method. Health-care programs, including methods of stress-reduction such as relaxation, may be of such importance it will affect the number of sick-leave days [5]. Finding an effective method that can be imple-mented at work places might help individuals to find tools to prevent ill health and psychological negative fac- * Correspondence