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When I was asked to give an impromptu five-minute speech and then calculate in reverse in steps of 17 – while facing a panel of three strangers – the acute stress was written on my face.

The reason was that scientists were documenting this quite daunting experience for a research project that is analyzing anxiety using heat-sensing technology.

Stress alters the blood distribution in the countenance, and experts have determined that the drop in temperature of a subject's face can be used as a indicator of tension and to observe restoration.

Thermal imaging, as stated by the scientists leading the investigation could be a "revolutionary development" in anxiety studies.

The Scientific Tension Assessment

The experimental stress test that I participated in is carefully controlled and intentionally created to be an discomforting experience. I came to the research facility with little knowledge what I was facing.

Initially, I was asked to sit, calm down and hear ambient sound through a set of headphones.

Up to this point, very peaceful.

Subsequently, the researcher who was conducting the experiment invited a group of unfamiliar people into the room. They collectively gazed at me without speaking as the researcher informed that I now had 180 seconds to prepare a five minute speech about my "ideal career".

As I felt the temperature increase around my neck, the researchers recorded my complexion altering through their heat-sensing equipment. My nose quickly dropped in temperature – showing colder on the heat map – as I contemplated ways to navigate this spontaneous talk.

Research Findings

The investigators have conducted this same stress test on multiple participants. In all instances, they saw their nose decrease in warmth by between three and six degrees.

My nasal area cooled in heat by two degrees, as my physiological mechanism redirected circulation from my nasal region and to my sensory systems – a physiological adaptation to enable me to see and detect for threats.

Most participants, comparable to my experience, returned to normal swiftly; their nasal areas heated to pre-stressed levels within a short time.

Lead researcher explained that being a media professional has probably made me "somewhat accustomed to being subjected to tense situations".

"You're accustomed to the camera and talking with strangers, so you're probably quite resilient to public speaking anxieties," she explained.

"Nevertheless, even people with your background, experienced in handling anxiety-provoking scenarios, demonstrates a physiological circulation change, so this indicates this 'facial cooling' is a reliable indicator of a altering tension condition."

Stress Management Applications

Anxiety is natural. But this discovery, the scientists say, could be used to help manage harmful levels of tension.

"The period it takes someone to recover from this temperature drop could be an quantifiable indicator of how effectively somebody regulates their tension," explained the lead researcher.

"If they bounce back remarkably delayed, might this suggest a warning sign of anxiety or depression? Is this an aspect that we can do anything about?"

Because this technique is non-invasive and monitors physiological changes, it could also be useful to monitor stress in infants or in those with communication challenges.

The Mathematical Stress Test

The second task in my tension measurement was, from my perspective, 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 expressionless people stopped me each instance I committed an error and instructed me to start again.

I admit, I am bad at mental arithmetic.

During the uncomfortable period striving to push my thinking to accomplish arithmetic operations, all I could think was that I wanted to flee the progressively tense environment.

In the course of the investigation, merely one of the multiple participants for the anxiety assessment did actually ask to depart. The rest, comparable to my experience, accomplished their challenges – presumably feeling different levels of humiliation – and were compensated by an additional relaxation period of white noise through headphones at the conclusion.

Animal Research Applications

Perhaps one of the most remarkable features of the technique is that, since infrared imaging record biological tension reactions that is innate in many primates, it can furthermore be utilized in other species.

The researchers are currently developing its implementation within sanctuaries for great apes, comprising various ape species. They aim to determine how to reduce stress and enhance the welfare of animals that may have been saved from harmful environments.

Researchers have previously discovered that showing adult chimpanzees video footage of infant chimps has a relaxing impact. When the researchers set up a display monitor near the protected apes' living area, they saw the noses of creatures that observed the content warm up.

Therefore, regarding anxiety, viewing infant primates playing is the contrary to a surprise job interview or an spontaneous calculation test.

Potential Uses

Implementing heat-sensing technology in monkey habitats could prove to be beneficial in supporting protected primates to adjust and settle in to a new social group and strange surroundings.

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