Psychophysiologic Recovery

Synonyms

Relaxation; Return to baseline; Rumination

Definition

Psychophysiologic recovery is defined as the rate at which a cardiovascular or biological variable returns to resting levels following a stressor. It is not uncommon to observe prolonged elevation in blood pressure following induction of mental stress, and this might last for up to an hour or so following the cessation of the stressor. This has also been observed in naturalistic settings, for example, in teachers, blood pressure has been shown to remain elevated throughout the evening following a stressful working day at school. A slower rate of psychophysiologic recovery has been linked to several risk factors and poorer health outcomes (Brosschot, 2010). One difficulty with isolating the predictive value of recovery is that those taking the longest time to return to baseline are likely to be those who showed the greatest reactivity. Nevertheless, recent evidence suggests that poor recovery and heightened reactivity are...