Moment Sensory Therapeutic Chair
A holistic therapy for anyone along the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder spectrum. The Moment chair incorporates light, sound, scent and a meditative breath-rate visualization to induce and train focus.
Environmental factors measurably impact our well being. By reversing the paradigm and calibrating our environment, we might find ways to reclaim our control over our wellbeing. Inspired by global meditation practices and mindfulness rituals and informed by measured focus patterns in the brain, the Moment chair is an oasis from a busy day, and a ritual to train your focus.
In our world of incessant notifications and infinite information and addictive media at our fingertips, our collective ability to concentrate has become eroded. These phenomena combined with desires/pressures to boost cognitive performance have led to record use of addictive stimulant drugs like Adderall and Ritalin. Moment is meant to counteract the distraction and distress of modern times; a drug-free method of boosting performance and concentration that ultimately seeks to help society better control its reactions to the ever-increasing stimuli which surround us.
Moment is a multi-sensory chair aimed to help individuals focus, based on neural activity models of populations with ADHD. Research shows that individuals with ADHD have a lower beta-to-theta brainwave activity ratio compared to the general population during periods of focus. Based on this cluster of studies, the Moment chair hypothesizes
1) that inducing brain activity to match the general population’s can, in turn, induce focus
2) that it can modulate brain activity (specifically, the beta-to-theta ratio) by presenting sensory signals to the user at specific target frequencies
The Moment chair uses an array of sensory stimuli to induce brain activity and neural sensors to measure it. With a meditative breath-rate visualization (alongside a series of prompted breathing exercises), scent, light, and sound, Moment is a rich sensory experience and a training ground for improved focus.
Despite its technical foundation, the Moment chair abstracts the technology away from the user experience. The Moment chair’s form is guided by smooth curves, specifically designed to immerse, relax and captivate.
The sensory elements of the chair (light, aromatherapy, sound and visual cues) are informed by research on their impacts on state of mind, but also by time-tested cultural traditions. Most important, however, is Moment’s attention to the user’s individuality - the chair trains itself for people's different brain activity profiles, routines and needs to function as an accessible daily ritual.
Lexus Design Award 2019 shortlist candidate