Medicine & Healthcare Occupational therapy

A research team from the Graduate School of Rehabilitation Science at Osaka Metropolitan University investigated the electrophysiological benefits of working in the presence of others from the perspectives of brain and autonomic nervous system activity. The researchers found that parasympathetic activity—which indicates relaxation—was significantly higher when two individuals were working separately than when one individual was working alone. This suggests that arranging the former condition in occupational therapy for individuals with high levels of tension or anxiety in clinical settings may potentially help alleviate these feelings.