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After being requested to give an impromptu short talk and then calculate in reverse in steps of 17 – while facing a trio of unknown individuals – the intense pressure was written on my face.

This occurred since researchers were recording this quite daunting scenario for a research project that is analyzing anxiety using infrared imaging.

Stress alters the blood flow in the face, and scientists have discovered that the cooling effect of a person's nose can be used as a measure of stress levels and to observe restoration.

Heat mapping, as stated by the scientists behind the study could be a "game changer" in stress research.

The Experimental Stress Test

The experimental stress test that I participated in is meticulously designed and intentionally created to be an unexpected challenge. I visited the research facility with minimal awareness what I was about to experience.

Initially, I was instructed to position myself, relax and experience background static through a set of headphones.

Up to this point, very peaceful.

Afterward, the researcher who was overseeing the assessment invited a trio of unknown individuals into the room. They all stared at me silently as the investigator stated that I now had a brief period to develop a five minute speech about my "dream job".

When noticing the warmth build around my collar area, the researchers recorded my face changing colour through their thermal camera. My facial temperature immediately decreased in heat – showing colder on the infrared display – as I considered how to manage this impromptu speech.

Research Findings

The researchers have conducted this identical tension assessment on numerous subjects. In all instances, they saw their nose cool down by several degrees.

My nasal area cooled in warmth by a small amount, as my nervous system pushed blood flow away from my nasal region and to my eyes and ears – a physical reaction to enable me to see and detect for hazards.

Nearly all volunteers, similar to myself, returned to normal swiftly; their facial temperatures rose to pre-stressed levels within a few minutes.

Principal investigator stated that being a journalist and presenter has probably made me "somewhat accustomed to being put in tense situations".

"You are used to the recording equipment and conversing with unfamiliar people, so it's probable you're somewhat resistant to interpersonal pressures," she explained.

"However, even individuals such as yourself, accustomed to being stressful situations, shows a biological blood flow shift, so which implies this 'nose temperature drop' is a reliable indicator of a shifting anxiety level."

Tension Regulation Possibilities

Tension is inevitable. But this revelation, the experts claim, could be used to aid in regulating negative degrees of anxiety.

"The length of time it takes a person to return to normal from this cooling effect could be an quantifiable indicator of how efficiently a person manages their anxiety," explained the principal investigator.

"When they return exceptionally gradually, might this suggest a potential indicator of mental health concerns? Is it something that we can address?"

Since this method is without physical contact and measures a physical response, it could also be useful to track anxiety in babies or in individuals unable to express themselves.

The Calculation Anxiety Assessment

The subsequent challenge in my stress assessment was, in my view, more difficult than the initial one. I was told to calculate in reverse starting from 2023 in intervals of 17. Someone on the panel of three impassive strangers stopped me each instance I committed an error and asked me to start again.

I confess, I am inexperienced in mental arithmetic.

While I used embarrassing length of time striving to push my brain to perform mathematical calculations, the only thought was that I wished to leave the growing uncomfortable space.

In the course of the investigation, only one of the 29 volunteers for the tension evaluation did truly seek to exit. The others, comparable to my experience, finished their assignments – probably enduring different levels of embarrassment – and were compensated by another calming session of white noise through earphones at the end.

Non-Human Applications

Perhaps one of the most unexpected elements of the method is that, because thermal cameras measure a physical stress response that is innate in various monkey types, it can furthermore be utilized in non-human apes.

The investigators are currently developing its use in sanctuaries for great apes, comprising various ape species. They aim to determine how to decrease anxiety and boost the health of primates that may have been rescued from harmful environments.

The team has already found that showing adult chimpanzees video footage of baby chimpanzees has a calming effect. When the researchers set up a video screen adjacent to the protected apes' living area, they saw the noses of creatures that observed the material heat up.

Therefore, regarding anxiety, viewing infant primates engaging in activities is the opposite of a spontaneous career evaluation or an spontaneous calculation test.

Potential Uses

Using thermal cameras in monkey habitats could prove to be valuable in helping rehabilitated creatures to adapt and acclimate to a different community and strange surroundings.

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