Biofeedback Therapy at Your Fingertips
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Secondary School
Institution
Project Lead The Way - Kentucky
KY House District #
80
KY Senate District #
15
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Mike Crowhurst, Jennifer Wilson
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to develop and field test an app using a biological form of calculation know as Biofeedback Therapy to utilize biological information to decrease stress responses. This study was quantitative and focused on the use of Biofeedback Therapy to manage extreme stress in the everyday life of the consumer. In today’s society, stress is very prevalent, and it is not uncommon for anxiety over necessary activities (i.e. getting blood drawn, dental procedures, or taking an exam) to reach a debilitating level. The human body reacts to stress with characteristic physiological responses, such as elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure, and increased body temperature. Long term effects of these physiological stress responses can lead to harmful influences on health, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and migraines. Biometrics such as heart rate are easily measured through common devices such as Apple and Garman watches, making it possible for individuals to use this information to gauge stress responses. The principle of biofeedback therapy is that by becoming aware of a certain stress response, an individual can then make conscious effort to relax, thus decreasing the stress response. This project begins with the development of a mobile application called ‘bioMEtrix’, using MIT App Inventor. With this app at your fingertips you can become aware of the stress response your body is having to an event and discover how to control that response. Volunteers will engage in a stressful event, then use the app. The time it takes for the stress response, in this case heartrate, to return to normal will be measured and compared to the time it takes for the stress response to return to normal without using the app. It was found that when using the app, the average heart rate three minutes after a stress event was 87 bpm, compared to 101 bpm without using the app.
Biofeedback Therapy at Your Fingertips
The purpose of this study is to develop and field test an app using a biological form of calculation know as Biofeedback Therapy to utilize biological information to decrease stress responses. This study was quantitative and focused on the use of Biofeedback Therapy to manage extreme stress in the everyday life of the consumer. In today’s society, stress is very prevalent, and it is not uncommon for anxiety over necessary activities (i.e. getting blood drawn, dental procedures, or taking an exam) to reach a debilitating level. The human body reacts to stress with characteristic physiological responses, such as elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure, and increased body temperature. Long term effects of these physiological stress responses can lead to harmful influences on health, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and migraines. Biometrics such as heart rate are easily measured through common devices such as Apple and Garman watches, making it possible for individuals to use this information to gauge stress responses. The principle of biofeedback therapy is that by becoming aware of a certain stress response, an individual can then make conscious effort to relax, thus decreasing the stress response. This project begins with the development of a mobile application called ‘bioMEtrix’, using MIT App Inventor. With this app at your fingertips you can become aware of the stress response your body is having to an event and discover how to control that response. Volunteers will engage in a stressful event, then use the app. The time it takes for the stress response, in this case heartrate, to return to normal will be measured and compared to the time it takes for the stress response to return to normal without using the app. It was found that when using the app, the average heart rate three minutes after a stress event was 87 bpm, compared to 101 bpm without using the app.