Open Access

Wilhelm Daniel Scherz

• Stress management is becoming increasingly important in our society. It is evident that stress, whether measured subjectively or physiologically, has a detrimental effect on decision-making abilities and significantly impacts an individual's health and well-being, as well as the private and public economy. While technological advances simplify our daily lives, managing stress is more challenging than ever due to individual perceptions, cultural nuances, and personality traits. The need to respond quickly to workplace challenges, traffic, and the drive to achieve more is making chronic stress more prevalent, underscoring the importance of understanding, measuring, and predicting stress. In this work, stress is defined as the body's response to a stressor. Stressors can be either short-term or long-term, causing the body to function differently than it should, but also helping it respond to and cope with situations. Common ways of measuring stress include two main approaches: the classic method using questionnaires or direct conversations, and the use of physiological signals. In this research, we used questionnaires and heart rate characteristics to determine baseline stress levels, compared stress with physical activity, and studied the relationship between stress, personality traits, and demographics of the participants. It is important to remember that stress cannot be entirely avoided in our lives. Stress optimizes bodily functions and assists in coping with dangerous or challenging situations. However, it is possible to develop a system that helps us understand and detect stress more efficiently, thereby avoiding dangerous or hazardous situations. This could lead to significant improvements in sectors where errors are costly or can influence health. By doing so, a better understanding, better management, and a reduction of the negative long-term effects of stress can be achieved.