Wearables for Stress Management: A Scoping Review

Abstract

In recent years, wearable devices have been increasingly used to monitor people’s health. This has helped healthcare professionals provide timely interventions to support their patients. In this study, we investigated how wearables help people manage stress. We conducted a scoping review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) standard to address this question. We searched studies in Scopus, IEEE Explore, and Pubmed databases. We included studies reporting user evaluations of wearable-based strategies, reporting their impact on health or usability outcomes. A total of 6259 studies were identified, of which 40 met the inclusion criteria. Based on our findings, we identified that 21 studies report using commercial wearable devices; the most common are smartwatches and smart bands. Thirty-one studies report significant stress reduction using different interventions and interaction modalities. Finally, we identified that the interventions are designed with the following aims: (1) to self-regulate during stress episodes, (2) to support self-regulation therapies for long-term goals, and (3) to provide stress awareness for prevention, consisting of people’s ability to recall, recognize and understand their stress.

Well-Being Technologies and Positive Psychology Strategies for Training Metacognition, Emotional Intelligence and Motivation Meta-Skills in Clinical Populations: A Systematic Review

“…These devices are equipped with sensors, processors, and communication capabilities that enable users to gather and exchange healthcare data with connected devices or networks. Among the most common wearable technologies, we can mention smartwatches, fitness trackers, smart glasses, smart clothing, health trackers, and VR headsets [49]. There is a wide range of sensors that are commonly utilized to assist mental health interventions (i.e., heart rate monitors, EEG sensors, galvanic skin response sensors, motion sensors, and facial recognition sensors) [11,49].…”

“…Wearable technologies with the employment of sensors (i.e., heart rate monitors and EEG sensors) have a significant potential to assist positive psychology interventions by monitoring the physiological activity that indicates whether the user is in a relaxed, anxious, hyperactive, or distractive state (i.e., measuring heart rate variability, respiration rate and body temperature) and providing users with relevant and simplified visualizations of the collected health [11]. By providing feedback, sensors help users to be motivated, to reflect on their present state of being, and to make appropriate decisions and actions for regulating psychophysiological disturbances that influence cognition, mood, and behavior data [49]. In addition, wearables such as smartwatches can be used to consolidate positive thinking and functional behaving patterns, especially in populations that tend to exhibit dysfunctional thinking and behaving patterns such as neurodevelopmental disorders [50,51].…”

“…Wearable technologies, by monitoring the physiological activity indicating whether the user is in a relaxed, anxious, hyperactive, or distractive state and providing users with relevant and simplified real-time feedback, can help users to be motivated, to reflect on the present state of being, and to make appropriate decisions and actions for regulating psychophysiological disturbances that prevent people from initiating positive behaviors [11,49].…”

Innovative tools for the direct assessment of social and emotional skills

“…It is important to note that cortisol levels are also subject to secretion cycles dependant on internal and individual circadian patterns 7 , unrelated to the impact of stressors, which can confound conclusions regarding the effect of stressful stimuli. Additionally, individual variations are also affected by age and sex, as well as eating, sleep and physical activity factors, all of which must be considered when planning the most reliable and harmonised periods for sample collection, in order to guarantee consistency across individuals (Golub et al, 2019 [170]; Keil, 2012[171]).…”

Artificial Intelligence, Immersive Technologies, and Neurotechnologies in Breathing Interventions for Mental and Emotional Health: A Systematic Review

“…Wearable technologies refer to devices that can be worn on specific body parts (e.g., the wrist, hand, or neck), as they consist of sensors that provide continuous measurement of physiological signals (i.e., heart rate, temperature, and galvanic skin response) [83].…”