Relaxed State Research Articles

Perceiving the resourcefulness of the natural environment: empirical research experience

The article presents the results of an exploratory empirical study devoted to the study of the psychological effects of interaction between man and nature based on content analysis of descriptions of subjective experiences of unity between man and nature. The study was conducted online and involved 416 respondents from 17 to 70 years old (average age 35.3 years SD = 11.05; 35% men and 65% women). The concepts of psychological restoration and the restorativeness of the natural environment were used for the analysis. Psychological restorative effects are represented in the descriptions by the presence of positive emotions, a state of relaxation and solitude. The results show that most often a person experiences these effects in such environments as forest and water spaces, perceiving them as integral systems, focusing both on individual elements (trees, leaves, waves, landscape) and on temporal characteristics (seasons, days). The positive stimulation of the forest and aquatic natural environments, as well as the aesthetic appeal of landscapes, can be considered as factors determining the restorative potential of nature.

Intimate places

Our essay starts from our first-person experience of visiting El Eco Experimental Museum in Mexico City. Over the course of our visit, El Eco became, what we will call an ‘intimate place’ in which we were able to explore personal thoughts, memories, and feelings. We go on to compare El Eco to Black Water (2021), a site-specific art installation by RAAAF. We draw on Donald Winnicott’s work on play to show how intimate places like the El Eco museum have commonalities with the therapeutic setting of psychotherapy. They are places that enable people to freely associate by enabling a visitor to be in a state of relaxation, and by affording a rich array of disruptive possibilities for self-exploration. We understand such intimate places as playgrounds that can (temporarily) disrupt rigid patterns of resistance or avoidance, enabling a person to confront difficult emotions and experiences that might otherwise go unnoticed.

The Dhikir and Prayer Therapy on Reducing Blood Pressure in Hypertension Patients: Systematic Literature Review

Hypertension can lead to a variety of consequences, including death. Alternative therapies, such as Dhikr and prayer therapy, have emerged as a response to the negative effects of medications used to treat hypertension. The therapy of Dhikr and prayer worked by inhibiting sympathetic nerve dominance and activating parasympathetic nerves, resulting in a soothing effect. The goal of this paper was to conduct a literature search to determine the effectiveness of Dhikr therapy and prayer in lowering blood pressure in hypertension patients. The method involved investigating evidence published in electronic data from Google Scholar and Semantic Scholar. Using Publish or Perish, we searched for data from 2018 to 2023 using the terms "Dhikr therapy," "prayer therapy," and "hypertension." Using the Prisma Strategy flow chart, 11 relevant journals were eligible out of 352. The results showed that when a person recites Dhikr by focusing on words or sentences of prayer that are repeated with a regular rhythm, accompanied by an attitude of surrender to God, the individual will experience relaxation. This relaxed state could control the nervous system, which is responsible for regulating blood pressure in hypertensive patients leading to a decrease in blood pressure. Dhikr and prayer therapy are effective in reducing blood pressure in hypertensive patients. Recommendations suggest that Dhikr and prayer therapy can be applied as an alternative treatment for hypertension.

Brain circuits in autonomous sensory meridian response and related phenomena.

Autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) is characterized by a tingling sensation with a feeling of relaxation and a state of flow. We explore the neural underpinnings and comorbidities of ASMR and related phenomena with altered sensory processing. These phenomena include sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), synaesthesia, Alice in Wonderland syndrome and misophonia. The objective of this article is to uncover the shared neural substrates and distinctive features of ASMR and its counterparts. ASMR, SPS and misophonia exhibit common activations in the brain regions associated with social cognition, emotion regulation and empathy. Nevertheless, ASMR responders display reduced connectivity in the salience network (SN), while individuals with SPS exhibit increased connectivity in the SN. Furthermore, ASMR induces relaxation and temporarily reduces symptoms of depression, in contrast to SPS and misophonia, which are linked to depression. These observations lead us to propose that ASMR is a distinct phenomenon owing to its attention dispatch mechanism and its connection with emotion regulation. We suggest that increased activations in the insula, along with reduction inconnectivity within the salience and default mode networks in ASMR responders, may account for their experiences of relaxation and flow states. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sensing and feeling: an integrative approach to sensory processing and emotional experience'.

