Method for measuring acute stress in a mammal

Fragrance Administration

[0034] The Aroma Therapy Stress Measurement Protocol (or ASMP) experiment is designed to test three fragrances and one control (e.g., water). The blank is usually considered essential, because it provides the baseline stress / relaxation response that the fragrances will be compared to. The fragrances should be diluted to a strength that is appropriate to the purpose of the experiment and, if possible, to similar perceived strengths. If an olfactometer is available, it can be used to administer the fragrances. Otherwise, the fragrances can be presented to the test subject by saturating equal-sized strips of filter paper with the fragrance and placing the filter paper in an open wide-mouth jar placed approximately 30 centimeters from and level with the test subject's chin. The room in which the experiment is conducted should be designed for high air turnover (at least eight complete air changes per hour is recommended) or, at a minimum, have a fume hood.

Assignation of Qualitative Labels to Stress Measurements

[0035] Qualitative labels may be assigned to both the stress measurements obtained using the method of the present invention. In qualitatively analyzing a measurement, for example the measurement of a physiological characteristic, a qualitative label may be assigned to the measured stress level depending upon the ratio of the first stress measurement and second stress measurement. Namely, if a first stress measurement, for example peripheral blood flow, was determined to be 0.42 and a second stress measurement was determined to be 0.84, then a qualitative label of “Strongly Relaxing” may be assigned to the measurement. Assignation of qualitative labels for combined measurements may be done in accordance with the following table:

Ratio of First Physiological StressMeasurement and Second Physiological StressCombined QualitativeMeasurementLabel Assigned0.0 Strongly relaxing0.5 Relaxing0.9 Mildly relaxing1.0No effect1.0 Mildly stimu

Quantitative Analysis of Stress Measurements

[0036] The physiological and psychological measurements obtained via practice of the methods disclosed herein may be combined and reported as a single, quantitative value. Administration of the psychological questionnaires generates a set of N numbers that describe a person's mood or emotional state. The physiological measurement(s) made during performance of the methods of the present disclosure generate a separate set of M numbers. The combined psychological and physiological measurements form an N+M dimensional space that must be reduced to a single value. A mathematical function is created that combines the N+M inputs into a single number indicating stress level. Such a function could be created by a regression analysis of experimental data.