StressNCT05242523
Automated Stress Detection and Restoration in Office Workers
A study testing Bergamot scent and Natural wood scent in people with Stress, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
This study aims at establishing a laboratory experiment that mimics office work stressors, examining the feasibility of automated stress detection, and identifying the most significant physiological and/or behavioral features that can be used to differentiate between positive stress (eustress) and negative stress… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Stress
- What is being tested?
- Bergamot scent and Natural wood scent
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 50 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- 1 Apr 2022to 5 Jul 2022
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Participants will be older than 18.
- Participants should be proficient at speaking and writing in English.
- Qualified participants should have a normal or corrected-to-normal vision, and a normal sense of smell.
Who cannot join
- Participants will be screened to make sure that they don't have any physical or psychological-related problems that make them sensitive to stress-inducing tasks.
- Participants who are taking any medication to regulate their blood pressure will not be allowed to participate in the study as these medications might affect the quality of the blood volume pulse-related data.
- Pregnant women are not allowed to participate in this study.
- Participants using prescription medication, diagnosed with color blindness, rhinitis, or hay fever, or have allergic reactions to essential oils ( e.g., contact dermatitis, allergic rhinitis) will not be allowed to participate in this study.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, 90089
About this study
This study aims at establishing a laboratory experiment that mimics office work stressors, examining the feasibility of automated stress detection, and identifying the most significant physiological and/or behavioral features that can be used to differentiate between positive stress (eustress) and negative stress (distress). Additionally, we will investigate if triggering the olfactory (exposing participants to pleasant smells) senses would help reduce stress.
Read the detailed description
The experiment is divided into 2 main phases:
The first phase is the eustress-distress data collection: In this phase, participants will complete three conditions:
- "No-stress": Participants will sit idle on their desks without performing any task. This is important to record a baseline of physiological signals that will allow us to compare the physiological responses in later stages.
- "Low-stress work": Participants will be asked to prepare a brief presentation about a familiar topic (e.g., favorite types of food, TV shows, academic work). A strict time limit will not be provided; instead, participants will be told that they have at least 30 minutes and up to 40 minutes if they need that amount of time to complete the presentation.
- "High-stress work": Participants will be required to prepare a presentation about an unfamiliar topic with a time limit of 30 minutes. The topic and the requirements will be carefully established to make the completion of the presentation achievable but at the same time to create a sense of time pressure, heavy workload, and unfamiliarity with the task. We will employ a concept similar to the Trier Social Stress Test, in which participants are required to develop and deliver a speech to a panel. This test has been employed in several studies as a means of inducing high-stress reactions. In our study, participants will be informed that a two-person judging committee will be scoring their work performance by watching through a Zoom shared screen. Participants will be told that their final score will be compared to all other study participants such that the highest scoring individuals will receive an award. The committee's "score" will be presented on the screen beginning at 100 and will be decreased and increased in a standardized manner across all participants. Changes in the score will appear at uneven intervals such that the participants do not recognize a pattern but associate the scoring with the judging committee noticing some sort of work flaw or issue. A countdown clock with time remaining will be presented on the screen, recorded office noise (e.g., printers, distant chatting, computers) will be played in the background, and temperature will be increased outside the comfort range. In addition, participants will be subject to interruptions including pop-up messages, calls or emails every 5 minutes to ask about progress.
During the three conditions (idle, low stress, high stress) participants will be asked 5 questions every 5 minutes:
- In the last five minutes, to what extent did you consider the work you are performing as an opportunity or challenge?
- In the last five minutes, to what extent did you consider the work you are performing as a source of pressure?
- Over the last five minutes, how would you rate your productivity?
- Over the last five minutes, how would you rate your mood?
- Over the last five minutes, how would you rate your stress level?
The second phase is meant to investigate if triggering the olfactory (exposing participants to pleasant smells) senses would help reduce stress.
For that, participants will be given a task that an office worker usually conducts in their everyday work (e.g., typing a paragraph in a word document, organizing a spreadsheet) for 20 minutes. During the 20 minutes, participants will get exposed to one of the following three conditions:
- Control group - 20 participants: No exposure to smells or change in office light settings.
- Olfactory group 1 - 20 participants: No change in office light settings, but participants in this condition will be exposed to the smell of natural wood scent continuously. A diffuser with essential oils will be turned on during that time to deliver the smell.
- Olfactory group 2 - 20 participants: No change in office light settings, but participants in this condition will be exposed to the smell of Bergamot scent continuously. A diffuser with essential oils will be turned on during that time to deliver the smell.