Study of optical responsivity and electronic properties of ternary halide perovskite semiconductors - CaKI3 and CaRbI3 for optoelectronic applications - A DFT approach

The full-potential linearized augmented plane wave approach is used in this work to investigate the structural, electronic, elastic, thermal, and optical properties of CaKI3 and CaRbI3 cubic perovskite compounds using GGA_PBE and TB_mBJ approximations. The structures have been relaxed and ground state structural parameters are calculated. Density of states calculated reveal narrow band gaps which are around Schockley-Queisser limit(Eg ≈ 1.34 eV). Optical characteristics imply that CaKI3 may be more appropriate for solar cell applications than CaRbI3.

Direct Probe of Conical Intersection Photochemistry by Time-Resolved X-ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism.

The direct probing of photochemical dynamics by detecting the electronic coherence generated during passage through conical intersections is an intriguing challenge. The weak coherence signal and the difficulty in preparing purely excited wave packets that exclude coherence from other sources make it experimentally challenging. We propose to use time-resolved X-ray magnetic circular dichroism to probe the wave packet dynamics around the conical intersection. The magnetic field amplifies the relative strength of the electronic coherence signal compared to populations through the magnetic field response anisotropy. More importantly, since the excited state relaxation through conical intersections involves a change of parity, the magnetic coupling matches the symmetry of the response function with the electronic coherence, making the coherence signal only sensitive to the conical intersection induced coherence and excludes the pump pulse induced coherence between the ground state and excited state. In this theoretical study, we apply this technique to the photodissociation dynamics of a pyrrole molecule and demonstrate its capability of probing electronic coherence at a conical intersection as well as population transfer. We demonstrate that a magnetic field can be effectively used to extract novel information about electron and nuclear molecular dynamics.

Effect of Hatha Yoga in the management of Kitibha vis-a-vis Psoriasis

Yoga is an ancient way of living that provides physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. Yoga cures many chronic diseases and bring a state of relaxation for overall well-being. In today’s scenario diseases start due to a sedentary lifestyle, wrong behavior, negative thoughts and attitudes. All this creates an imbalance in the human body, according to Ayurveda these habits vitiate Tridosha that is Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These three humor of human existence governs bodily function. In Ayurvedic classical text, all the skin diseases have described under the common heading ‘Kushtha’. Kitibha is one of the types of Kushtha and considered under category of Kshudra Kushtha is correlated with Psoriasis due to close resemblance of their clinical features. The mental and physical pain involved in the psoriasis affect the health of patients. The Ayurveda text elaborates the symptoms, causes and diagnosis of vitiated Dosha while the Yoga text explains the techniques which purify Dosha from the body and provide balance among three Vata, Pitta and Kapha. These three Dosha are essential constitutions of the living being. A balanced functioning of these three Dosha in living being considered a healthy individual and disharmony of these three Dosha could lead to many chronic illnesses. According to Ayurveda, no disease manifests without the Vaisamya of Dosha. Yoga provides a holistic approach to managing skin conditions.

Enhancing specialization of attention-related EEG power and phase synchronism brain patterns by meditation.

Meditation, mental training that aims to improve one's ability to regulate their cognition, has been widely applied in clinical medicine. However, the mechanism by which meditation affects brain activity is still unclear. To explore this question, electroencephalogram data were recorded in 20 long-term meditators and 20 nonmeditators during 2 high-level cognitive tasks (meditation and mental calculation) and a relaxed resting state (control). Then, the power spectral density and phase synchronization of the electroencephalogram were extracted and compared between these 2 groups. In addition, machine learning was used to discriminate the states within each group. We found that the meditation group showed significantly higher classification accuracy and calculation efficiency than the control group. Then, during the calculation task, both the power and global phase synchronism of the gamma response decreased in meditators compared to their relaxation state; yet, no such change was observed in the control group. A potential explanation for our observations is that meditation improved the flexibility of the brain through neural plastic mechanism. In conclusion, we provided robust evidence that long-term meditation experience could produce detectable neurophysiological changes in brain activity, which possibly enhance the functional segregation and/or specialization in the brain.

Indigenous Gond Art in Art Therapy: A Nature-Based Creative Process

There is a growing interest in understanding the connection between Indigenous art, nature, and art therapy, however information on the health implications of Indian Indigenous art practices is scarce. This case study highlights the application of nature-based Indian Indigenous art form Gond and explores its therapeutic potential in art therapy. A workshop was organized, combining nature-based guided imagery visualization with Gond folktale narration, followed by Gond-inspired artmaking using natural pigments and repetitive patterns. Workshop participants’ responses indicated that this approach fostered engagement, intense concentration, present moment awareness, a relaxed meditative state, and personal expression. Sensitively adapting Indigenous knowledge, like Gond practices, can promote awareness about interconnectedness with nature, artmaking, and storytelling, offering therapeutic benefits for self-care in art therapy.

