Zen and the Art of The Quantified Self (London Meetup)

transcript

Zen and the art of the quantified self

Gary Monk

Presentation includes speaker notes on slides

@garymonk

garywmonk

gary@garymonk.com

Presentation available on You Tube http://youtu.be/V0N4kp1fZlU

TechObsessed

HealthObsessed

TechObsessed

HealthObsessed

My interest in Quantified Self stems from mutual obsessions with Health and Technology

One of the goals was to develop more ‘mind control’ re: stressed or negative thoughts and develop more periods of calm and be ‘in the moment’ even during pressured times

Another objective was to increase energy levels by being more present and focused

Objectives

• Be more present• Slow down and gain perspective• Increase control over my thinking• Have more energy!

Part of this study involved dedicated time to meditate and also trying to engage in mindfulness while working or engaged in other activities

Heart Rate Variability

The principle behind this research is something called Heart Rate Variability – or HRV. Our heart rates vary to differing degrees. If our heart rate in a given minute is 60 it is unlikley the interval between each beat is exactly 1 second. When we are more relaxed the variability is greater

When we are frustrated or stressed the heart rate varies in a very chaotic way

When we are relaxed and appreciating life the variability is smooth like a sine wave and is known as being coherent

So how do we improve our HRV and get into a coherent state? Thinking positive thoughts are important but the biggest key is regular and rhythmic breathing

I used an iphone app called inner balance from a company called Heartmath. The HRV measurements were taken via an earpiece. This was slightly obvious and a lot of people asked me what I was doing.Getting your HRV in the green zone is ideal. The units of measurement are coherence. These are not exactly defined but relative. My normal at rest was around 1 and I was trying to improve this

Objectives

• Be more present• Slow down and gain perspective• Increase control over my thinking

Use Rhythmic BreathingHeart Rate Variability biofeedback to achieve this, during everyday tasks

I used a number of different methods to regulate my breathing• A Visual pacer on my iphone• A pre-recorded Audioloop • A tactile system that vibrated

726154841 mins

40+ mins p/d 80+

hrsI recorded a metronome on a loop instructing myself to breath in and breath out every 4 seconds and listened to this while I was at work. I did this for 4841 minutes (around 80 hrs) or 40 mins per day. This was 72,615 breathing commands to be precise!

I got sick of my own voice – I needed another method. I used a pacing app that vibrated every 4 seconds and tied it to my wrist with a sock. Not exactly elegant but it worked!

Method

7.5 BPM

Control vs rhythmic breathing

Work & Life Tasks

120Days

10324Mins

328DPs

Coherence & relaxation scores

I got a lot of data. I breathed in and out every 4 seconds equating to 7.5 breaths per minute. I did this for a total of 10324 mins or 170 hours with the sensor attached to my ear. This equated to 328 data points

MethodI recorded my activity type, if my breathing was focused or natural, the duration, how I felt and my scores from the device, in a table

The Data

Working

work f-work0

Average Coherence score

f-work is with focus on my breathing. My coherence score was significantly higher with the breathing focus

Working

Relaxation score 0

workf-work

Coherence score

I also felt more relaxed with the focused breathing (on a 10 point scale) taken after each measurement

Relaxing

relax f-relax0

Even when not working, focused breathing improved my HRV levels

Relaxing

Relaxation score Coherence score

relaxf-relax

And also increased my relaxation levels further

Meditating

meditate f-meditate0

Using the device increased my HRV score even when meditating

Meditating

Relaxation score Coherence score

4.2meditatef-meditate

And also increased my relaxation score

Summary

work f-work relax f-relax meditate f-meditate0

7.67.3

8 7.88.2

4.2 RelaxCoherence

Hear versus Touch

Audio-Work

Touch W

Audio-Relax

Touch-R

Audio-Medita

Touch M

editation

7.6 7.78.0 7.9 8.2 8.0

2.9 2.73.0 3.3

RelaxCoherence

Using the vibration versus audio method of synching my breathing was almost equivalent in effectiveness. (Slightly higher for the vibration approach)

Hear versus Touch

Focus-VisualiseAudio-RelaxAudio-WorkAudio-MeditationTouch-RelaxTouch WorkTouch MeditationNon-Focus-RelaxNon-Focus-WorkNon-Focus-Meditation

Time spent in the various domains

Hear versus Touch

Focus-VisualiseAudio-RelaxAudio-WorkAudio-MeditationTouch-RelaxTouch WorkTouch MeditationNon-Focus-RelaxNon-Focus-WorkNon-Focus-Meditation

Time spent in the various domains3 dominated

Meditation – relaxed versus coherence

1 to 1.9 2 to 2.9 3 +0.0

7.5 8.0 8.4

There was a correlation between increased HRV and relaxation during meditation

Meditation No time?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 170

Meditation Minutes / week

My behaviour changed, increasing dedicated time for meditation

The challenges

• Data entry & device integration

I spent a lot of time taking data from the device and my own data, putting it into 1 place and analysing it

Key conclusions

• I can consistently raise my HRV while working (and living)

• An increased HRV corresponds with greater relaxation levels

• ‘touch’ synchronisation of breath at least as good as ‘audio’

• It has been a great tool to ‘relax’ & focus at work• It has changed my behaviour – dedicated meditation

time• I feel great!

Future research

• EEG readings, Focus, concentration, working memory

• Blood Pressure effects• Quantify other life metrics (e.g. centredness)• Sleep data

@garymonk

garywmonk

gary@garymonk.com

Questions?

Zen and the Art of The Quantified Self (London Meetup)

Health & Medicine