Cortisol is key to tracking stress, but it’s tough to measure in an instant; Stanford researchers say they’ve figured out how Stress. We all know it can be bad for us. It affects blood pressure, metabolism, immune response, and memory. Over time, it can contribute to the development of chronic diseases. So scientists and health professionals are putting a lot of effort into finding ways to measure and help patients cope with it.

Wearables that use sweat to detect stress typically track temperature, heart rate, and perspiration levels as markers for stress. But all of those markers can be affected by non-stress factors.

Far better an indicator that someone is under stress is a change in the amount of cortisol produced by their body. Cortisol, a steroid hormone, goes up when a person is under physical or emotional strain. It can be measured by testing blood, saliva, or hair, but none of these options provide quick results, so are not particularly useful for detecting short-term stressors.

That’s why a wearable that can provide instant, accurate, and ongoing measurements of cortisol levels is something of a holy grail for researchers working on wearable sensors.

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