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Quantifying Mental Stress Using Cardiovascular Responses: A Scoping Review
Samira Ziyadidegan1, Neda Sadeghi2, Moein Razavi1
1Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77840, USA.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 30, 2025
Summary
Monitoring mental stress using physiological responses like heart rate shows promise. This review synthesizes studies on heart activity changes during stress and analysis methods, highlighting time series techniques for better detection.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Psychology
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Physiological responses, including heart rate and heart rate variability, are increasingly used for mental stress monitoring.
- This review synthesizes research on the impact of mental stress on cardiac activity and analytical methods.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and synthesize studies analyzing the impact of mental stress on heart activity.
- To summarize mathematical, statistical, and visualization methods used in these analyses.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review of 119 articles following PRISMA-ScR guidelines.
- Inclusion of peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings; exclusion of non-English, non-stress-related, and machine learning-focused studies.
Main Results:
- Heart activity and behavior demonstrably change during stressful events.
- Descriptive statistics (t-tests, ANOVA, correlation) were commonly used to assess stress-related changes.
- Most studies were conducted in controlled laboratory settings.
Conclusions:
- Heart activity is a promising indicator for detecting stress events.
- Time series techniques like ARIMA and detrended fluctuation analysis are valuable for studying heart rate patterns associated with mental stress.
- These methods aid in understanding acute and chronic cardiovascular responses to stress.
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