Review of Stress Detection Methods Using Wearable Sensors

Stress is a significant factor that affects well-being and health. Factors that trigger stress include work, social interactions, and economic and environmental factors. Stress may cause lower labor productivity, physical and mental health problems, and malfunctions in all social aspects of life. Psychosomatic health can be improved if proper stress detection mechanisms are present in daily life and stress reduction methods can occur. Wearable sensors are currently used in many commercial and scientific applications in a non-destructive or annoying manner. These devices are used in daily routines. In this paper, a comprehensive review of the latest literature and developments in stress detection methods is presented through extensive and holistic research on stress response, both at the level of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). This study focused on the exploitation of various methods, technologies, and data analysis systems to understand stress in a multifaceted and comprehensive manner. Various stress-related factors are presented along with biological signal measurements, and physical secretions or biomarkers are primarily used for stress detection. Furthermore, the manner in which body movement and posture measurements may be related to stress was investigated, together with speech and hand tremors. Various stress-detection technologies have been analyzed, and existing data analysis methods that can be applied to stress-detection systems have been highlighted. This review serves as a reference and guideline for exploring this area of interest, identifying research opportunities, and offering ideas, options, and suggestions for optimized solutions regarding future applications and research.