A Reliable Neurophysiological Assessment of Stress - Basic Foundations for a Portable BCI Solution.

Stress is among the most disturbing yet most prevalent mental disorders in our modern world. Besides the psychological impact that stress has on mental health (Calcia et al. 2016) and cognitive processes (Shields et al. 2017), decades of research has shown a plethora of negative side-effects of stress on the body, such as ulcers (Glavin et al. 1991), cardiovascular disorders (Dawson 2018), inflammation (Marsland et al. 2017) and even high incidences of suicidal thoughts (O’Connor et al. 2017) and self-harm. With estimates ranging as high as 74% of people reporting feeling stressed over the course of a year, there is an urgent need for better ways to assess and intervene against stress.