1. Effectiveness of the FLOW Program Among Heavy Computer-Using Employees: A Pilot Study by Renee Nasajon, Psy.D., Jonathan N. Tobin, Ph.D., & Cory Mitchell, B.S.

2. FLOW Pilot Study: Background alarming increase in incidence/prevalence of chronic diseases among working Americans during past decades. growing tendency towards a sedentary lifestyle. + correlation between lack of physical activity & development of chronic conditions (CVD’s, hypertension, colon cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, RSI’s). regular moderate levels of exercise can: –prevent development of chronic disease/ infectious diseases –improve cognitive performance –alleviate symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression.

3. FLOW Pilot Study: Objective PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Evaluate effectiveness of FLOW intervention to increase employees’ levels of physical activity inside & outside working hours. SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: Asses changes in emotional/coping indices (depression, stress, anxiety); in health-risk behaviors (smoking, caffeine consumption), & physiological measures (weight, BMI, BP).

4. FLOW Pilot Study: Methods Repeated measures (pre-post) design Sample. 17 healthy adult deskbound workers. from two HUDSON RIVER HEALTHCARE community centers (Peekskill, NY & Walden, NY). ages 18-65. 75% + time spent at desk Exclusions. arteriosclerosis. hypoglycemia. high/low blood pressure. pregnancy, etc.

5. FLOW Pilot Study: Measures Sociodemographics Body Mass Index (BMI) Diastolic/Systolic Blood Pressure (DBP & SBP) Tobacco, alcohol, & caffeine consumption Snacking Physical activity outside of work Bi-monthly self-report

6. FLOW Pilot Study: Measures Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995) Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS; Hoddes, Zarcone, Smythe, Phillips, and Dement, 1973) Quality of Life Index (QLI; Ferrans & Powers, 1985)

7. FLOW Pilot Study: Analysis One way Analysis of Variance –Repeated Measures design Chi-Square –Locally weighted scatterplot smoothing (lowness) used to visually inspect significant findings

8. FLOW Pilot Study: Results Employees who participated in the FLOW Pilot Study showed: Reduction of SBP & DBP (16 pts. p<.05 & 7 pts. p<.053) Increased physical activity outside work (p<.05) Improved levels of alertness/energy (p<.05) Improvement in mood (trend)

9. Blood Pressure: decreases SBP ( 16 pts., p < 0.05; M = 16 pts) decreases DBP (7 pts., p < 0.053; M = 7 pts)

10. Physical Activity

12. Sleepiness

13. FLOW Pilot Study: Limitations Small sample size No control group Short follow-up period No objective measure of daily FLOW use frequency CONCLUSIONS Results from FLOW Pilot Study warrant a larger scale controlled study

14. References. Lovibond, S.H., & Lovibond, P.F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed.). Sydney, Australia: Psychology Foundation of Australia.. Hoddes, E., Zarcone, V., Smythe, H., Phillips, R., & Dement, W.C. (1973). Quantification of sleepiness: A new approach. Psychophysiology, 10, 431-436. Ferrans, C., & Powers, M. (1985). Quality of Life Index: Development and psychometric properties. Advances in Nursing Science, 8, 15-24.