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After being requested to give an impromptu five-minute speech and then subtract sequentially in intervals of 17 – before a group of unfamiliar people – the acute stress was evident in my expression.

That is because scientists were filming this rather frightening situation for a research project that is examining tension using thermal cameras.

Stress alters the blood distribution in the facial area, and researchers have found that the cooling effect of a subject's face can be used as a gauge of anxiety and to observe restoration.

Thermal imaging, based on researcher findings behind the study could be a "revolutionary development" in stress research.

The Experimental Stress Test

The experimental stress test that I subjected myself to is carefully controlled and purposely arranged to be an unpleasant surprise. I came to the research facility with no idea what I was facing.

First, I was instructed to position myself, relax and experience ambient sound through a pair of earphones.

Up to this point, very peaceful.

Subsequently, the researcher who was running the test invited a panel of three strangers into the room. They each looked at me without speaking as the researcher informed that I now had three minutes to develop a brief presentation about my "perfect occupation".

While experiencing the warmth build around my throat, the scientists captured my face changing colour through their heat-sensing equipment. My nose quickly dropped in temperature – appearing cooler on the thermal image – as I considered how to navigate this spontaneous talk.

Scientific Results

The scientists have carried out this same stress test on multiple participants. In all instances, they observed the nasal area decrease in warmth by several degrees.

My facial temperature decreased in heat by a couple of degrees, as my nervous system pushed blood flow away from my face and to my eyes and ears – a bodily response to help me to observe and hear for threats.

Nearly all volunteers, like me, bounced back rapidly; their facial temperatures rose to baseline measurements within a brief period.

Principal investigator explained that being a media professional has probably made me "somewhat accustomed to being put in tense situations".

"You're familiar with the filming device and conversing with strangers, so it's probable you're relatively robust to social stressors," she explained.

"But even someone like you, experienced in handling anxiety-provoking scenarios, exhibits a bodily response alteration, so that suggests this 'nasal dip' is a consistent measure of a changing stress state."

Anxiety Control Uses

Stress is part of life. But this revelation, the researchers state, could be used to assist in controlling negative degrees of tension.

"The duration it takes a person to return to normal from this nasal dip could be an quantifiable indicator of how well an individual controls their stress," noted the lead researcher.

"If they bounce back remarkably delayed, could this indicate a potential indicator of anxiety or depression? Is it something that we can address?"

Because this technique is non-invasive and measures a physical response, it could furthermore be beneficial to monitor stress in infants or in individuals unable to express themselves.

The Mental Arithmetic Challenge

The subsequent challenge in my anxiety evaluation was, in my view, more challenging than the opening task. I was instructed to subtract sequentially decreasing from 2023 in intervals of 17. Someone on the panel of unresponsive individuals interrupted me whenever I made a mistake and instructed me to start again.

I acknowledge, I am inexperienced in calculating mentally.

As I spent awkward duration trying to force my brain to perform mathematical calculations, all I could think was that I wished to leave the increasingly stuffy room.

Throughout the study, merely one of the multiple participants for the tension evaluation did actually ask to leave. The others, similar to myself, accomplished their challenges – likely experiencing varying degrees of discomfort – and were given an additional relaxation period of ambient sound through earphones at the conclusion.

Primate Study Extensions

Possibly included in the most remarkable features of the technique is that, because thermal cameras measure a physical stress response that is natural to numerous ape species, it can furthermore be utilized in other species.

The scientists are currently developing its application in refuges for primates, including chimpanzees and gorillas. They aim to determine how to reduce stress and boost the health of animals that may have been removed from distressing situations.

The team has already found that presenting mature chimps visual content of baby chimpanzees has a soothing influence. When the investigators placed a visual device near the rehabilitated primates' habitat, they saw the noses of animals that watched the footage heat up.

So, in terms of stress, observing young creatures playing is the opposite of a surprise job interview or an spontaneous calculation test.

Potential Uses

Using thermal cameras in ape sanctuaries could turn out to be beneficial in supporting rehabilitated creatures to adjust and settle in to a unfamiliar collective and strange surroundings.

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