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Environmental stressors to health
Published in Alberto Urrutia-Moldes, Health and Well-Being in Prison Design, 2022
People can live without daylight for long periods without realising the effects of lack of natural light209. Insufficient exposure to sunlight is associated with low positive emotions210 but it was not until 2002 that a real biological connection between light and body functioning was found211. Today, we know that light signals are processed and passed from the eye retina to the pineal gland, which is responsible for secreting both the hormones melatonin and cortisol. Melatonin, which is mainly produced during the dark hours of the 24-hour cycle, is commonly known as the sleep hormone because it regulates the sleep/awake body system, synchronising several psychobiological functions212. Similarly, cortisol hormones, produced mainly during the early morning, increase blood sugar levels and improve the immune system, thus preparing the body for activity and avoiding being affected by negative stress. Because of this, cortisol is called a stress hormone. Both melatonin and cortisol secretion can be easily imbalanced or even disrupted due to exposure to inadequate lighting conditions at the wrong time, which often occurs in prisons.
A Field Trial to Investigate Human Pheromones Associated with Hostile Intent
Published in Alex Stedmon, Glyn Lawson, Hostile Intent and Counter-Terrorism, 2017
Peter Eachus, Alex Stedmon, Les Baillie
Researchers have shown a correlation between stress and the level of cortisol (a known stress hormone) in salivary samples (Haussmann, Vleck and Farrar, 2007) as well as sweat (Prunty et al., 2004). The level of cortisol in the body is sensitive to many factors aside from stress, including time of day, body weight, state of health and age. Therefore, it is not possible to determine whether an individual is stressed by a single analysis. The degree of stress an individual is under is ascertained by the difference in cortisol levels from a baseline sample. However, the determination of cortisol levels in saliva is a preferred method over that in sweat, and there is limited evidence to show the diagnostic value of cortisol levels in sweat (Prunty et al., 2004). Furthermore, the idea that cortisol present in sweat is responsible for the ‘smell of fear’ has not as yet been validated (Ackerl, Atzmueller and Grammer, 2002). Despite a deluge of studies into the olfactory responses to, and the chemical profiles of, sweat samples produced under stressful situations, the question of whether humans are capable of secreting a fear ‘marker’, or detecting it, still remains.
The Mind at Work: Intention, Action and Interpretation
Published in R. S. Bridger, Introduction to Human Factors and Ergonomics, 2017
‘Dysexecutive syndrome’ is a term used in the clinical literature to describe adults with impaired + executive function due to brain damage or disease and also children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In healthy adults, mild, reversible loss of executive function occurs predictably. There is a 24-hour rhythm in executive control in which the propensity to commit errors of comission (as measured by a sustained attention to response test, the SART, see Chapter 8) is greater at 01:00 hrs and 07:00 hrs than at 13:00 hrs and 19:00 hrs (Manley et al., 2002). This change in executive function may explain why accidents and errors are more likely to happen in the early hours than during normal daytime working hours. People who occupy very stressful jobs for long periods under conditions of social isolation, with conflicting demands or high emotional demands suffer ‘burnout’, which is characterised by a drop in work efficiency, emotional exhaustion and de-personalisation (difficulties relating to others). Burnout sufferers also have difficulties concentrating, loss of executive control and report more ‘cognitive failures’ in daily life (van der Linden et al., 2005). It is noteworthy that burnout sufferers made more errors of commision on the SART test than controls but their reaction time on the test (time to make a correct response) did not differ. This suggests that the deficit was an attentional one and not due to a global reduction in ability. Van der Linden et al. proposed that chronic exposure to high stress might lead to chronic reductions in stress hormone levels resulting in the mechanisms of executive control going ‘off-line’ to be replaced by automatic response patterns.
Objective stress monitoring based on wearable sensors in everyday settings
Published in Journal of Medical Engineering & Technology, 2020
Hee Jeong Han, Sina Labbaf, Jessica L. Borelli, Nikil Dutt, Amir M. Rahmani
To overcome these challenges, researchers have proposed the use of laboratory-based objective stress assessment methods – for instance, by analysing stress-related physiological reactivity in response to standardised laboratory stressors. The use of these standardised stressors enables researchers to test participants’ physiological stress reactivity under controlled parameters. For instance, using psychological stress tests for inducing stress such as the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), changes in hormones are used to investigate stress responses [28]. In these methods, salivary cortisol was found to correlate with stress, and since then, it has been used as a stress factor in clinical usage [29]. Besides salivary cortisol, leukocytes are used for assessing stress [11]. White blood cells from the blood response can also be used to assess stress hormones. Even though these methods can provide a valid stress assessment, they are not feasible to be used in real-time continuous remote stress monitoring in everyday settings due to their issues in terms of cost, delay and need for physical samples.
Evaluating Photoplethysmogram as a Real-Time Cognitive Load Assessment during Game Playing
Published in International Journal of Human–Computer Interaction, 2018
Xiao Zhang, Yongqiang Lyu, Xin Hu, Ziyue Hu, Yuanchun Shi, Hao Yin
Non-ANS measures refers to the physiological measurements that only relate to other nervous systems except the ANS or relate to both other nervous systems and the ANS. Some physiological measures can be considered as non-ANS measures, e.g., electroencephalography (EEG) which is linked to the central nervous system, and electromyogram which is controlled by both the somatic nervous system and the ANS (Brouwer et al., 2012). Seo and Lee’s (2010) study proved that there are consistent relationships between EEG and chronic stress, and inter-individual differences in stress can be reliably assessed by EEG. Choi et al. presumed that differences in brain mapping of the relative high-beta wave in the temporal lobe are useful when assessing occupants’ stress (Choi, Kim, & Chun, 2015). Stress hormones method can be considered as another non-ANS measure for its complex regulating system. Human salivary cortisol also called stress hormones is a major possible physiological index for the evaluation of mental stresses (Luo, Xiao, Miao, & Luo, 2012).
Changes in cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone levels immediately after urban park visits
Published in International Journal of Environmental Health Research, 2023
Jie Gao, Gibran C. Mancus, Hon K. Yuen, James H. Watson, Menesha L. Lake, Gavin R. Jenkins
It is important to include both psychological and physiological measures to depict a more complete picture of the impact of urban green space on mental health. The physiological effects of urban green space visitation can be evaluated through measurement of stress hormones, the production of which is in response to both psychological and physiological stressors (Shields et al. 2016). Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, has been widely used as a biomarker in mental health research and can be measured in saliva, urine, hair, nails, and blood. Salivary cortisol is particularly useful as a physiological measure because it provides a non-invasive, convenient, and reliable assessment of immediate mental responses to stress (Kirschbaum and Hellhammer 1994; Hellhammer et al. 2009).