May 2025
Received funding for project
August 2026
Will begin running participants.
90
Expected total number of participants.
Study Status
PROTOCOL 014a: Protocol Validation Study
A protocol validation study is designed to evaluate the Regenesis Pod multisensory protocol.
Participants will attend a 35-minute in-lab session in which they experience the Regenesis Pod, complete a brief pre and post-session survey, and provide recorded qualitative feedback about their subjective experience at Santa Monica. Participants will be compensated around $20 for the session, and parking will be validated.
Protocol 014
Multisensory Intervention for Acute Stress Recovery and Spontaneous-State Modulation
The Institute for Advanced Consciousness Studies (IACS), with funding from RECHARGE POD LTD, is conducting a research study evaluating the Regenesis Pod — a reclined multisensory chamber that delivers coordinated sound, light, vibration, scent, near-infrared light, and gentle electromagnetic field stimulation in two distinct 20-minute protocols.
Can a multisensory device meaningfully accelerate recovery from acute stress — and do it without dulling vigilance the way many anxiolytics do? To find out, we are running a three-arm randomized controlled trial in 90 healthy adults, comparing two Pod protocols (one designed for pre-event arousal calibration, one for post-event downregulation) against a custom breath-focused awareness meditation. Across five visits per participant, we are measuring stress-recovery trajectories using a salivary biomarker of sympathetic activation, EEG, continuous heart-rate and respiration monitoring, cognitive tasks, and Garmin-derived sleep and recovery data.
Sign Up To Be A Participant
We are looking for healthy adults aged 18–65 to participate in a five-session study at our Santa Monica laboratory.
What You’ll Do:
- You will complete five visits at IACS over approximately 2–3 weeks, with each visit spaced 24–72 hours apart. Visits last between 85 and 120 minutes depending on the session.
- At each visit you will be fitted with non-invasive physiological monitors (heart, breathing, skin response, and oxygen saturation) and complete brief cognitive tasks and questionnaires before and after a 20-minute relaxation session in either the Pod or a comparable recliner.
- On three of the five visits, you will additionally wear a wireless EEG cap that records brain activity and provide three small saliva samples per visit (via passive swab) for a stress biomarker. On those visits, a brief mental challenge (a timed arithmetic task) will be administered just before your relaxation session.
- You will wear a study-provided Garmin smartwatch continuously between visits, capturing sleep, resting heart rate, and daily activity. The watch is removed and synced at each visit and returned to us at Visit 5.
Interested in Participating? Sign up and check your eligibility:
Compensation
Approximately $422.50 per completed participant
What you will receive:
- Time compensation ($30/hr × 7 hrs) $210.00
- Parking validation ($32.50 × 5 visits) $162.50
- Continuous wearable use $50.00
Total per completed participant ~$422.50
Payment Schedule
Compensation is provided as cash or check at Visit 5 (or at the last visit completed). Compensation is prorated by completed visits if you withdraw early.
No completion bonus is offered — this is intentional, so you can withdraw at any point without losing any earned compensation.
Things to Know Before You Sign Up
- Five visits at IACS (2811 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 510, Santa Monica, CA 90403) within an approximately 2–3 week window.
- All sessions are scheduled after 11:00 AM, with your visits time-matched to within ± 1 hour across the five days.
- Total time commitment is approximately 7 hours of active study time across screening and five visits, plus continuous wear of the Garmin smartwatch between visits.
- On the day of each visit, you will be asked to avoid caffeine, food, alcohol, and nicotine for the 60 minutes prior to your appointment, and to skip vigorous exercise for 12 hours beforehand (these protect the stress biomarker measurements).
- Participation is voluntary; you may withdraw at any time without penalty.
- All data collected will be de-identified and stored on encrypted, access-controlled systems. Aggregated results may be shared with our funding sponsor and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Who is not eligible:
The study excludes adults with a personal or family history of seizure or photosensitive epilepsy, migraines with visual aura, current cardiovascular disease or uncontrolled hypertension, current pregnancy, severe asthma or COPD, implanted electronic medical devices (pacemakers, cochlear implants, neurostimulators), certain medications (including beta-blockers and some psychoactive medications), and regular meditation practice exceeding monthly sessions over the past six months. The full eligibility checklist is included in the screening questionnaire.
This study has been reviewed by an Institutional Review Board. For more information about the study, eligibility, or scheduling, please contact nicco@advancedconsciousness.org
Project Contributors
Funded By
