Stress measurement

The auto­nomic nervous system (ANS) regu­lates vital bodily func­tions such as breathing and heart­beat. It consists of the sympa­thetic nervous system, which is acti­vated by stress, and the para­sym­pa­thetic nervous system, which ensures rela­xa­tion. Prolonged stress can disrupt this balance and lead to health problems. A VNS analysis, which measures heart rate varia­bi­lity, helps to assess the state of the VNS and is parti­cu­larly useful for people with stress or chronic illnesses.

The auto­nomic nervous system (ANS) is like a control center in your body that regu­lates important func­tions such as breathing, heart­beat, diges­tion and blood pres­sure. It consists of two parts: the sympa­thetic nervous system, which puts our body on alert, and the para­sym­pa­thetic nervous system, which allows us to relax. When we are stressed, the sympa­thetic nervous system acti­vates reac­tions such as increased blood pres­sure and a faster heart­beat. Normally, our body calms down again after such stressful situa­tions.

If we are perma­nently stressed, our VNS can become unba­lanced. This can lead to problems such as sleep disor­ders, heart problems or other chronic illnesses.

A VNS analysis or stress measu­re­ment is an exami­na­tion that checks how well your auto­nomic nervous system is func­tio­ning. This is done by measu­ring your heart rate varia­bi­lity (HRV) with a chest strap. The exami­na­tion only takes 5–10 minutes. It shows how well your body deals with stress and whether the para­sym­pa­thetic nervous system, your rela­xa­tion nerve, is working properly.

This analysis is parti­cu­larly helpful for people who expe­ri­ence a lot of stress, suffer from exhaus­tion, rest­less­ness, chronic pain and illnesses or sleep problems. It also helps to check the effec­ti­ve­ness of treat­ments. This gives you important infor­ma­tion about your state of health and allows you to reco­gnize and treat problems at an early stage.