Chill-Out: Relaxation Training through Respiratory Biofeedback in a Mobile Casual Game

Avinash Parnandi; Beena Ahmed; Eva Shipp; Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna

Mobile Computing, Applications, and Services. 5th International Conference, MobiCASE 2013, Paris, France, November 7-8, 2013, Revised Selected Papers

Research Article

Chill-Out: Relaxation Training through Respiratory Biofeedback in a Mobile Casual Game

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@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-319-05452-0_18,
    author={Avinash Parnandi and Beena Ahmed and Eva Shipp and Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna},
    title={Chill-Out: Relaxation Training through Respiratory Biofeedback in a Mobile Casual Game},
    proceedings={Mobile Computing, Applications, and Services. 5th International Conference, MobiCASE 2013, Paris, France, November 7-8, 2013, Revised Selected Papers},
    proceedings_a={MOBICASE},
    year={2014},
    month={6},
    keywords={},
    doi={10.1007/978-3-319-05452-0_18}
}

Avinash Parnandi
Beena Ahmed
Eva Shipp
Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna
Year: 2014
Chill-Out: Relaxation Training through Respiratory Biofeedback in a Mobile Casual Game
MOBICASE
Springer
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-05452-0_18

Avinash Parnandi¹^,*, Beena Ahmed¹^,*, Eva Shipp²^,*, Ricardo Gutierrez-Osuna¹^,*

1: Texas A&M University
2: Texas A&M Health Science Center

*Contact email: parnandi@tamu.edu, beena.ahmed@qatar.tamu.edu, eshipp@srph.tamhsc.edu, rgutier@tamu.edu

Abstract

We present Chill-Out, an adaptive biofeedback game that teaches relaxation skills by monitoring the breathing rate of the player. The game uses a positive feedback loop that penalizes fast breathing by means of a proportional-derivative control law: rapid (and/or increasing) breathing rates increase game difficulty and reduce the final score of the game. We evaluated Chill-Out against a conventional non-biofeedback game and traditional relaxation based on deep breathing. Measurements of breathing rate, electrodermal activity, and heart rate variability show that playing Chill-Out leads to lower arousal during a subsequent task designed to induce stress.

Published: 2014-06-19

: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05452-0_18