‘Sweating the small stuff’ may actually be a good thing, provided it is used as a biomarker to gauge your stress levels. We’re talking about a steroid called cortisol present in sweat. According to researchers, cortisol is critical for blood pressure, metabolism, inflammation, memory formation and emotional stress. It also provides information about electrolytes, proteins, hormones and other factors in the body. Why, it can even indicate whether your adrenal and pituitary glands are functioning properly! Problems arise when increased cortisol levels are sustained over time as this can lead to chronic diseases, many of which are prevalent in seniors. Thus, it was quite a breakthrough when a team of material scientists led by Albert Salleo at Stanford University in the US created a wearable device consisting of a stretchy patch to be placed on the skin that can soak up even tiny amounts of sweat. The patch comes with portable biosensors attached to the wearable device, which can measure the stress levels in the body. The findings have been published in Science Advance.

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Featured in Harmony — Celebrate Age Magazine
October 2018