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When I was asked to deliver an unprepared short talk and then subtract sequentially in steps of 17 – while facing a trio of unknown individuals – the acute stress was evident in my expression.

The reason was that psychologists were documenting this quite daunting situation for a research project that is studying stress using infrared imaging.

Tension changes the blood flow in the face, and researchers have found that the cooling effect of a person's nose can be used as a measure of stress levels and to track recuperation.

Infrared technology, according to the psychologists conducting the research could be a "game changer" in tension analysis.

The Scientific Tension Assessment

The research anxiety evaluation that I participated in is carefully controlled and deliberately designed to be an unpleasant surprise. I visited the university with minimal awareness what I was facing.

To begin, I was instructed to position myself, calm down and listen to ambient sound through a audio headset.

So far, so calming.

Subsequently, the researcher who was overseeing the assessment invited a trio of unknown individuals into the area. They collectively gazed at me without speaking as the investigator stated that I now had three minutes to develop a brief presentation about my "ideal career".

While experiencing the heat rise around my neck, the researchers recorded my skin tone shifting through their thermal camera. My facial temperature immediately decreased in heat – showing colder on the thermal image – as I thought about how to manage this impromptu speech.

Scientific Results

The investigators have performed this same stress test on 29 volunteers. In each, they saw their nose dip in temperature by a noticeable amount.

My nasal area cooled in heat by two degrees, as my physiological mechanism pushed blood flow away from my nose and to my sensory systems – a physical reaction to assist me in see and detect for threats.

Most participants, like me, bounced back rapidly; their nasal areas heated to normal readings within a short time.

Principal investigator noted that being a journalist and presenter has probably made me "somewhat accustomed to being subjected to anxiety-provoking circumstances".

"You're familiar with the filming device and conversing with strangers, so you're probably somewhat resistant to social stressors," the researcher noted.

"However, even individuals such as yourself, accustomed to being anxiety-provoking scenarios, shows a bodily response alteration, so that suggests this 'nose temperature drop' is a reliable indicator of a shifting anxiety level."

Stress Management Applications

Tension is inevitable. But this finding, the researchers state, could be used to assist in controlling negative degrees of tension.

"The period it takes an individual to bounce back from this nasal dip could be an objective measure of how efficiently somebody regulates their tension," noted the lead researcher.

"When they return exceptionally gradually, might this suggest a potential indicator of mental health concerns? Is this an aspect that we can tackle?"

Since this method is non-intrusive and monitors physiological changes, it could furthermore be beneficial to track anxiety in infants or in people who can't communicate.

The Mental Arithmetic Challenge

The second task in my anxiety evaluation was, in my view, more difficult than the opening task. I was told to calculate in reverse starting from 2023 in steps of 17. A member of the group of three impassive strangers halted my progress every time I committed an error and instructed me to start again.

I acknowledge, I am inexperienced in calculating mentally.

During the embarrassing length of time striving to push my thinking to accomplish subtraction, the only thought was that I desired to escape the increasingly stuffy room.

In the course of the investigation, just a single of the numerous subjects for the anxiety assessment did genuinely request to exit. The rest, similar to myself, finished their assignments – presumably feeling assorted amounts of humiliation – and were rewarded with a further peaceful interval of ambient sound through headphones at the end.

Animal Research Applications

Possibly included in the most surprising aspects of the approach is that, because thermal cameras record biological tension reactions that is inherent within many primates, it can also be used in other species.

The investigators are currently developing its use in habitats for large monkeys, including chimpanzees and gorillas. They seek to establish how to reduce stress and improve the wellbeing of primates that may have been saved from harmful environments.

The team has already found that showing adult chimpanzees visual content of infant chimps has a soothing influence. When the scientists installed a display monitor near the rehabilitated primates' habitat, they observed the nasal areas of primates that viewed the footage increase in temperature.

Consequently, concerning tension, observing young creatures engaging in activities is the inverse of a unexpected employment assessment or an impromptu mathematical challenge.

Potential Uses

Using thermal cameras in primate refuges could turn out to be valuable in helping protected primates to adjust and settle in to a new social group and unknown territory.

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