I was asked to write a guest blog about how to measure and prevent stress. Stress is a tricky and misunderstood term. In one blog post, I can’t cover all its dimensions, but I’ll summarize it this way: stress is a physiological reaction that is meant to keep us moving, motivated, and active. In everyday language, we use the term stress to describe things that feel unpleasant or distressing. This way of thinking leads us to miss a large part of stress, which also consumes our bodies. Namely, positive stress. For example, excitement is a physiological state that puts a strain on the body and from which we also need to recover. A better term is a state of alertness, which I hear mental well-being professionals using more and more.
Alertness - the key to resilience and operational efficiency
Our state of alertness affects how well we perform and how effective we are. With the right state of alertness, we are able to focus, learn new things and work productively.
However, alertness is not constant, but varies throughout the day. When we are awake, our alertness level is on average clearly higher and when we are asleep, it is clearly lower. Being too alert while awake may cause difficulty concentrating. But it is good to note that high alertness and positive mood are linked to creativity - this kind of alertness may be exactly what is needed to produce the best ideas. Problem solving, on the other hand, often requires concentration , and then you can try to adjust your alertness if your thoughts cannot stay together. If your alertness cannot rise sufficiently and you feel groggy, it often indicates a poor night's sleep. A low alertness during a night's sleep predicts good performance the next day.
Our autonomic nervous system regulates our state of alertness. When alertness increases, the sympathetic nervous system is more active. When alertness decreases, for example at night, the parasympathetic nervous system takes over and the body's restorative functions kick in. Alertness follows a so-called circadian rhythm.
It is good to learn to recognize your own mood swings and understand how to best influence them.
How can alertness be measured?
Alertness can be measured, for example, by skin electrodermal activity (EDA). This method has been used by researchers since the late 19th century, but consumer-oriented meters have not previously been available. The Nuanic smart ring is the world's smallest sensor that measures electrodermal activity (EDA), providing real-time, easy-to-understand information about fluctuations in arousal. You can read more about EDA measurement here: https://nuanic.com/
How can you regulate your alertness?
Since our alertness is regulated by our autonomic nervous system, we cannot directly influence our alertness. We can indirectly try to calm the wildly racing sympathetic nervous system with breathing exercises, light exercise, or, for example, Neurosonic.
Neurosonic's low-frequency vibration directly affects the autonomic nervous system. The vibration helps the body relax and can be used to influence alertness very effectively. The vibration mechanically guides the body and mind into a meditation-like state.
My experience with alertness regulation
I am a person whose alertness level rises very easily. This is partly because I am an introvert – my nervous system reacts strongly to environmental stimuli. However, my alertness level drops just as dramatically when I sleep, and I can objectively say that despite my calm exterior, I am a zero to one person type.
In 2018, life was hectic as a mother of three small children and a startup entrepreneur. At the same time, I also became interested in running and thought it would act as a restorative counterbalance to work. Running started to go well. After 9 pm, I actually didn't feel as tired as before. It felt natural to continue working on my laptop for a few more hours after the kids went to bed. My average level of alertness was already clearly elevated - I felt like I had superpowers.
However, after a few months, changes began to appear in my nighttime alertness. My body was no longer recovering as efficiently as before. Running started to feel heavy and irritability reared its head. Soon, falling asleep was no longer possible and my sleep was poor. Despair began to rear its head, as it was difficult to concentrate and all the worries in the world seemed to be falling on me. So I had run myself into a state of overload. That is a bad starting point for working in a startup company, where working requires the ability to learn new things every day and you often have to switch between very different tasks, even on the fly. Your alertness level needs to be on point so that you can inspire and convince your customers.
We got Neurosonic in the fall of 2018 and it helped me relieve my overload in a few weeks. I cried with happiness when my body finally gave in and relaxed. My sleep returned, and since then I have been using Neurosonic to regulate my alertness and improve the quality of my sleep whenever needed. At the end of a hectic day, I proactively take a relaxing program before going to bed to make it easier to fall asleep. If my alertness level is too high during the workday and it’s hard to concentrate, I can take 10 minutes of quick vibrations if necessary. If I haven’t slept well the night before, I usually get my alertness level back on track with a twenty-minute relaxing program. Nowadays, even the kids ask to go to Neurosonic, and it has become a way for the whole family to relax. I would say that in Finland we are developing some pretty great technology to support well-being.
About the writer:
Henna Salonius is the Chief Operating Officer and Partner of Nuanic Oy. She is currently preparing a doctoral dissertation in psychology on skin conductance measurements as part of the early detection and prevention of burnout.
Photo: Ennagraphy