Stressors induce physiological changes in the brain and periphery that support adaptive defensive responses. The consequences of psychological stress on cognitive functioning are often measured in laboratory settings using experimentally induced stress that leads to mainly negative subjective feelings. There is a need for verification of these studies using real-life stressors that may potentially induce both positive and negative subjective feelings. In an observational study, we investigated real-life stress induced by voluntary stage performance at a large-scale music festival, including 126 participants (60 female, age range = 16-57 years). Our primary measurements involved salivary cortisol, heart rate, blood pressure, and positive and negative affect. In addition, participants completed a 2-back working memory task and a speeded decision-making task. We found that stage performance significantly increased salivary cortisol - with a particularly low number of cortisol non-responders - and heart rate, even when controlling for potential confounding factors, such as sleep, movement, and alcohol use. Interestingly, stage performance significantly decreased negative affect while increasing positive affect. This positively experienced stressor ("eustressor") was related to impaired working memory performance: the stronger the increases in cortisol, the slower participants responded to targets. Decision-making, however, was not affected. In conclusion, we show how stressful experiences in real-life can lead to positive affect, but still have a similar negative impact on cognitive functioning. We suggest that future research should focus more on the consequences of real-life stressors, and the consequences of eustress, in order to extend our understanding of the concept of psychological stress.

中文翻译：

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良好的振动：对舞台表演引起的现实生活压力的观察研究

压力源会引起大脑和外围的生理变化，从而支持适应性防御反应。心理压力对认知功能的影响通常在实验室环境中使用实验诱导的压力来衡量，这些压力主要导致消极的主观感受。需要使用现实生活中的压力源来验证这些研究，这些压力源可能会诱发积极和消极的主观感受。在一项观察性研究中，我们调查了大型音乐节自愿舞台表演引起的现实生活压力，包括 126 名参与者（60 名女性，年龄范围 = 16-57 岁）。我们的主要测量包括唾液皮质醇、心率、血压以及正面和负面影响。此外，参与者完成了一项 2-back 工作记忆任务和一项加速决策任务。我们发现，即使在控制潜在的混杂因素（如睡眠、运动和饮酒）的情况下，舞台表现也会显着增加唾液皮质醇 - 皮质醇无反应者的数量特别少 - 和心率。有趣的是，舞台表演显着减少了负面影响，同时增加了积极影响。这种积极体验的压力源（“eustressor”）与工作记忆能力受损有关：皮质醇的增加越强，参与者对目标的反应就越慢。然而，决策并未受到影响。总之，我们展示了现实生活中的压力经历如何导致积极影响，但仍然对认知功能产生类似的负面影响。