APD Week#12 - Play and Stillness

Week 12 - Play and Stillness

Response: https://youtu.be/ycIuV1YdSe0

• Theme

In response to the theme of Play and Stillness, I hosted a 5-second hug activity and produced a video showing that people wear an Apple Watch to detect their real-time heart rate while hugging others and then describe their feelings after hugging. The variation in heart rate indicates periods of psychological stillness or relative stillness.

• Method

I invited four friends to take part in a 5-second hug activity. I explored humans’ feelings and heart rate differences when they hug people with different relationships. We will describe inner feelings using several words and check the heart rate variation to see if there is a period of psychological stillness or relative stillness while hugging specific relations.

• Context

Stillness in Psychology represents a mental state which is calm and conscious about feelings and decisions (Gordon, 2022). It is a state of self-control. Mental Stillness Organization(2022) states that mental stillness is helpful for the activation of the integrated ability of the autonomic nervous system and related areas of the brain. And this will promote well-being and performance. Meanwhile, hugging is a good way of maintaining or generating mental silence. Scientific evidence supports this and shows hugs can decrease levels of a kind of stress hormone and bring down both blood pressure and heart rate when people are stressed (Parmita, 2021). Thus, I chose hugs as the theme and I plan to figure out how they relate to stillness in psychology and create peace in heart rates. I am also curious about how hugging people within different relationships will bring different effects on changing the heart rate.

• Reflection

When I made this week’s response, I am personally excited to hug others because I don’t have chances to express my love to friends or stay so close to them. The feelings that emerged during the hug brought peace to me. However, due to the time limit, I am not able to find more people with relations in more variations. The outcome is a little bit bland, but it offers a prove that hugs within closer relationships will have slowing down heartbeat effects, and bring mental stillness.