Measuring Stress and Biomarkers

• There's no objective way to define "excessive stress", and many struggle to express or quantify it.
• It can be measured by looking at biomarkers, physiological responses that assess how your body reacts to stress.
• Stress consists of triggers (the causes) and responses (how you react emotionally, biologically, or cognitively).
• Measuring stress involves assessing these triggers and responses.

Ways to Measure Stress

• Methods to measure stress look at your body's physiological responses.
• Stress biomarkers include heart rate and brainwaves.
• Stress biomarkers assess how stress affects your body.
• Methods to measure stress include:
• Heart rate variability (HRV)
• Brainwaves
• Hormonal testing
• The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)
• Self-report measures
• Behavioral coding
• Physiological measurements
• Stress responses include emotions, cognitions, behaviors, and physiological responses instigated by stressful stimuli.

Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

• Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis measures stress by recording the variation in time between consecutive heartbeats.
• HRV is controlled by the autonomic nervous system (ANS).
• The ANS includes the sympathetic nervous system, responsible for fight-or-flight response, and the parasympathetic nervous system, which helps you relax.
• An unbalanced ANS, common in chronic fight-or-flight mode, will show up in your HRV.
• HRV is lower when you're in fight-or-flight mode and higher when you're in a calm state.
• High HRV is associated with stress resilience and improved cardiovascular health.
• HRV can be checked via an electrocardiogram by a healthcare professional or measured using personal wearables like chest strap monitors.
• An electrocardiogram records the electrical signals in the heart and is a painless test used to detect heart problems and monitor the heart's health.

Brainwaves

• Electroencephalography (EEG) measures brainwaves/activity.
• Small sensors are attached to the scalp to pick up electrical signals produced by the brain.
• Signals are recorded by a machine, looked at by a doctor and are painless.
• Research suggests that brainwaves can be an accurate way to measure stress response.
• Mental health practitioners can use neurofeedback to measure brainwaves and train the brain with positive feedback when the EEG finds that treatment goals are being met.
• Neurofeedback provides a feedback signal, which teaches self-control of brain functions by measuring brain waves.

Hormonal Testing

• Two hormones associated with stress are adrenalin and cortisol.
• Adrenaline triggers the body's fight-or-flight response.
• Cortisol is the primary stress hormone, that helps your body respond to stress or danger.
• Cortisol increases your body's metabolism of glucose and controls your blood pressure.
• When you're stressed, your body produces adrenalin to give you energy to handle your stressor, this can assist in the fight-or-flight response and why you might feel restless when anxious.
• Cortisol is a hormone produced by the adrenal gland, it also assists with the fight-or-flight response and is involved in regulating: blood sugar, inflammation and metabolism.
• When cortisol is chronically high, it can harm your health leading to:
• Acne
• Difficulty concentrating
• Fatigue
• Headache
• High blood pressure
• Irritability
• Weight gain
• Muscle weakness
• Mood problems
• Lab tests assess your cortisol levels via urine or blood samples.
• You can purchase home cortisol testing kits, for testing cortisol through urine.

Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)

• The Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) is a classic stress assessment instrument developed in 1983.
• The questions in this scale ask about your feelings and thoughts during the last month.
• You are asked to indicate how often you felt or thought a certain way, and should treat each question as a separate question.
• The best approach is to answer fairly quickly, indicating the alternative that seems like a reasonable estimate.
• The PSS is important because your perception of what is happening in your life is most important
• Two individuals could have the exact same events and experiences in their lives for the past month, depending on their perception, the total score could put one person in the low stress category and the other in the high stress category.

Managing stress

• Avoid:
• Create distance between you and something that causes stress
• Take control of your surrounding
• Avoid people who bother you
• Learn to say no
• Alter:
• Communicate clearly and let people know your expectations
• Respectfully ask someone to alter how they are treating you
• Communicate you feelings properly, using "I" statements
• State your limitations in advance
• Accept:
• Accepting the situation can ease much of the stress when avoiding and altering doesn't work
• Talk with someone about how you are feeling
• Forgive yourself or others
• Learn from your mistakes
• Adapt:
• Changing your standards and expectations of stressful situations will help you cope with stress
• Don't strive for perfection
• Practice thought stopping
• Look at the big picture

Other stress relief strategies

• Body relaxation exercises
• breathing techniques
• guided imagery
• Physical exercise
• workout routine
• Mindfulness Meditation
• Counseling
• talk therapy
• life coaching

Other helpful tips

• Change perceptions and expectations
• Break jobs/tasks into manageable parts
• Set reasonable/realistic goals
• Avoid procrastination
• Set boundaries
• Don't compromise your values/beliefs
• Schedule “me” time

Benefits of stress management

• Physical health gets better, with more energy and stamina
• Emotions stabilized, with a positive attitude and hopeful/happier outlook
• Ability to focus improves, enabling one to learn and achieve