Approaches for monitoring depth of anaesthesia can be influenced by things other than anaesthetics. In this study the influence of acupressure on the A-line auto-regressive index (AAI) and on stress levels in unsedated volunteers was evaluated. Fifteen unsedated adult volunteers received pressure on the acupuncture Extra 1 point (EP) and on a control point for 10 min on different days. AAI was recorded 5 min before, during and 5 min after the interventions. Before and after the procedures, the volunteers quantified their level of stress by means of a visual analogue stress scale (VSS; 0–100). Corresponding data were compared by Wilcoxon’s signed rank test. Data are median (range). AAI decreased from 73 to 53 after 10 min of pressure on EP. Five minutes after release of pressure there was no difference compared with initial values. There was a statistically significant difference between VSS before and after pressure on EP but not on the control point.