Heart-rate variability measurements in 35 individuals revealed daily stress peaks in the mornings and around 8 PM, with distinct weekend patterns showing early afternoon stress peaks, especially in men.
Observational (n=35)
Heart-rate variability tracking reveals distinct daily and weekly patterns of physiological stress, highlighting the potential of mobile technologies for contextualizing individual stress in everyday life.
A long-term research focus on the temporality of everyday life has become revitalised with new tracking technologies that allow methodological experimentation and innovation. This article approaches rhythms of daily lives with heart-rate variability measurements that use algorithms to discover physiological stress and recovery. In the spirit of the ‘social life of methods’ approach, we aggregated individual data (n = 35) in order to uncover temporal rhythms of daily lives. The visualisation of the aggregated data suggests both daily and weekly patterns. Daily stress was at its highest in the mornings and around eight o’clock in the evening. Weekend stress patterns were dissimilar, indicating a stress peak in the early afternoon especially for men. In addition to discussing our explorations using quantitative data, the more general aim of the article is to explore the potential of new digital and mobile physiological tracking technologies for contextualising the individual in the everyday.
Pantzar et al. (2016) conducted an observational in Physiological stress (n=35). Heart-rate variability measurements was evaluated on Temporal rhythms of daily lives (physiological stress and recovery). Heart-rate variability measurements in 35 individuals revealed daily stress peaks in the mornings and around 8 PM, with distinct weekend patterns showing early afternoon stress peaks, especially in men.