Under stress? Your breath could tell! Deep breathing, recommended for stress busting, could also be used to understand whether or not you are under stress, scientists say.

There are six markers in the breath that could be candidates for use as indicators of stress, according to a new study published in Journal of Breath Research.

The researchers hope that findings such as these could lead to a quick, simple and non-invasive test for measuring stress.

"If we can measure stress objectively in a non-invasive way, then it may benefit patients and vulnerable people in long-term care who find it difficult to disclose stress responses to their carers, such as those suffering from Alzheimer's," lead-author of the study, Professor Paul Thomas, said.