How Do You Feel Today?

You feel exhausted, overextended with your daily grind? In this case the best remedy is to go for a 20-minute walk, ride a bicycle, or do some sport — all this on a regular basis. And things will improve: you increasingly feel better motivated and confident with lots of energy. Is this optimistic picture just an abstract theory, pretentious nonsense, nothing but claptrap? You can find this out yourself in an "objective" way by means of computerized voice analyses, as speaking behavior and voice sound characteristics are specifically influenced by the affective state of the speaker.

Monitoring Affective State Over Time by Daily Voice Recordings

We have developed an easy-to-use App that directly installs on laptop, tablet, or smartphone [cf. AppStore]. Based on normative data from clinical studies, this App allows users to monitor their affective states over time through daily 2-minute voice recordings. A recording involves: (1) invoking the App; (2) adjusting microphone volume; (3) counting from 1 to 30 with normal voice; and (4) reading out loud a standard text. The results of new recordings are compared with all previous results (cf. Figure 13) [for details see the Voice App Manual].

Immediate Access to Results: "Biofeedback"

"Voice app" results are directly interpretable by the user and can help to better cope with the ups and downs of the daily grind ("biofeedback": users can learn, for example, to control stress-related bodily reactions). Getting involved and doing something about it is the most important step for people under chronic stress or at an elevated risk of mood disorders (depression). And this is what prevention is all about. The "voice app" has been tested extensively by 120 students and is available through the Google Play Store — see our scientific article.

Get involved in "natural" health issues and enjoy the benefits of health prevention .