Excessive stress is associated with health complications. Are there ways to accurately measure stress levels?
Although stress is a natural and inevitable part of life, many people feel that they’re experiencing excessive stress levels.
However, there’s no objective way to define “excessive stress.” Many people find it hard to express or quantify their stress.
There are a few methods for measuring stress. These look at certain biomarkers — in other words, physiological responses — to assess how your body responds to stress.
How can you measure stress?
There are two components of stress:
- Stress triggers: the factors that cause stress
- Stress response: how you respond to stress triggers on an emotional, biological, or cognitive level
When we talk about measuring stress, we tend to be talking about measuring triggers or responses. Measuring stress triggers can include taking stock of the major life changes you’ve been under.
However, everybody responds to triggers differently. Events that might be very stressful for one person can be easily manageable for the other.
The following ways to measure stress look specifically at measuring your stress response. These methods of measuring stress look at your body’s physiological responses. They record stress biomarkers such as your heart rate and brainwaves to assess how stress affects your body.
-Heart rate variability (HRV)
-Brainwaves
-Hormonal testing
-The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
What are stress trackers?
There are at-home devices that claim to track stress. Usually, these devices track stress by measuring your heart rate and heart rate variability. Many fitness trackers, including smartwatches and chest strap monitors, have stress analysis features.
Are wearable stress trackers accurate? It’s not easy to say. There’s a lack of research into whether these are accurate. However, because these trackers only use one variable — typically your heart — they don’t give a complete picture of your body’s stress response.
Tips :
- Try some exercise
- Practice deep breathing exercises
- Limit screen time
- Spend time with others
- Try meditating regularly
- Spend time in nature
