Measuring Stress - Existing Tools

Make a search on the internet for the term "stress" and you will see how many people are talking about it. With the global economic recession in our midst, the study of stress has become even more important. With stress affecting all major systems in the body, the lack of stress management skills has a huge impact on health and well being.

Recognize stress early to fight it promptly. According to many medical experts, the key to fighting stress is understanding it. You need to recognize its symptoms so you can take action to control it before it controls you. Physiological responses are the easiest to spot. If your heart rate and blood pressure has increased, you palms are sweaty and your pulse rate is racing, then you’re probably experiencing stress. For most people, spotting the first signs of stress is difficult, especially when they are so engaged with the stressor. Hence, stress monitoring tools have become important in aiding stress management.

Stress Monitors. Through these tools, you can measure stress real time. Now you catch stress at its earliest, even when you haven’t felt it yet! Here are the existing tools used to measure stress:

1. Stress assessment tests:
Have you ever taken an IQ test online? If yes, then you probably know what a stress assessment test is. It has a series of 10 to 15 questions which were designed to identify your current level of stress. Some of the most popular stress assessment tests were devised by Mayo Clinic, MSN and AOL. These tests are interactive tools and are available to anyone who wishes to use them.

2. Clarion Audit Management System:
If you are running a company and you wish to know the stress level of your employees and whether it is affecting their work, Clarion’s Audit Management System can help you. With their system, a company can now design its own questionnaire incorporating questions that will help determine the source of stress as well as the perceived most effective solutions. It works a lot like the stress assessment tests but the difference is that the Clarion Audit Management System was designed for managers. It comes complete with the reporting and analysis tools so that the manager can easily get the results they need.

3. Biodots:
These are relatively cheap and can be purchased almost anywhere online. These are plastic squares or circles which changes its color as the temperature warms up or cools down. To use it, you just have to peel off a piece and stick it to your skin (preferably in the skin between the thumb and index finger). Each color represents a state - red/brown is indicates that you are stressed, green/blue for the relaxed.

4. Stress meter/mirror:
This is a glass tube which is stapled to a small card with one end sticking out. To use it, you’ll have to tape it to your finger or hold between your fingertips and it will give a reading of your temperature. An manual is included with the package so you can interpret your temperature easily. The down side to using this kind of stress monitor is that it is easy to break.

5. Stress Monitor:
Stress Monitor from Health Reviser provides real-time stress monitoring capabilities that allows individuals to capture their personal critical stress zones. Health Reviser package contains a device that is used to populate data from the body. The system was designed primarily for customer support, brokers and other people with high stress risks. However, it can be used by anybody. Its monitoring features notify users of coming stress and provide stress managing technique for fast stress relief. The tool requires computer running Windows operating system.