Preferred Sound Type for Stress Therapy

Abstract

This paper discusses about comparing different sound types used in stress therapy and recognizing preferences among users. The aim of the stress therapy is to reduce stress among users, by replacing traditional guided therapy session with virtual reality environment. Besides the element of virtual environment, it is believed that sound has an impact towards reducing stress. Experiments were conducted (i.e. therapy sessions) using three sound types; natural beach environment sound, instrumental (piano) sound and zikr with instrumental (piano) sound. By the end of experiments, comparisons of stress level were made (measuring heart rate and users' expressions) before and after each sessions. Natural background sound has the highest impact followed closely by the zikr with instrumental music on reducing stress level among participants as compared to just instrumental sound. The result of the experiments displayed that the different impact of sound towards reducing stress. © 2018 IEEE.