The Stress Vest

Throw down your hairshirts and get with the stress vest –a wearable electronic system being developed by biomedical scientists at the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

The vest is fitted with numerous, tiny electromyography (EMG) electrodes that can calculate your stress levels by monitoring the level of electrical excitation in your muscles.

The electrical signal produced by your muscles changes with your stress level. So, if you’ve been overdoing it at work (or prayer), for example, the sensors will register heightened electrical excitation and pass the signal to an electronic analysis kit via a network of tiny conducting metallic fibers.

The vest can then inform you to take a break –or make another espresso.