Use of Smart Wearable Devices for the Acquisition and Subsequent Analysis of the Stress Level of a University Professor

Abstract

This paper presents the use of a wearable device as a low-cost technological tool for estimating the stress level of a university professor. The wearable device has infrared sensors that, when in contact with the skin, allow it to know the variations in the user's heart rate and indirectly estimate stress levels through an endorsed model. An experimental methodology with a non-probabilistic convenience sample was proposed. The period of experimental evaluation was one year, 24 hours a day. A classification of the levels of stress that the university professor manages was made: relaxed, normal, medium and high. This made it possible to show the percentage of time that he held in each of these categories. Within the quantitative analysis, a differentiation was made between working days, weekends and holidays. As significant results, it was found that the working day with the highest stress values was Wednesday with a value of %59.78 and, in a non-presumptive way, Saturday was detected, despite not being a working day, the university professor reached significant levels of stress. It was possible to show that the use of low-cost wearable devices allows an estimation of the repercussions at the stress level of workloads, for which it can serve as a tool for planning and scheduling tasks.