Strain performance and thickness-induced asymmetry in SrTiO3 doped BNT-based lead-free ferroelectrics from nonergodic to ergodic phase

Changes in the relaxation state can greatly affect the electric-field induced strain response in bismuth sodium titanate-based materials. In this work, the strain performances from nonergodic relaxation (NER) to ergodic relaxation (ER) phase transition are investigated by introducing SrTiO3 in (Bi0·5Na0.5)0.98(La0·5Li0.5)0.02TiO3. The solid solutions of perovskite are achieved in all compositions. The ferroelectric to the relaxation phase transition is revealed based on the characteristic peak shape in XRD and temperature dependence of the dielectric properties. The weakened hysteresis of electric-field induced polarization and strain curves results from the creation of localized random fields due to the coexistence of multiple A-site ions, disrupting the ferroelectric long-range ordering at a higher SrTiO3 dopant. The formation of polar nanodomain is promoted and accompanied by the transition from the NER to the ER state. Meanwhile, chemical inhomogeneity is deduced by the anomalous variation in the conduction mechanism and surface state of elemental environments. Asymmetric strain behavior is obtained upon reducing the sample thickness to 0.2 mm, especially pronounced in components with stronger ferroelectricity, where highly asymmetric strain is dominated by surface effect and generated by the non-180° domain switching of the upper and lower surface layers. These features provide insights into the design of strain properties in lead-free piezoelectric ceramics.

Analysis of Transient Current and Heat Flow during Voltage Holds: For Relaxed and Unrelaxed G/NMC811 Cells

This study investigates the transient heat flow during voltage holds for multi-layer pouch G/NMC811 lithium-ion cells. When applying a voltage hold to estimate the amount of parasitic side reactions, there is first a transient phase followed by a steady state. According to the literature, reversible processes mainly influence the transient phase, while the steady state presents the side reaction current. This work investigates the contributions to the transient behavior, evaluating the thermal and electrical signals and deconvoluting the different parasitic side reactions. In addition, a comparison between relaxed and unrelaxed states is performed, analyzing different temperatures and voltages. The results show that the relaxed graphite cells quickly reached a constant parasitic heat flow value with minimal transient effects. In contrast, the unrelaxed cells presented increased transient effects in the parasitic heat flow signal that can last more than 300 h. The electric transient originates mainly from anode overhang effects and SEI regrowth, while the thermal transient consists predominantly of SEI regrowth. Overall, the thermal signals stabilize faster than the electrical signals, giving calorimetry an advantage for faster estimation of parasitic side reactions.

Lithium Redistribution Mechanism within Silicon-Graphite Electrodes: Multi-Method Approach and Method Validation

Li redistribution processes within Si-graphite composite (SiG) electrodes are analyzed using in situ and operando X-ray diffraction (XRD), ex situ light microscopy (LM), in situ optical microscopy of cross-sectioned full cells (CS-IOM), and 3D microstructure-resolved simulations of full cells. First, the lithiation behavior of graphite and SiG full cells (Si content 20.8 wt.-%) is analyzed. The results are used as validation of the methods (XRD, LM, CS-IOM, simulation). Second, the Li redistribution between the graphite component and Si component within SiG electrodes is investigated: By operando XRD measurements during charging in comparison with relaxed cells, a higher lithiation degree in the graphite component is found during charging compared to the relaxed state, indicating Li redistribution from graphite to Si during relaxation. The Li redistribution is directly observed by in situ and ex situ optical microscopy, where the golden LiC6 phase disappears during a 24 h relaxation period. The results are supported by simulations showing the variation in the Li concentration, not only in graphite but also within the Si component. Furthermore, all methods find that the Li redistribution is more pronounced at a higher C-rate of 0.5 C, suggesting a preference for graphite lithiation over Si lithiation.

