Introducing the new way to measure stress

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named stress the epidemic of the 21st century. High levels of chronic stress can damage your immune system, negatively affect your physical and mental health and decrease your running performance. Today, biotech startup Pardigm.com is launching a rapid saliva test so you can measure your cortisol (the stress hormone) levels and improve running performance outside of the lab.

Non-attachment: the key to running well with less stress

Runners and cortisol levels

When you go for a run, your cortisol levels will go up, and this isn’t a bad thing. In fact, this rise in cortisol actually helps you adapt to your training by inflicting a small amount of muscle damage and stress on your body. Cortisol is the gold standard for measuring training readiness and recovery, and by managing your cortisol levels you can decrease your risk for injuries and improve running performance.

“Good coaches schedule sufficient recovery time after intense training to maximize adaptation,” says Scott Simmons, coach of the American Distance Running Project. “Being able to frequently test cortisol in real-time to know when to push hard again will not only make progression and development as efficient as possible — it could also prevent injury.”

How does the test work?

With Pardigm.com’s rapid saliva test, you can get your cortisol results in just a few minutes, similar to a COVID-19 rapid test. Once you take the test, you simply take a photo of it and allow Pardigm.com’s proprietary algorithms analyze the photo. Once the analysis is complete, the app then provides insights on how to optimize your levels.

In order for the results to be useful, you should test your cortisol every day for a week. A single measurement is meaningless, because it is affected by time of day, stressful events, exercise, food and many other factors.

The test was developed with an advisory board made up of experts in the fields of endocrinology and physiology. The company’s founder, Wibe Wagemans, came up with the idea when he became frustrated that we had no truly objective measure to quantify stress.

“Abnormal cortisol is often the cause of sleep issues, obesity, diabetes, depression, anxiety, heart disease … the list goes on. There’s a ton of research out there. But no one’s really talking about it,” says Wagemans. “We all feel stress. Every one of us. But most don’t realize there’s a reason behind it. Now people can see a number that lets them know it’s not just in their head.”

Some high-level athletes have been the beta-users for the tests, already with powerful results, including Shadrack Kipchirchir, who recently won the 2022 U.S. Cross Country Championships.

How can I get some cortisol tests?

Pardigm.com‘s first product is a package that contains 25 cortisol tests, access to the app’s health dashboard, a one-on-one expert consultation over Zoom, monthly group coaching sessions and a membership until the end of the year. It will sell for $599 US. Pardigm.com has opened a waitlist and is taking preorders on the company website.