Sjors van de Ven is a PhD-candidate at the department of Biological Psychology of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. In his research, he focuses on improving the methodology of physiological monitoring in ambulatory settings using the VU-AMS.

“How can physiological measures be refined to advance the methodology of ambulatory stress detection?”

Heart rate measurements in naturalistic settings are often confounded by the physiological impact of physical activity. Correcting heart rate for physical activity helps isolate fluctuations due to mental stress and gives an indicator that is associated with perceived stress and salivary cortisol. This study explores methods to improve the estimation of the impact of physical activity using accelerometers, validated across a range of postures and activity types in a laboratory setting. As a proof-of-principle, we assess if corrected heart rate is selectively increased during psychologically stressful conditions. The overall objective is to enhance ambulatory stress detection methodology through improved physiological measures.

PhD student,
VU Amsterdam