Following this, participants will be asked to rate their anxiety/stress levels using the state anxiety trait survey and how they perceived the exposure to the scents.
- Conditions
- Stress
- Being tested
- Bergamot scent, Natural wood scent
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Bergamot scentOther
The scent of bergamot is fruity and citrusy, with floral hints and spice notes.
Natural wood scentOther
Wood notes tend to be rich and warm, often forming the base of a scent due to their aromatic weight.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Control | No intervention | No exposure to smells. |
| Olfactory Condition - 1 | Experimental | Participants in this condition will be exposed to the smell of natural wood scent continuously. A diffuser with essential oils will be turned on during that time to deliver the smell. Receives: Other: Natural wood scent |
| Olfactory Condition - 2 | Experimental | Participants in this condition will be exposed to the smell of Bergamot scent continuously. A diffuser with essential oils will be turned on during that time to deliver the smell. Receives: Other: Bergamot scent |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Heart rate
Heart rate will be collected through a sensor attached to the participant's chest at a collection rate of 1 heart rate reading per second. The average heart rate will be examined across study conditions.
Measured: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Electrodermal activity
Electrodermal activity will be collected through a sensor placed on the wrist similar to a watch, with data collection at a rate of 4 readings per second. The average electrodermal activity will be examined across study conditions.
Measured: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Blink rate
A facial detection algorithm will be used to detect the blinking rate of the participant from a camera that collects 10 frames per second. The average blink rate will be examined across study conditions.
Measured: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Gaze angle
A facial detection algorithm will be used to detect the gaze angle direction of the participant from a camera that collects 10 frames per second. The durations of gaze angles will be examined across study conditions.
Measured: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Secondary outcomes (2)
Mouse clicks
The number of mouse clicks will be recorded using a logger software installed on the computer. The frequency of mouse clicks will be examined across study conditions.
Measured: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Keyboard keystrokes
The number of keystrokes will be recorded using a logger software installed on the computer. The frequency of keystrokes will be examined across study conditions.
Measured: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Feb 2022
- Study start1 Apr 2022
- Primary completion5 Jul 2022
- Study completion5 Jul 2022
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for StressStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by University of Southern CaliforniaThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Diagnosis
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Participant
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern California
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Burcin Becerik-Gerber, University of Southern California
- Investigators
- Burcin Becerik-Gerber, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Southern California
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05242523
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- UP-21-00484
- Status last verified
- Jul 2022
- First submitted
- 20 Jan 2022
- Last updated
- 8 Jul 2022
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 8 Jul 2022. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Automated Stress Detection and Restoration in Office Workers
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT05242523
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- UP-21-00484
- Conditions
- Stress
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 50 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of Southern CaliforniaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Southern California NIOSH Education and Research Center
- Study start
- 1 Apr 2022 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 5 Jul 2022 (actual)
- Study completion
- 5 Jul 2022 (actual)
- First posted
- 16 Feb 2022 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study aims at establishing a laboratory experiment that mimics office work stressors, examining the feasibility of automated stress detection, and identifying the most significant physiological and/or behavioral features that can be used to differentiate between positive stress (eustress) and negative stress (distress). Additionally, we will investigate if triggering the olfactory (exposing participants to pleasant smells) senses would help reduce stress.
Detailed description
The experiment is divided into 2 main phases:
The first phase is the eustress-distress data collection: In this phase, participants will complete three conditions:
- "No-stress": Participants will sit idle on their desks without performing any task. This is important to record a baseline of physiological signals that will allow us to compare the physiological responses in later stages.
- "Low-stress work": Participants will be asked to prepare a brief presentation about a familiar topic (e.g., favorite types of food, TV shows, academic work). A strict time limit will not be provided; instead, participants will be told that they have at least 30 minutes and up to 40 minutes if they need that amount of time to complete the presentation.
- "High-stress work": Participants will be required to prepare a presentation about an unfamiliar topic with a time limit of 30 minutes. The topic and the requirements will be carefully established to make the completion of the presentation achievable but at the same time to create a sense of time pressure, heavy workload, and unfamiliarity with the task. We will employ a concept similar to the Trier Social Stress Test, in which participants are required to develop and deliver a speech to a panel. This test has been employed in several studies as a means of inducing high-stress reactions. In our study, participants will be informed that a two-person judging committee will be scoring their work performance by watching through a Zoom shared screen. Participants will be told that their final score will be compared to all other study participants such that the highest scoring individuals will receive an award. The committee's "score" will be presented on the screen beginning at 100 and will be decreased and increased in a standardized manner across all participants. Changes in the score will appear at uneven intervals such that the participants do not recognize a pattern but associate the scoring with the judging committee noticing some sort of work flaw or issue. A countdown clock with time remaining will be presented on the screen, recorded office noise (e.g., printers, distant chatting, computers) will be played in the background, and temperature will be increased outside the comfort range. In addition, participants will be subject to interruptions including pop-up messages, calls or emails every 5 minutes to ask about progress.
