Measurements
The LifeShirt, a lightweight shirt made by VivoMetrics with built-in sensors capable of measuring respirational activity, heart rate, and subject posture and activity levels, among other things, was used to measure heart rate (HR) and RSA. RSA is used to determine automatic “cardiac control” by the brain in a subject and is a measurement of changes in heart rate during a respiratory period. HR and RSA were measured every five minutes between the introduction of the subjects to the TSST and approximately thirty minutes after completion of the TSST [11].
In addition to monitoring HR and RSA, measurements of cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) in each subject were also recorded. This information was gathered through collection …show more content…
These scales were used intermittently through the study to determine each subject’s self-perceived level of stress. The “Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress (TICS)”, which is used to test comprehensive self-perceived stress levels of subjects, was used to regulate the effect of a participant’s chronic, long-term stress on the outcome of the experiment [11].
Another test, the “State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)”, was used alongside the other tests in order to compare baseline anxiety in the sample group. Higher scores on this test reveal higher anxiety levels in a subject. This test was composed of two surveys, numbering twenty questions each, and the STAI-state was used continuously through the experiment to discern any fluctuation in anxiety levels of the subjects during the course of the experiment [11].
Each volunteer who was instructed to listen to either relaxing music or the sound of rippling water was also asked to rate their enjoyment of the stimulus and how relaxing they found the stimulus to be on a scale of 1 to 5. A higher value indicated increased subjective enjoyment of the stimulus and lower values showed that the subject either disliked or found the stimulus to be ineffective [11].
Data
The LifeShirt, a lightweight shirt made by VivoMetrics with built-in sensors capable of measuring respirational activity, heart rate, and subject posture and activity levels, among other things, was used to measure heart rate (HR) and RSA. RSA is used to determine automatic “cardiac control” by the brain in a subject and is a measurement of changes in heart rate during a respiratory period. HR and RSA were measured every five minutes between the introduction of the subjects to the TSST and approximately thirty minutes after completion of the TSST [11].
In addition to monitoring HR and RSA, measurements of cortisol and salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) in each subject were also recorded. This information was gathered through collection …show more content…
These scales were used intermittently through the study to determine each subject’s self-perceived level of stress. The “Trier Inventory for the Assessment of Chronic Stress (TICS)”, which is used to test comprehensive self-perceived stress levels of subjects, was used to regulate the effect of a participant’s chronic, long-term stress on the outcome of the experiment [11].
Another test, the “State and Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)”, was used alongside the other tests in order to compare baseline anxiety in the sample group. Higher scores on this test reveal higher anxiety levels in a subject. This test was composed of two surveys, numbering twenty questions each, and the STAI-state was used continuously through the experiment to discern any fluctuation in anxiety levels of the subjects during the course of the experiment [11].
Each volunteer who was instructed to listen to either relaxing music or the sound of rippling water was also asked to rate their enjoyment of the stimulus and how relaxing they found the stimulus to be on a scale of 1 to 5. A higher value indicated increased subjective enjoyment of the stimulus and lower values showed that the subject either disliked or found the stimulus to be ineffective [11].
Data