The majority of the United States experiences stress over the future, money, work politics, and their safety.

Stress affects your blood pressure, immune system, memory and metabolism. Prolonged exposure to stress can even lead to chronic diseases. Many people have become so acclimated to being under tremendous amounts of stress all the time that they don’t realize they’re stressed.

However, there are chemical indicators for stress. Scientists have discovered a convenient way to test for these chemicals.

Researchers lead by professors Alberto Salleo and Onur Parlak have devised an ingenious way to detect these chemicals, which previously were incredibly difficult without a blood sample. A patch draws sweat through small channels into a reservoir. This reservoir allows charged ions, such as sodium and potassium, to pass through the reservoir. However, cortisol, a chemical that indicates stress, isn’t able to pass through these channels out of the reservoir and collect instead. Once cortisol is detected, an electrical sensor is triggered, and the presence of cortisol is made known to the user.

This simple method could help people learn what the physical response of stress feels like. It could help those with high blood pressure avoid stressful situation and help save lives.

One thing is for sure: stress can be known and conquered!

Eric Cawley is an occasional blogger for Gary Stringham & Associates. Gary provides consulting and expert witness services in embedded systems such as robotics. Feel free to contact Gary at 208-939-6984.