Sport-Specific Abdominal Wall Muscle Differences: A Comparative Study of Soccer and Basketball Players Using Ultrasonography

Aim: This study aims to compare the thickness of abdominal wall muscles—the external oblique (EO), internal oblique (IO), transversus abdominis (TrAb), rectus abdominis (RA), and inter-recti distance (IRD)—between amateur soccer and basketball players using ultrasonography. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted with 35 male amateur athletes, including 17 soccer players and 18 basketball players. Ultrasonographic measurements of the EO, IO, TrAb, RA muscles, and IRD were taken while the muscles were in a relaxed state for all the participants in both sides. Results: Significant differences were found in the RA muscle thickness, with basketball players showing a greater mean thickness compared to soccer players. No significant differences were observed in the TrAb, IO, and EO muscles between the two groups. The IRD showed a trend towards larger separation in basketball players, though this was not statistically significant. Conclusions: This study highlights sport-specific adaptations in the RA muscle, likely due to the distinct physical demands of basketball and soccer. The findings underscore the importance of tailored training and rehabilitation programs that consider these morphological differences to enhance performance and reduce injury risks.

The Effect of Stress on a Personal Identification System Based on Electroencephalographic Signals.

Personal identification systems based on electroencephalographic (EEG) signals have their own strengths and limitations. The stability of EEG signals strongly affects such systems. The human emotional state is one of the important factors that affects EEG signals' stability. Stress is a major emotional state that affects individuals' capability to perform day-to-day tasks. The main objective of this work is to study the effect of mental and emotional stress on such systems. Two experiments have been performed. In the first, we used hand-crafted features (time domain, frequency domain, and non-linear features), followed by a machine learning classifier. In the second, raw EEG signals were used as an input for the deep learning approaches. Different types of mental and emotional stress have been examined using two datasets, SAM 40 and DEAP. The proposed experiments proved that performing enrollment in a relaxed or calm state and identification in a stressed state have a negative effect on the identification system's performance. The best achieved accuracy for the DEAP dataset was 99.67% in the calm state and 96.67% in the stressed state. For the SAM 40 dataset, the best accuracy was 99.67%, 93.33%, 92.5%, and 91.67% for the relaxed state and stress caused by identifying mirror images, the Stroop color-word test, and solving arithmetic operations, respectively.

Pengaruh Teknik Relaksasi Otot Progresif Dan Dzikir Terhadap Perubahan Tekanan Darah Lansia Hipertensi Di Wilayah Kerja Puskesmas Amparita

Background: Hypertension is a disease characterized by an increase in blood pressure, where the systolic pressure is more than 140 mmHg and the diastolic pressure is more than 90 mmHg. Health problems that occur in the elderly are usually related to a decrease in organ function which will trigger degenerative diseases, one of which is hypertension. If hypertension is not treated properly, it will reduce the quality of life. Apart from pharmacological treatment, other options can also be used, namely non-pharmacological therapy, one of which is progressive muscle relaxation techniques and dzikr. The combination of these two therapies is a systematic technique for achieving a state of relaxation. This technique is expected to double the relaxation effect and reduce blood pressure. Method: this research uses the Pre-Experiment method with pre-test and post-test design. The sample size for this research was 23 respondents. The sampling technique used purposive sampling. The tools used were a spygmamonometer and stethoscope. Data analysis used Univariate and Bivariate Analysis. Results: After the respondents were given progressive muscle relaxation intervention, they found a decrease in blood pressure in lanation. Based on the Hypothesis Test Results of the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test, the result was p value = 0.000, where 0.000 < 0.05. So H0 is rejected and Ha is accepted, Conclusion: so it can be concluded that there is an influence of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Techniques and Dzikr on Changes in Blood Pressure of Hypertension Patients in the Work Area of ​​the Community Health Center Amparita.

Does a reclined backrest with less legroom meet the same comfort as a fixed backrest with 80 mm more leg room?

BACKGROUND: In vehicles there is often limited space for seats. This might mean that reclining the back rest reduces the legroom. The second row in a cargo van has this problem and in this limited space an upright seat and a reclined seat with less legroom was developed and tested. OBJECTIVE: The research question of this study is: Does a reclined backrest with less leg room result in the same comfort and/or discomfort as an upright backrest with more leg room? METHODS: Twenty participants are asked to sit 45 minutes in the upright seat with 8 cm more legroom and 45 minutes in the reclined seat. Ten participants started in the upright seat and ten in the reclined. Participants had to complete a comfort and discomfort questionnaire every 15 minutes and a qualitative interview was conducted after experiencing both seats. RESULTS: For comfort no statistically significant differences were found between both seats. For discomfort statistically significant differences were found where discomfort was lower in the reclined seat. Half of the participants preferred the upright and half the reclined seat. The interviews showed that the reclined position was more related to relaxation. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that a more reclined back rest results in less discomfort, but that does not lead to a clear preference of participants. The reclined position is associated with relaxing, and this study indicates that for the relaxing state the more reclined seat is preferred. For more active situations the upright posture seems better.

