Not stressed, do a use test!

For some products, the proof of the pudding really is in the eating of them, apologies for the anglicism. For example, Ayavaya came up with a treatment method that fights the symptoms of stress. Quite simply, it works like this: you get a jet of water on your head for 20 minutes which stimulates certain parts of the brain which has been shown to reduce stress. The system was developed by a Belgian doctor and is based on Ayurvedic insights.

Challenge

Such a product concept cannot be judged from paper. After all, on paper the advantages sound very good: less suffering from complaints such as insomnia and headaches, but does it work in practice? And you can have friends and acquaintances undergo the treatment, but how objective are they really? That is why Blauw was called in for a study.

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Vision

First, we recruited the subjects, reflecting as much as possible the stressed fellow human beings, from different backgrounds and with various forms of stress. They underwent weekly treatment for one month.

Solution

The first signal of the potential success of this product is that almost all subjects completed the full period. The two people who did not complete all four treatments had good reasons for dropping out, one because of family circumstances, the other because of corona infection. Mortality (number of panel study participants dropping out mid-term) was thus less than average. At five points in time, participants completed questionnaires and this revealed the course of the stress experience over time. In addition to this self-assessment, HRV measurements, a more objective measure of stress, were taken to support the results found.

Result

In addition to understanding stress reduction, the use-test also made the developers aware of a few areas for improvement. For example, making sure the cabin is comfortable for tall people as well. For Ayavaya, the test was a great success and reason enough to continue developing the cabin. Thanks to Blauw's research, Ayavaya is confidently taking the next step in their product development and getting ready to enter the market.