The Art of Relaxation – Research Study

 A Pilot Research Study 

Changes in brainwave activity in people experiencing a sound responsive, interactive light sculpture. 

 “The Essence sculpture helped me achieve a state that not only felt calm and de-stressed, but also incredibly focussed and energised. This feeling is not something I manage to achieve often, and certainly not in such a short space of time.”

H.L. – study participant. 

The Art of Relaxation – Light Sculpture Research Study

Fractal patterns, coloured light and music are three factors that are known to induce relaxation and relieve stress. These three elements have been combined in a single piece of art – Futuretro’s Essence. The sculpture consists of nine Jesmonite (eco-resin) casts, that create a tessellated fractal pattern, mounted in a wooden frame with integrated sound responsive, colour changing LEDs.

To accompany the sculpture a unique piece of soothing music was composed, with the assistance of a music producer and a female vocalist, to which the lighting in the sculpture responded according to the sound frequency. Low frequency sounds (bass notes) were displayed as red light across the surface of the sculpture because red has the lowest frequency of coloured light. As the frequency of the sensed sound increased (and the notes got higher), the colour of displayed light progressed through the colour spectrum, up to violet and magenta at the highest end of the range.

Thirty-three volunteers (eighteen female and fifteen male), aged between 17 and 83, were recruited to take part in the study. It involved them individually sitting in front of the Essence sculpture for ten minutes whilst the music played, and the sculpture responded accordingly. While experiencing the sculpture each participant wore a Muse 2 headset that recorded their brainwave activity, in the form of an electroencephalogram (EEG), using the Mind Monitor app.

Results revealed that, in the majority of participants, relative alpha, beta and gamma brainwave activity increased whilst theta and delta decreased during exposure to the sculpture. (Analysis of the data showed that differences in relative brainwave activity between the start and end of the ten-minute experience were statistically significant in all brainwaves).

This indicates that the participants became more relaxed, thus reducing tension (alpha effect), whilst the ability to concentrate and focus (beta effect) was increased, together with the capacity to perform complex tasks requiring decision making (gamma effect). At the same time, as delta and theta waves decreased, the participants became more alert.

We therefore conclude that experiencing the Essence sound responsive light sculpture for as little as ten minutes aids relaxation, thus contributing positively to wellbeing by relieving stress, increasing the capacity to concentrate and improving mental agility. This means that a relatively short exposure to the Essence sculpture has the beneficial effect of aiding people to think more clearly, thus enabling them to contribute in a more positive and productive manner in work related or recreational activities.

The Art of Relaxation – Research Study…

Further Information

The original pattern for the Essence sculpture was based on fractals and created using wooden blocks. Four of these wooden patterns were then combined and used to make a rubber mould from which nine casts were produced using Jesmonite (eco-resin).

The electronics in ‘Essence’ were designed so that sound is converted to coloured light with a scientifically meaningful correlation. This results in a synchronised audio-visual display that catalyses a deeper level of mesmeric focus in the observer, bringing them into the present moment, thereby helping to alleviate tension.

Both sound and light are energy vibrations that occur at varying frequencies. The sculpture detects sound via an integrated precision microphone and then converts the predominant frequency into an equally proportionate frequency of coloured light. The lowest frequencies (bass notes) are displayed as red because red has the lowest frequency of coloured light. As the frequency of the sensed sound increases (and the notes get higher), the colour of the displayed light progresses through the colour spectrum accordingly, going up to violet and magenta at the highest end of the frequency range.

The data in the above graph is shown as ‘Relative Brain Waves’, calculated by dividing the absolute reading in one wave band by the sum of the absolute readings for all wave bands. This means that the higher the relative brainwave value, the more predominant that type of brainwave is. So, in the example above alpha and beta waves are more active than the other three.

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For more information, images and videos of the Essence sculpture… Please Click Here.