Drag force regime in dry and immersed granular media.

The drag force acting on an intruder colliding with granular media is typically influenced by the impact velocity and the penetrating depth. In this paper, the investigation was extended to the dry and immersed scenarios through coupled simulations at different penetrating velocities. The drag force regime was clarified to exhibit velocity dependence in the initial contact stage, followed by the inertial transit stage with a F∼z^{2} (force-depth) relationship. Subsequently, it transitioned into the depth-dependent regime in both dry and immersed cases. The underlying rheological mechanism was explored, revealing that, in both dry and immersed scenarios, the granular bulk underwent a state relaxation process, as indicated by the granular inertial number. Additionally, the presence of the ambient fluid restricted the flow dynamics of the perturbed granular material, exhibiting a similar rheology as observed in the dry case.

Adsorption mechanisms of heavy metal atoms As, Pb, and Zn on thermally activated palygorskite Si–O/Mg–O (200) surfaces: A first-principles calculations

Heavy metal pollution on air, water, and soil is an issue of increasing global concern. Adsorption is widely recognized as one of the most effective methods for removing heavy metal pollution. The adsorption mechanisms of As (Arsenic), Pb (Lead), and Zn (Zinc) atoms on thermally activated palygorskite Si–O (200) and Mg–O (200) surfaces were investigated using first-principles calculations based on DFT. The coverage dependence of the adsorption configurations and energies on the most stable adsorption sites was also analyzed. The bridge site was found to be the most stable adsorption site for As and Pb on the Si–O (200) surface, while the adsorption energy of Zn was ＜ 0.1 eV on the surface. The adsorption capacity order of the surface was As > Pb ≫ Zn. On the Mg–O (200) surface, the hollow site was the most stable site for three heavy metal atoms. The adsorption energies of them gradually decreased with increasing coverage, thus indicating the lower stability of surface adsorption due to the repulsion of neighboring heavy metal atoms. The adsorption capacity of the Mg–O (200) surface followed the order of As > Pb > Zn. Further exploration was performed on the changes in structure and electronic properties within the adsorption process by studying the lattice relaxation, Bader charge, and electronic density of states (DOS) of the thermally activated palygorskite (200)/heavy metal atoms system.

A short simulated nature experience as an effective way to promote restoration from work-related stress.

Spending time in nature, and even watching images or videos of nature, has positive effects on one's mental state. However, cognitively stressful work is often performed indoors, in offices that lack easy access to nature during breaks. In this study, we investigated whether watching a 5-min audiovisual video that describes a first-person perspective walk on a forest path could help to restore one's mental state after cognitive stress. Participants were asked to perform cognitive stressor tasks, after which they were shown either a nature walk video or a control video. Subjective restoration was measured using self-reports before and after the videos, while electrodermal activity (EDA) and electroencephalography (EEG) were measured during the video-watching session. The results showed that experiencing the nature walk video enhanced subjective restoration more than watching the control video. Arousal of the autonomic nervous system, measured using EDA, decreased more during the nature walk video than during the control video. Additionally, activity in the EEG's upper theta band (6-8 Hz) and lower alpha band (8-10 Hz) increased during the nature walk video, suggesting that it induced a relaxed state of mind. Interestingly, the participants' connection with nature moderated the effects of the nature video. The subjective and physiological measures both suggest that watching a short, simulated nature walk may be beneficial in relaxing the mind and restoring one's mental state after cognitive stress.

Transferable GeSn ribbon photodetectors for high-speed short-wave infrared photonic applications

We experimentally demonstrate a low-cost transfer process of GeSn ribbons to insulating substrates for short-wave infrared (SWIR) sensing/imaging applications. By releasing the original compressive GeSn layer to nearly fully relaxed state GeSn ribbons, the room-temperature spectral response of the photodetector is further extended to 3.2 μm, which can cover the entire SWIR range. Compared with the as-grown GeSn reference photodetectors, the fabricated GeSn ribbon photodetectors have a fivefold improvement in the light-to-dark current ratio, which can improve the detectivity for high-performance photodetection. The transient performance of a GeSn ribbon photodetector is investigated with a rise time of about 40 μs, which exceeds the response time of most GeSn (Ge)-related devices. In addition, this transfer process can be applied on various substrates, making it a versatile technology that can be used for various applications ranging from optoelectronics to large-area electronics. These results provide insightful guidance for the development of low-cost and high-speed SWIR photodetectors based on Sn-containing group IV low-dimensional structures.