Researchers say they have found a predictor of stress.
Researchers from Concordia University conducted the study to find out why some people are more susceptible to depression than others. The study authors followed 76 university students during periods of lower stress at the beginning of term and higher stress during exam times. The researchers noted that although all students experience similar challenges during their finals, only some of them develop significant distress.
"When you're facing a real threat in your life, a regular heartbeat helps you deal with the situation. If you encounter a lion in the jungle, you want your heartbeat to stay at consistently high levels so that you can run away as fast as you can," the researchers said in a press statement. "But if your body shows the same reaction when you worry about something that may or may not happen - like failing an exam - then you might be more susceptible to stress.
The researchers also recorded participants' heart rate variability while they were relaxing and when they were worrying or stressing out. They also tracked participants' moods at times of low stress early in the semester and at times of high stress right before exams.
They observed that those who exhibited a less variable heartbeat when they started worrying were more likely to be highly stressed later on, when faced with final exams.
"By pinpointing those in the general population who are most vulnerable to stress, we can intervene before they hit the breaking point - and hopefully prevent the negative consequences of stress by doing so. That's why it's important to have an objective diagnostic tool like this one," the researchers noted.
Findings of the study was published online in the journal Stress. This study was supported by the Canada Research Chairs program and the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec.
