A mixed reality relaxation system that helps people wind down before sleep through guided breathing and gentle perceptual transitions.
Read the project write-up · Published at CHI 2026 (doi.org/10.1145/3772318.3791875)
ZenFlow asks a simple research question: can perceptual transitions in mixed reality make relaxation practices feel more natural, less abrupt, and more effective at bedtime? Instead of replacing the user's surroundings with an immersive spectacle, it gradually transforms the physical bedroom into a calm night-sky environment while preserving the spatial context of the real room. The design prioritizes continuity, subtlety, and emotional safety.
Over an eight-minute session, a softly glowing orb guides synchronized inhalation and exhalation. The experience deliberately avoids anthropomorphic guides and intense environmental shifts, and it was co-designed with mental health professionals specializing in pranayama breathing.
In a three-week study with 12 participants, the version of ZenFlow with spatial transformation produced significant improvements across all four subscales of the Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire:
- Sleep quality: +8.36
- Ease of getting to sleep: +7.35
- Pre-sleep stress: 6.62 points lower (p = .032)
- Unity, mixed reality passthrough
- Garmin wearables for physiological measurement
This repository consolidates the ZenFlow project across branches:
main- the mixed reality applicationquest- the Meta Quest buildanalysis- study data and analysisprivacy-policy- the app privacy policy