Stress Checker

A 2-minute self-assessment of 7 perceived-stress items. Educational tool — not a diagnosis.

Lower stress with HRV-guided breathing PulseCalm uses your iPhone camera or Apple Watch for real-time HRV feedback.

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What the score means

0–8 (Low): Manageable stress. Maintain sleep, movement, social connection.
9–18 (Medium): Stress is showing up. HRV breathing, sleep hygiene, and brief daily journaling have the strongest evidence base.
19–28 (High): Sustained high stress. Both daily practice and structural change (workload, support) matter. Consider clinician input if it persists.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the PSS-10?

This is a 7-item variant inspired by the Perceived Stress Scale. The full PSS-10 (Cohen, 1983) has 10 items and is the validated research instrument.

Why does HRV breathing help?

Slow paced breathing (~6 breaths/min) increases parasympathetic activity and reduces cortisol acutely. With practice, baseline HRV improves over weeks (Lehrer et al., 2014).