Stress Detection Through Wearables: HRV, Skin Temp, and Beyond

Your body knows you're stressed before your mind does. Modern wearables can detect these physiological signals, giving you early warning signs and the data to understand your stress patterns.

Heart Rate Variability: Your Stress Barometer

HRV measures the variation in time between heartbeats. Higher variability generally indicates a relaxed, adaptive state. When you're stressed, your nervous system becomes less flexible, and HRV drops. Tracking this metric over time reveals patterns invisible to conscious awareness.

Skin Temperature Changes

Stress triggers blood flow changes as your body prepares for fight or flight. This can cause measurable shifts in skin temperature, particularly at your extremities. Ring-based wearables are particularly good at detecting these subtle changes.

Electrodermal Activity

Some advanced wearables measure skin conductance, which changes with sweat gland activity. This is one of the most sensitive indicators of emotional arousal and stress, though it requires specialized sensors.

Building Your Stress Profile

AI can combine these signals to create a personalized stress profile. Over time, the algorithm learns your baseline and can identify when you're deviating from it. Sometimes even before you consciously register the stress.