Hugging a 'breathing' cushion to ease anxiety
Novel device shows promise in reducing anxiety for stressed students


Date:
March 9, 2022
Source:
PLOS
Summary:
Researchers have developed a huggable, cushion-like device that
mechanically simulates breathing, and preliminary evidence suggests
it could help reduce students' pre-test anxiety.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers have developed a huggable, cushion-like device that
mechanically simulates breathing, and preliminary evidence suggests
it could help reduce students' pre-test anxiety. Alice Haynes of the
University of Bristol, U.K., and colleagues present the device and
findings in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on March 9, 2022.


========================================================================== Treatments for anxiety disorders primarily include therapy and
medications.

However, these can be costly, and medications may have unwanted side
effects.

At-home anxiety aids could complement treatments for anxiety disorders and
also benefit people experiencing temporary anxiety. Within this category,
a small but growing body of research highlights the anxiety-reducing
potential of touch-based devices, such as TouchPoints wearables and Paro
the seal, an interactive therapeutic robot.

Now, Haynes and colleagues have developed a new, touch-based device
that could ease anxiety. They initially built several prototype devices
that simulated different sensations, such as breathing, purring, and a heartbeat. Each prototype took the form of a soft, huggable cushion that
was meant to be intuitive and inviting. Focus group testing identified
the "breathing" cushion as being the most pleasant and calming, so the researchers further developed it into a larger, mechanical cushion.

To test the new device, the research team recruited 129 volunteers for an experiment involving a group mathematics test. Using pre- and post-test questionnaires, the researchers found that students who used the device
were less anxious pre-test than those who did not. The experiment also
compared the breathing cushion to a guided meditation, and found that
both were equally effective at easing anxiety.

These findings suggest that the breathing cushion could be used to
reduce anxiety, for example for students who are anticipating exams. The researchers now hope to further refine the cushion for testing in people's homes. They also plan to investigate people's physiological response to
the device -- for instance, changes in heart rate or breathing patterns
-- in order to elucidate the particular mechanisms by which the device
might ease anxiety.

The authors add: "We were excited to find that holding the breathing
cushion, without any guidance, produced a similar effect on anxiety in
students as a meditation practice. This ability of the device to be used intuitively opens it up to providing wider audiences with accessible
anxiety relief."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by PLOS. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Alice C. Haynes, Annie Lywood, Emily M. Crowe, Jessica L. Fielding,
Jonathan M. Rossiter, Christopher Kent. A calming hug: Design and
validation of a tactile aid to ease anxiety. PLOS ONE, 2022; 17
(3): e0259838 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259838 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220309140929.htm

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