Date Thesis Awarded

5-2022

Access Type

Honors Thesis -- Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelors of Science (BS)

Department

Biology

Advisor

Brennan Harris

Committee Members

Ashleigh Queen

Paul Heideman

Abstract

University students are plagued with increased levels of stress and anxiety which can lead to poor sleep quality and quantity. Breathing techniques have demonstrated counteractive effects to the chronic stresses that the population encounters on an everyday basis. Wearable technology, such as Apple Watches, contain a mindfulness feature that encourages its users to pause throughout the day and engage in mindfulness through resonant breathing. Wearable technology has become increasingly accessible and is also growing in accuracy to measure different biometrics such as sleep quality and quantity. The purpose of the present study was to examine if the mindfulness reminders initiated by the Apple Watch will positively correlate with better sleep quality and quantity. Participants were encouraged to participate in at least one mindfulness reminder a day, which consisted of one minute of mindful breathing, as well as sleep while wearing their Apple Watch to record sleep data on the Sleep++ application. This study suggests that the Apple Watch mindfulness reminders slightly decrease restful sleep by about 1%. It was also found that the more time the participant sleeps, the more restful sleep they will have overall. Lastly, it was suggested that exercise has a positive effect on restful sleep.

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