1.  Measure the effects of three well-known relaxation techniques to determine the most effective method for parasympathetic nervous system activation  guided voice relaxation(GR),  relaxing music (RM)  supine rest (SR)  We expected to see increases in subjective ratings of relaxation with decreases in heart rate and EDA over time in all three conditions, showing the strongest relaxation response in the GR group Brianna Rice & Denny McDonald, University of Wisconsin – Stout; Advisor: Dr. Michael Donnelly  Practicing relaxation techniques (RT) is an active mental process effective for stress management  RT are known to reduce self reports and behavioral measures of anxiety, fatigue and frustration and improve mood and attention  Opposite of the “fight or flight” response, activation of the parasympathetic nervous system occurs in the relaxation response  Alterations in nervous system activity is shown to reduce:: Heartrate Respiration  Blood pressure  Autonomic arousal  RT helps sustain efficient higher-order cognitive processing  Alterations in alpha and theta brainwave patterns correlate with perceived feelings of relaxation  The relaxation response combats our bodily response to distress in order to maintain optimal psychological and physical well-being  Participants- 21 UW-Stout student volunteers (mean age=20, 11 males, 10 females  Randomly assigned to one of three 20 minute relaxation session groups (n=7 for each group)  Guided relaxation group: Audio recording of calming male relaxation guide  Supine rest group: No auditory relaxation aid  Music group: Soft relaxing instrumental music  At the sound of a beep, participants reported subjective ratings of relaxation throughout the session (3 minute intervals, starting from minute one)  Ratings are on a scale of 1(feeling least relaxed, distressed and highly aroused) to 10 (feeling very relaxed, little to no nervous tension and/or distress)  Sessions took place in a quiet, dimly lit room, a sleeping mat was used for participants comfort  Participants were instructed to lie with eyes closed in supine rest position, wearing noise cancellation headphones  Physiological measures recorded using Biopac Student Lab: Electrodermal Activity (EDA), Electrocardiography(EKG) and Electroencephalography(EEG) Figure 1Figure 2Figure 3  Significant main effects was found in EDA, HR, and subjective ratings over time (Figures 1,2,3)  No significant effect was found to be dependent on group  Slight visual trend (indicated in figures 1 and 3) shows RM group to have produced the strongest relaxation response  EEG data was inconclusive, showing no trends over time within any condition  Results show that each technique produces increasing relaxation responses in parasympathetic nervous system as time goes on  The physiological data, paired with subjective ratings show each method may be beneficial at promoting relaxation and alleviating stress  Inconclusive EEG results could be due to the small number of participants, time constraints, outliers, and human error  Future research could benefit from more participants, more detailed self-reports, and more RT variety