Wearable technologies for assessing the effects of nature on physiological states

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Wearable technologies have provided humans with the unprecedented ability to tune in to moment-to-momentvariations in their physiological state. The market for devices to monitor signals such as heart rate are floodedwith popular technologies, such as Fitbits. Of all commercially available devices, only a handful offer theability to measure electrodermal activity (EDA) - a measure of microcutaneous sweat that is highly correlatedwith emotional state, and which can provide a strong level of insight into an individual's mental and emotionalstate. Together with Thought Technology -- a company that has been developing sensors to measure andprovide feedback of physiological signals (including EDA) for decades -- this proposal aims to test and validatea novel wearable sensor that collects physiological signals in real-time and provides the user feedback in theform of sound. The wearable technology was developed as part of an NSERC Engage; this proposal developsnovel sonifications and provides a robust testing environment of the system by collecting data from individualsparticipating in a nature relaxation program.