Science lives in a constant search for stress biomarkers and during these researches they discovered that the stress level it can be measured by the amount of cortisol that the person has in the hair. Therefore, in today's article, it is possible to understand the relationship between the amount of cortisol and the level of stress and, also, to scrutinize this study.
Read more: Showing stress can convey a positive image
see more
Secret of youth? Researchers reveal how to reverse…
The "powers" of porridge: check out the benefits of oats in…
The study that achieved this discovery was done by scientists at the University of Iceland and the Institute of Public Health in Mexico. It is noteworthy that it will be possible in the near future for doctors to be able to analyze the patient's stress through hair strands. However, more study on the subject is needed.
Now let's explain how scientists came to this conclusion.
Amount of the hormone cortisol X stress
Check out the main curiosities about this relationship now:
1. What is Cortisol?
First, it is necessary to understand what cortisol is. It is basically known as the stress hormone, since the substance is produced in greater quantity by the gland when people experience stressful situations.
2. What is the purpose of the study?
Scientists wanted to understand whether cortisol could be found in the hair of stressed people in large amounts. And if they could, they wanted to find out whether it would be possible to estimate which quantities are related to stress. That is, to find out if there is any relationship between the concentration of cortisol in hair strands and people's stress levels – and how to measure it.
3. What method was used to carry out the research?
The researchers collected samples of hair strands – containing the root – from 1,297 women. And all project participants answered a questionnaire about how they felt in the last few days. Thus, the scientists were able to analyze the relationship and reach the final conclusion.
4. What is the conclusion of the research?
There really is a relationship between the concentration of cortisol in the hair shafts and the level of stress. After analyzing the research, it was possible to notice that the majority that had a high amount of cortisol also had a high stress level.