During the three conditions (idle, low stress, high stress) participants will be asked 5 questions every 5 minutes:
- In the last five minutes, to what extent did you consider the work you are performing as an opportunity or challenge?
- In the last five minutes, to what extent did you consider the work you are performing as a source of pressure?
- Over the last five minutes, how would you rate your productivity?
- Over the last five minutes, how would you rate your mood?
- Over the last five minutes, how would you rate your stress level?
The second phase is meant to investigate if triggering the olfactory (exposing participants to pleasant smells) senses would help reduce stress.
For that, participants will be given a task that an office worker usually conducts in their everyday work (e.g., typing a paragraph in a word document, organizing a spreadsheet) for 20 minutes. During the 20 minutes, participants will get exposed to one of the following three conditions:
- Control group - 20 participants: No exposure to smells or change in office light settings.
- Olfactory group 1 - 20 participants: No change in office light settings, but participants in this condition will be exposed to the smell of natural wood scent continuously. A diffuser with essential oils will be turned on during that time to deliver the smell.
- Olfactory group 2 - 20 participants: No change in office light settings, but participants in this condition will be exposed to the smell of Bergamot scent continuously. A diffuser with essential oils will be turned on during that time to deliver the smell.
Following this, participants will be asked to rate their anxiety/stress levels using the state anxiety trait survey and how they perceived the exposure to the scents.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Diagnosis
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- Single blind (participant)
- Number of arms
- 3
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Control | No intervention | –No exposure to smells. |
| Olfactory Condition - 1 | Experimental | Other: Natural wood scentParticipants in this condition will be exposed to the smell of natural wood scent continuously. A diffuser with essential oils will be turned on during that time to deliver the smell. |
| Olfactory Condition - 2 | Experimental | Other: Bergamot scentParticipants in this condition will be exposed to the smell of Bergamot scent continuously. A diffuser with essential oils will be turned on during that time to deliver the smell. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Participants will be older than 18.
- Participants should be proficient at speaking and writing in English.
- Qualified participants should have a normal or corrected-to-normal vision, and a normal sense of smell.
Key exclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Participants will be screened to make sure that they don't have any physical or psychological-related problems that make them sensitive to stress-inducing tasks.
- Participants who are taking any medication to regulate their blood pressure will not be allowed to participate in the study as these medications might affect the quality of the blood volume pulse-related data.
- Pregnant women are not allowed to participate in this study.
- Participants using prescription medication, diagnosed with color blindness, rhinitis, or hay fever, or have allergic reactions to essential oils ( e.g., contact dermatitis, allergic rhinitis) will not be allowed to participate in this study.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Bergamot scentThe scent of bergamot is fruity and citrusy, with floral hints and spice notes. | Other | Olfactory Condition - 2 |
| Natural wood scentWood notes tend to be rich and warm, often forming the base of a scent due to their aromatic weight. | Other | Olfactory Condition - 1 |
Primary outcome
Heart rate
Time frame: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Heart rate will be collected through a sensor attached to the participant's chest at a collection rate of 1 heart rate reading per second. The average heart rate will be examined across study conditions.
Electrodermal activity
Time frame: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Electrodermal activity will be collected through a sensor placed on the wrist similar to a watch, with data collection at a rate of 4 readings per second. The average electrodermal activity will be examined across study conditions.
Blink rate
Time frame: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
A facial detection algorithm will be used to detect the blinking rate of the participant from a camera that collects 10 frames per second. The average blink rate will be examined across study conditions.
Gaze angle
Time frame: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
A facial detection algorithm will be used to detect the gaze angle direction of the participant from a camera that collects 10 frames per second. The durations of gaze angles will be examined across study conditions.
2 secondary outcomes
Mouse clicks
Time frame: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Keyboard keystrokes
Time frame: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 8 Jul 2022.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Burcin Becerik-Gerber, PhD principal investigator
University of Southern California
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Bergamot scent and Natural wood scent in people with Stress, run by University of Southern California at 1 site in United States.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 3 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 8 Jul 2022. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Heart rate (time frame: Throughout study participation, up to 120 minutes). The study lists 4 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 8 Jul 2022.