Breathe2BE

In 2022, I am setting out to build on the results of the Rise 2 Flow project. The big picture is provided below plus the abstract.

Here’s the research-y phrased abstract:

Context: Software engineers unconsciously embed their values into the systems they design; and these systems happen to run our world. The advances of artificial intelligence and big data analysis further intensify this dependency. People’s lives depend on software in many ways, literally so in terms of safety, and indirectly in terms of security.
Gap: Despite tremendous impact on society and recent rise in mental health challenges due to the pandemic, there have been no empirical studies on the benefits and effects of self-care practices in engineering. Such practices are crucial to stay connected to one’s values, and based on well-being and resilience.

Contribution: This project creates a new method to evaluate intervention modes to well-being and resilience in an engineering environment and a series of comparative studies for empirical evidence of effects on the
participants as well as their affected work tasks. Breathe2BE is first to provide an effective, tailored way to restore attention and increase well-being and resilience in software engineering and beyond.


Impact: I establish a new interdisciplinary research field in between psychology, physiology, and IT. Research impact includes (1) contributing a new method for measuring the effects of different intervention modes for increasing well-being and resilience using indicators for physical, mental and emotional health as well as performance measures,
(2) providing empirical evidence from a series of comparative studies of intervention modes breathwork, meditation, yoga poses, nature walks and (3) leveraging effects via AI-optimized timing to support users in
optimum flow.

Breathe2BE creates societal impact by training and evidencing effective and accessible self-care practices, for (1) the software developer in their well-being and resilience, (2) the employer for work quality, employee &
knowledge retention and reduced sick time, and (3) all users by adequate technology design that supports human values and a sustainable lifestyle.