LightStress: targeting stress reduction through affective objects

Long-term stress is a leading cause of global health loss. Despite its clear influence on productivity, and overall social and economic development, mental health continues to be neglected in work environments. To help reduce this problem, we present LightStress, a tangible affective artifact that adapts itself to the user's needs in order to improve their mental well-being. Our prototype is inspired by existing techniques and coping mechanisms collected during the two ethnographic studies we conducted (a cultural probe and an online imagery research).