Pet owners may have been able to tell their pets that their pets are anxious more than once by observing their movements. It has been known for a long time that people can also react to anxiety in the same way. The latest research by students at Clarkson University shows that anxiety can be diagnosed by observing the gait of anxious people.
The way of walking and anxiety states
The team led by Dr. Maggie Stark recently published in the journal Sensors their promising advances in research into the relationship between the way people move and their anxiety states. The participants of this study were initially asked to perform a standard mood test that helped determine their anxiety level. Then these people, wearing nine motion sensors, went for a 2-minute walk on a route with hard and spongy ground. Meanwhile, a test to measure the subjects’ equilibrium was also carried out.
The sensors provided a lot of valuable information about the movements of the study participants. As it turned out, gait characteristics were most useful in diagnosing anxiety. These included, first of all, the angles at which the subjects turned, as well as increased frequency of sideways movements of the neck, and decreased up and down, compared to people who felt confident.
Although most of the study participants were young and relatively physically healthy, their movements resembled that of the elderlywho are afraid of falling while walking. This led to difficulties with turning and constant observation of the surroundings, for fear of dangers.
Valuable research results
According to the researchers, test results can help to diagnose more easily and combat the stigma of people suffering from mental disorders. Such people are often afraid to seek appropriate treatment for fear of campaigning by society. Easy reading of states anxiety, and thus quick diagnosis, could turn out to be a breakthrough for many patients.
We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we devote it to epigenetics. What is? How can we influence our genes? Do our elderly grandparents give us a chance for a long and healthy life? What is trauma inheritance and is it possible to somehow oppose this phenomenon? Listen: