a mobile biofeedback self-experiment: stress and eating - georgios papastefanou

Yorgos PapastefanouLudwigshafen/Germany

One week observation of my sympathetic arousal and my eating behavior

Presentation at theQuantified Self Europe Conference

Amsterdam, 26.11-27.11.2011

Yorgos PapastefanouLudwigshafen/Germany

• What governs my eating behavior?• What is the relationship between my emotional

reactions and my eating behavior?• I know from literature, that stress influences

eating behavior. Stress physiological mechanisms lead to desire for comfortable food (fat, sweet)

• I am doing my personal program for losing weight (eating less and mainly non-cooked vegs and fruits, 1 hour/day crosstrainer)

How did I do it?

sensor wristband push button keypad smartphone camera

•Skin conductivity•Skin temperature•Opto-electric sensor•tri-axial acceleration•Ambient temperature•12 buttons keypad•50 Hz

What I ate/drankWednesday 17.11.2011

Friday 18.11.2011

Saturday 19.11.2011

Sunday 20.11.2011

Monday 21.11.2011

What did I learn? retrospective introspection

• In the beginning it bothered me. It precluded doing homework. After one day I got used to the wristband (but did not more homework).

• It was kind of satisfying to mark my hungry feelings.

• I liked to measure myself (esp. pushing the hunger marker). I missed it after stopping. This experience pointed me to social psychology of objective self-awareness.

What did I learn? Quantitative analysis

020

4060

8010

0hu

nger

feel

ing

inte

nsity

02

46

8sk

in c

ondu

ctiv

ity re

spon

se in

tens

ity

21no

v201

1 06:1

0:00

21no

v201

1 07:3

3:20

21no

v201

1 08:5

6:40

21no

v201

1 10:2

0:00

21no

v201

1 11:4

3:20

21no

v201

1 13:0

6:40

21no

v201

1 14:3

0:00

21no

v201

1 15:5

3:20

21no

v201

1 17:1

6:40

21no

v201

1 18:4

0:00

date/time

That’s it for now.

More information:

www.bodymonitor.dewww.gesis.org