Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and Tampere University conducted joint research centered on the impact of wood on a person’s well-being. While there have already been countless previous studies on the same subject, this particular study used a wearable electronic device to gather relevant data more accurately.
Wood for Good is a pioneering project that seeks to discover whether wood helps diminish a person’s negative emotions. Physiological measurements like electrodermal activity (EDA) and heart rate variability (HRV) were used to record signals in the study. Popular stress management smart ring Moodmetric was used to keep tabs on a person’s EDA. Electrodermal activity better indicates a person’s emotional reactions, while heart rate variability tells how stressed a person is.
Scientific evidence on the effects of wood on a person’s well-being is scarce. But with the study, researchers are hoping to find some positive results to improve how the woodworking industry constructs its products and further boost the image of wood products.
Research Methodology
Sixty people participated in the study; each was placed in separate but identical rooms. The only difference between both offices was the walls and floors — one utilized pure wooden materials, while the other used synthetic wood materials. The participants were placed under similar stress loads while spending an hour each day in their respective rooms.
The study went on over the course of two weeks. Moodmetric gathered data by collecting the participants’ EDA and HRV, taking into account each volunteer’s well-being and psychological response to their respective environments.
Results, moving forward
While there are very few studies available that dove into the effects of wood on a person’s well-being, the project was able to prove at the very least that their observations yielded positive results in favor of wooden materials. Wood for Good has been a tremendous pioneering study, and researchers believe that this can be further developed with more long-term measurements and in different kinds of environments.
More data is needed to conclude for certain that wood has physiological effects on the human psyche. But one fact is apparent — Moodmetric and other similar smart rings can be used to identify bodily cues even without the user knowing it.
About Moodmetric Smart Ring
Moodmetric is a smart ring designed for stress monitoring and management. It fits comfortably on your finger and measures your central nervous system’s reaction to your environment as accurately as laboratory equipment would. The ring measures your cognitive and psychological responses in real-time, enabling you to manage stressful cues that could affect your well-being.
Moodmetric is a useful tool for measuring your body’s stress signals before you even recognize them. For this same reason, researchers at the Tampere University of Technology selected Moodmetric to serve as the measuring device of each participant’s well-being.
