Wednesday, May 31, 2017

A Machine with a Real Calming Effect - Science

While a toy such as a Fidget Spinner is likely to increase stress, there's an exceptionally simple way to reduce it.

New research published in Scientific Reports shows that a heartbeat-like vibration delivered onto the inside of the wrist can make the wearer feel significantly less stressed.

Researchers from the Department of Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London assessed the calming effects of a new wearable device called doppel -- a wristband designed to actively reduce stress by using the intuitive responses that we all have to rhythm, and especially to heartbeats.

Science Daily:  Wearing a 'heart' on your sleeve can reduce stress

Maybe you react immediately, "It's bloody mechanized soma and I won't do it!"

It's definitely mechanized soma and, judging by that reaction, you could probably use one.


"High arousal is correlated with increased heart rate, whereas calmness is physiologically correlated with lower heart rate," said Professor Manos Tsakiris from the Department of Psychology. "We also intuitively associate higher and lower heart rate with anxiety or high arousal, and calmness. The design of doppel, the device that we used in our study, was inspired by these insights."

- SD

It sounds like the doppel is playing on being a Doppelgänger but maybe fair enough.


Coming from a blind experiment, the following was noted.

The researchers measured both physiological arousal and subjective reports of anxiety. The use of doppel had a tangible and measurable calming effect across both physiological and psychological levels. Only the participants who felt the heartbeat-like vibration displayed lower increases in skin conductance responses and lower anxiety levels.

- SD

Apparently it works.  There's no evidence of marketing in the article but that seems inevitable and destroy that Fidget Spinner ... please.  Your mind will love you for it.


My own situation is extremely high stress since there's little to no stress on the CEO of an organization but there's extremely high stress on the underlings.  We're the Untouchables below the underlings so there's some measure of stress.  We know the bullet will come from somewhere; we just don't know which direction.

If such a Doppelgänger were on the market, I would probably consider it so long as the marketing isn't strangled with smiley faces and miscellaneous attempts at being cute.

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