{"id":67940,"date":"2022-10-05T08:06:47","date_gmt":"2022-10-05T13:06:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/?p=67940"},"modified":"2024-04-06T06:17:40","modified_gmt":"2024-04-06T06:17:40","slug":"how-you-can-use-healthcare-technology-to-reduce-stress","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.stress.org\/news\/how-you-can-use-healthcare-technology-to-reduce-stress\/","title":{"rendered":"How You Can Use Healthcare Technology to Reduce Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

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*This is an article from the Fall 2022 issue of Contentment Magazine.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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By Charlie Grantham<\/strong>, PhD, MSH, FAIS, APF<\/p>\n

Context<\/h2>\n

This is not a new idea. The polygraph, invented in the 1930s, measured breathing rate, galvanic skin response, blood pressure, and pulse. Its use in criminal and security investigations rests upon the theory that attempts at verbal deception were correlated with physiological responses. Technological advances during the 1980s, including measuring variation in speech patterns, were based on the same assumption. Unfortunately, these approaches have failed to stand up to scientifically reliable validity tests.1<\/sup><\/p>\n

Theory<\/h2>\n

The basic idea of using contemporary healthcare technology (i.e., biometrics) is that it can create a valid and reliable evidence-based feedback loop. Biometrics can make the typically invisible visible. People can monitor their physiological stress levels and use that information to intervene in the environment\/person system.<\/p>\n

Put another way, biometric technology enables a systemic connection between a person’s physiological state and their intentional, conscious actions to mitigate the effects of stress.<\/p>\n

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Figure 1. Exercise reduces Stress and together they synergistically enhance the key aspects of wellbeing.<\/p>\n

A simple example of this would be a heart rate monitor indicating a rapid increase in heart rate. This, in turn, alerts the person to take action based on prior knowledge of action\/reaction (i.e., the script) to decrease heart rate, such as a brief mediation exercise.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Measurable Metrics<\/h2>\n

A whole range of biometrics can be reliably measured with the technology available in a non-clinical setting. I will focus here on standard metrics found in a category of products called ‘wearables.\u2019 Most are marketed as \u2018fitness trackers\u2019 and health monitors. They are designed to be physically connected to the user in routine daily activities. The most common form is a watch-like device. I’ll discuss some future possibilities in a later section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Factor<\/strong><\/td>\nMetrics<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sleep<\/strong><\/td>\nl\u00a0 Total time<\/p>\n

l\u00a0 Deep sleep time<\/p>\n

l\u00a0 Disruptions<\/p>\n

l\u00a0 Sleep rhythm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Exercise<\/strong><\/td>\nl\u00a0 Movement time<\/p>\n

l\u00a0 Elevated heart rate time<\/p>\n

l\u00a0 Calories burned<\/p>\n

l\u00a0 Stairs climbed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Cardiac Function<\/strong><\/td>\nl\u00a0 Heart rate (resting and active)<\/p>\n

l\u00a0 Heart Rate Variability<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Current Technology<\/h2>\n

There has been an explosion of non-clinical biometric devices in the past three years. With the advent of the smartphone, we have been introduced to ‘face scans’ for user authentication, fingerprint readers instead of typed passwords, and voice recognition for operating Alexa, Siri, and \u201cHey Google.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the interest of brevity, I will focus on just three popular commercial devices. These are merely exemplary, and citation here does not explicitly or implicitly serve as a product review or recommendation. A simple internet search for the curious reader, will yield a host of comparable items. (Descriptions are courtesy of Wikipedia as an agnostic source of product information.)<\/p>\n