How to measure stress?
Psychology professionals and scientists have measured stress with different methods since stress started to gain attention among researchers about a century ago — thanks to medical researcher Hans Selye. Measuring stress has evolved a lot from questionnaires and laboratory tests into simple, in-home variations that will most probably be available for the public in the near future.
Stress measurement methods can be divided into two categories: psychological questionnaires and physiological measurements. Although questionnaires can shed light on the level of stress of an individual by examining perceived psychological symptoms of stress, getting accurate data from a human body requires physiological measurement methods — at least when it comes to researching, monitoring, and comparing stress levels objectively.
The most accurate result will probably come from combining a reliable physical measuring method with a self-assessment.
Many faces of physiological stress
A stress response consists of the activation of the sympathetic nervous system and HPA axis (=the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis), resulting in a release of stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. Stress response, also known as a fight or flight reaction, prepares the body for action and triggers all kinds of changes that are needed to survive the acute situation.
Non-essential functions, such as digestion and immunity, are dampened, while heart, muscles and blood pressure are preparing the body to fight or flee.
These physical reactions give us a lot to monitor, and many of them are in use as indicators of stress. Physiological stress is measured, for instance, by monitoring heart rate variability, breath frequency, blood pressure, and by measuring different stress hormones. Changes among these variables can also happen for other than stress-related reasons, which makes measuring stress more complicated than it might seem without an in-depth exploration.
Cortisol seems to be the winner
Cortisol is best known as a stress hormone, and it has a vital role in our health and well-being. It only becomes an enemy when the production of it keeps going for too long: that’s what we call chronic stress.
Measuring cortisol levels and analyzing the data obtained can give us immediate information about our physical stress.
Cortisol reacts quickly — our body produces it in seconds after the initial realization of a stressful event, which makes the hormone a popular and reliable indicator of stress.
Ideally, a healthy cortisol production follows a pattern called diurnal cortisol slope. The level should be highest in the morning, and it gradually decreases throughout the day, being at the lowest when we’re going to sleep. This daily cycle can be disturbed by stress, hard workouts, certain health conditions, as well as individual differences.
Therefore the best results will come from regular monitoring, which isn’t easy if one needs a laboratory for the measurements. Fortunately, that problem won’t exist anymore once the newest cortisol measurement solutions are available.
Saliva is a mirror of the body
Cortisol can be found in blood, urine, saliva, and hair, and scientists are familiar with all of them. However, saliva contains a lot of information of the body, and it has become a valuable tool among scientists during the past two decades due to its numerous advantages over the measurement of other body fluids.
Why salivary cortisol is one of the best biomarkers of stress:
- Sampling is noninvasive and safe for the donor.
- Obtaining saliva is easy, and training requirements are minimal.
- Saliva sampling is cost-effective.
- Real-time results: Cortisol release is initiated within seconds in the body.
- It’s more reliable compared to venipuncture on people who are afraid of needles or feel nervous about the blood test: among them, sampling itself might increase the amount of cortisol and bias the result.
The potential for salivary-based stress measurement in the fields of diagnostics, research, and health tracking is enormous.
Obviously, measuring cortisol requires accurate timing and data for comparing the results. That’s why proper instructions are necessary, not to mention the consultancy of a health professional before making assumptions.
But when it’s done accurately, measuring salivary cortisol gives us immediate information about the level of physical stress, and it has a lot of practical applications in healthcare, well-being, and stress management.
Soon we can do it ourselves, with the help of our smartphones.
Sources:
Miocevic O, Cole CR, Laughlin MJ, Buck RL, Slowey PD and Shirtcliff EA (2017) Quantitative Lateral Flow Assays for Salivary Biomarker Assessment: A Review.
C Kirschbaum and D H Hellhammer (2007): Salivary Cortisol. Technical University of Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
Thanks for reading!
In case you enjoyed reading this, you’ll find more health and stress-related articles on my profile and INME Health Publication. INME is a result of over 20 years’ research in the Department of Molecular Biotechnology and Diagnostics at the University of Turku, Finland.
INME Health is a next level health tracking solution that empowers people to track their core hormones, like cortisol (=stress) simply at home. Salivary-based stress monitoring product and mobile app are currently in testing stage.
Read more or send us a message to hello@inmehealth.com.
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